Gala Date Night

Almost 5 years ago I coordinated and taught a German Exchange Student program over the summer for a company called IEE.  We haven't really heard much from them since, but randomly got an invitation in the mail for a Gala event up in Pasadena.  Since our gala frequenting is pretty much nil, we figured we couldn't pass it up.  It turned out to be an AWESOME date night!

 I was super excited to get to wear my Chinese dress that almost never gets worn!

It was at the Athenaeum at Caltech University in Pasadena and was quite the ritzy affair.

 It was the ultimate buffet:  prime rib, sushi and sashimi, crab legs, chicken, baked-potato bar, etc.  They had it all!

 Including oysters.  I had my first oyster of my life and...don't really have too much to say about it.  It basically just tasted like sea water.  I'm not gonna be frequenting oyster bars now, but it wasn't awful.

The building was beautiful and it was an honor to be there.  We had imagined it was going to be a rah-rah to get us to sign up again, but it wasn't like that at all.  It was a true celebration and thank you for our service and the lives we'd touched.  What a cool thing to be a part of!  I am so glad that I was able to be a part of the program and will always treasure the memories made that summer.

(And, the best part for our girls was that they got to spend the night at their cousins' house on a school night!!!  Whoa!)

Cousin Time!

The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins!  They are convinced that Max and Ellie live in a dream world, toy paradise (and, really, they're not too far off the mark!).

 Libby and Porter as the sun was setting on Timponogas.  It was a gorgeous shade of pink, but you can't quite tell.  Oh, well - they're still cute cousins!

 Ellie decided to join the girls in the back seat and they had a great time throwing their hands up and saying "Wheeee!" as we drove down the mountain.

 We took the gang to the Provo Beach Resort and had fun on the carousel.

 Ellie hamming it up on the elephant.

 Silly kids!

 What a pose, Lib!

 Ellie's got it right - Lexi at the helm is one very scary thought!  That girl can't even walk straight!

 Ellie loved that Lexi was wearing one of her old outfits.  10 years later and still so cute!

Surf's up for the little ones.

What a great last day of our trip.  Thanks for being such great hosts, Openshaws!  We'll come bug you again, I'm sure!

Skiing at Sundance

We were so lucky to get our annual ski day in with the whole family this year!  All the Macbeths, Openshaws, and Fosters were there to enjoy the fun (just missing the Stewart clan!).

 My little snow bunnies - all bundled up and ready to hit the slopes!

 Libby got to wear my ski-suit from when I was her age.  Walking hand in hand with my dad sure made for some special memories!

 Lexi and Daddy all geared up and ready to charge the mountain!

 The walk up to the rope-tow kinda took it out of the little ones, so they rested for a minute before we put on their skis.  Such cute cousins!

 Libby was loving the snow!

 Our first time on the rope-tow...so fun!

 And Libby's very first time down the mountain.  She was not terribly thrilled with the whole experience, but she did  it and I got a serious workout in! ;)

 Lexi wondering when it would be her turn.

 So Brad strapped on his board and headed up the mountain with Lex.

 What cute little snowboarders!  Lexi, unlike Libby, loved the whole experience!

 Libby and I making our way down a second time.  Again, not loving it, but not totally miserable either.

(You can tell how exhausting it was for me by the fact that my jacket only lasted one trip...I was sooo hot!)

 Max and Amy were the seasoned veterans showing us the ropes.

 After 4 runs Libby was done.  But, by the last one I didn't have to hold her up in a death-grip anymore. ;)  We'll definitely try again, but I was sure beat after that!

 We helped get the kids set up for lunch with Grammy and Pops and then Brad and I took to the slopes with the older kids.

 At the top of back mountain.  I sure do love skiing!

The gang (minus Tanner who we didn't see all afternoon, and Grammy who stuck to the bunny hills once she helped Pops load the kids up and head for home).  What a fun day on the slopes!  Thanks, Openshaws! ;)

Valentine's in Provo

After driving through the night on Thursday night, we pulled up to Amy's house in Provo at 7:00am while her kids were all getting ready for school.  It made for a crazy sleep-deprived Valentine's, but was totally worth it!

 We got to spend some time at BYU on our old stomping grounds, which was really fun.  They had a silly mustache photo booth set up so we took a picture and then had some lunch in the Wilk....ahh, memories!

 Then we went to the Museum of Art and had to pose by my favorite statue - quite apropos for the day!

Then we got to go through this amazing collection of paintings of the Savior that were on display from Europe.  The collection was called "Sacred Gifts" and was amazing!  If only we weren't busy corralling little ones we might have REALLY enjoyed it! ;)  (My parents actually went back on Monday for the "sans kids" version and loved it!)

 When the girls were all tapped out on looking at pictures of the Savior, they ran amuck in the foyer while the rest of our group finished up.

 The idea behind this picture was much better than the product...oh well.

I sure love those little pigtails!  So glad I got to spend all Valentine's day with the loves of my life!

After our BYU adventure, it was back home to Amy's for a family nap which we all seriously deserved.  Valentine's night was filled with dinner, watching the Olympics, and family games - way better than some romantic, over-priced meal!  What fun!

Sleeping Soundly

The post-church Sunday naps just seemed too sweet today not to photograph. 

Too bad we have that awful 1:30-4:30 time slot now and this was just a fluke.  Heaven help us make it through this year! ;)

 I love the hands tucked under her cheek - so sweet!

If that isn't the cutest little stink-bug you've ever seen, I don't know what is!

Annual Super Bowl Party

Our friends, the Parkins host an annual super bowl party that we look forward to every year.  This year certainly lived up to the hype (well, all except the game itself, that is!).

 Brad with Scott and Skylar enjoying the game...well, trying to at least! ;)

 They have a great playroom right next to the family room, so the kids were all in heaven and running around like crazy the whole time.  Libby thought it is was pretty fun to be a bridge over the slide.

 This is only half the kids that were there - yeah, it was pretty loud.  Someone was commenting how the commercials just aren't quite what they used to be, but then we all thought, "well, maybe they are, we just can't hear them, so who knows?!?"

 Melinda and Scott with quite the spread.  And this was AFTER we ate the majority of it!

 Scott even provided some extra entertainment this year by setting off fireworks after the Seahawks demolished the Broncos.

The picture says it all - those were some seriously exhausted girls by the end of a great night.  Can't wait to do it all again next year!

Visitors from St. Louis

One of my good friends since kindergarten, Julie came into town from St. Louis, so we got the kids together at the park and then had dinner at our house afterwards.  It was super fun and always so good to see them!

 Libby hamming it up with Julie and baby Iko.

 Lexi and Andi giving loves.

 Libby wanted in on the action, too, while Dimitri looked on.

Such a fun visit!  Thanks for coming, Sideriadis'...and for getting us super pumped on planning a trip to St. Louis.  I've never been to the Midwest and I hope we get to come check it out soon! 

Finals Week Fun

Finals week is a heaven-sent for teachers!  We work so hard all semester long and then it's up to the students.  So, as we like to say, "Test and rest, baby; test and rest!"  But, even better than that - Finals Week means 3 minimum days in a row!  Woo-hoo!  More time to spend with my girls! ;)

 As you might have guessed...first stop was the beach!  The last week in January and we're still running around in our bathing suits!

Though lots of sand castles are built, none manage to survive more than a few seconds with these two "destroyers" around.  But they sure do love it! 

 We didn't quite have it ALL to ourselves, but it was pretty close!

 Chasing seagulls was a favorite pastime.

 We found more starfish and sea urchins to touch.

 But nothing tops the sea anemones - the girls LOVE touching them!

 Have I told you lately how much I love this girl???!!!

 Libby found her own little tide pool that was just her size....and she was crazy enough to jump in it!  Brrrrr!!!

Sand jumping has also become a big draw for the girls and Libby was a jumping queen.

Yep, so far I'd say I'm loving Finals Week!  It did not disappoint! :)