Happy Valentine's Day

It's time for the long awaited Valentine dinner.  (Pretty amazing that teenage kids get excited about a formal dinner with their family where they learn proper etiquette, but here is the proof it can happen!)

There were no questions this year about which fork to use, which glass was theirs
or where they needed to put their napkins.  I did have to remind them
about taking their elbows off the table, but only once.

 This year Austin was feeling good and even felt like inviting his special friend, Mandy to join us.  With Tanner's track meet in Seattle and McKenna's dance competition, we decided to set aside Monday night's family home evening following Valentine's day for our special gathering.

We sure missed having Tanner with us. The table just didn't seem complete without him, but we got through the five courses just fine and even found a few new favorite recipes.  Carson acted as photographer for the evening.  He did a pretty good job, but his tummy took over  during a few of the courses and a few of the pictures had to be recreated (because all the pretty plates got eaten up before he got a picture) on our regular dinnerware.

Appetizer:  Asparagus Bacon Wraps

Soup:  Cream of Fruit Soup

Salad:  Citrus Cilantro Salad with Cojita Cheese

Main Course:  Shrimp Penne Pasta with Basil and Tomato
Seasoned Bread-sticks

Dessert:  Cherry Tartlets

Carson assured me that the pictures weren't what would remind him of the meal, he just needed a picture of his content and overly stuffed tummy and that would say it all.  Luckily, I spared you all from that one.

I am so glad I have these people in my life and that they would give up an evening to spend some special time with me.  They are my favorite valentines!

Bro Trip to Seattle

By:  Carson

This weekend Dad, Austin and I traveled to Seattle to watch Tanner run his race. He’s been having a rough time at school being homesick and fighting illness and injury.  We wanted to do as much as we could to ease the stress for him. The drive there was very frightening, since I drove for half of it. Dad was yelling a lot, I was scared a lot, and Austin somehow slept through it a lot. Dad took over after we stopped for dinner at Subway and we made it to Seattle without dying. 

Carson got his driving permit in November and has been logging driving hours so he has
enough to get his driver's license come August.  

When we got to Seattle we went to Tanner's hotel and were introduced to many of his BYU teammates. We visited in the lobby for a bit, and then took him back to the hotel where the rest of us would be staying. We goofed around and got situated then decided it was a great time to watch the classic movie Sharknado – perfect for us boys to bond together. We watched the movie and laughed a lot, and cried a lot (because we were laughing so much!) and definitely enjoyed the movie! We were expecting a call or complaint because of how loud we were, but luckily none came. After the movie was over we took Tanner back to his hotel and went to bed. 

The next morning was Tanners race. Austin Dad and me all packed up and met Tanner at the UW indoor track. (keep in mind we parked a long walk away because dad wanted to make sure to park next to a specific tree so we wouldn’t forget where our car was). We cheered Tanner on as he ran the 800m, which he did well in. Keeping in mind this is his 2^nd race since recovering from multiple injuries, he did great. He got 1^st in his heat with 1:53 and we were all proud of him. 

After doing a quick cool down and icing his hamstring, it was time for the long walk back to our car. Turns out when we left the building it was pouring rain, and we had a long way to walk so that we could get to dads favorite tree. When we past multiple open parking spots just a fraction of the distance to the track, we were all a little miffed. But we had plenty of time to talk (and get wet)! After the meet we all went to watch “The Lego Movie,” which was surprisingly good, and we all enjoyed it. After the movie we dropped Tanner off at his hotel, said our goodbyes, and started home. 

We did our best to avoid the traffic leaving Seattle, but ended up getting lost in the sketchy parts of Seattle, which is always a fun experience. Eventually, we found signs to I-5 and made it to the freeway. Through hours of pounding rain and traffic, we safely drove home. Over all it was a great experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to spend some time with my brothers and my dad.

They've Done It Again!

A big congrats to my brainiacs.  Austin, Carson and McKenna all made the honor roll this grading period.  Austin remains in the top 5% of his class and Carson and McKenna are keeping up their 4.0 streak.

McKenna and all her honor roll friends
L-R:  McKenna, Emily, Cassidy, Callie, Sage, Brooklyn, Elizabeth, and Katelyn
Front: Kaylee

Austin has also just received word that he has been accepted to Brigham Young University.  There's another cougar in the family!

SNOW DAYS!

McKenna sledding at the park with friends.

I love the snow!  It is so beautiful in the Northwest.  Because we don't get it very often and it goes away quickly everyone stops to enjoy it.  It makes us slow down.  It keeps us cooped up together and gives us an excuse to play games, watch movies, bake and be silly.  It makes hot chocolate taste even better.  It makes for great memories.  We just finished being snowed in for four days, and what fun it was!  Here is just a little taste of our four days of adventure through McKenna's eyes:

When Austin said he was building a snow cave, I had this picture in my mind of a cute little igloo placed in the snow in the middle of our yard- NOTHING like the 12 by 18 foot fortress I ended up sleeping in. 

It took Austin five hours and my Dad 4, plus some help from a family friend, Jarin McKague to finish this cave. That was a lot of work for it to just sit empty so in the end I agreed to sleep in my brother’s fort with him. Carson refused, but that didn't stop us. 

Boy, have our laundry baskets come in handy for so much more than just laundry!

Austin didn't have to go to the mountain this year for snow caving!

We went out at about eleven o’clock at night, Austin towing all of our sleeping gear. We had to wear snow gear so our pajamas didn't get wet when we crawled through the entrance, which was strategically placed (L-shaped) so the wind and snow couldn't get in. The walls were about 2 feet thick on each side, so inside it was cozy, especially when we lit the candles to warm it up before we went to sleep.  The snow acted as an insulator.  It blocked out all the sound other than what happened inside the fort as well, so when we fell asleep it was really quiet. 

Our parents were as protective as always, bringing us anything we managed to forget in our house only yards away. By the time I fell asleep, I was bundled in about 20 layers of sleeping bags, plus a waterproof ‘taco’ tarp just in case our ceiling dripped. It was fairly warm all night, but the ground was kind of bumpy, making it an interesting night, but we both slept through it.  I hope we get enough snow to do it next year! Thanks, Austin.

Meet Pippin

Since the passing of Gizzy, our home has felt a little empty.  After Christmas we decided it was going to take a long time to fill the hole Gizzy left, so we thought we had better start looking as my requisites had not changed to allow a dog in the house.  One afternoon I was perusing Craig's List and this 

cute little guy came up:

He was looking for a new home.  His human friend was leaving for college and he was so sad that he wouldn't come out of his kennel or interact with the rest of the family. He was well trained, hypo-allergenic, and even knew some tricks.  His trick repertoire consists of up (beg), sit, lay down, roll over, dance and we are working on shake.  He loves to play fetch, and boy is he fast!  He will sit and stay at the door until he is called (usually) and he doesn't go in the kitchen or under the table when food is being prepared or eaten. 

I think we found ourselves another keeper!  After a little trial period, some grooming and some dental work, we adopted Pippin (Yes, after Pippin, after the most devoted friend of Frodo in Lord of the Rings).  He is a little 5 year-old Maltese and has the sweetest disposition. He is full of spunk but loves to cuddle on your lap if you'll invite him.  

Austin's Birthday WEEK

This year for Austin's birthday we had two years to make up for (well, not really but he seemed to think we didn't celebrate last year so I wanted to make sure it was well documented this year).  I didn't mind making it extra special as last year really was a bummer for him with his illness and all.  We started the week (yes, week) off with a family party on Sunday evening complete with his favorite caramel brownies and the traditional family candle puzzler.

Tuesday was his actual birthday and he woke up at 5:30 in the morning to the smell of  creme brulee French toast for breakfast before seminary, and came home after school to be swept off by Grandma G to Red Robin's for his birthday burger and a night at the movies.

A day later his birthday gift arrived from the Philippines (I thought one day off wasn't bad considering all we had to coordinate internationally to make it happen).

Austin has always wanted a large wood carving of an Eagle.  We found a statue he loved for his Eagle court of Honor, but couldn't purchase it.  I had to contact the artist in the Philippines and request a special carving be done for Austin and shipped to us.  Austin was very surprised and the piece is absolutely amazing!  Now we have friends in the Philippines too.

Our Master Carver, Joel, and his children

Then on Thursday evening we threw a birthday bash with his friends complete with decorations, his requested birthday meal: chipotle burritos, cake and ice-cream, party games, lots of laughs and a good movie on the big screen.

A superhero cake for my hero.

Happy Birthday, Austin.  Hopefully this is one birthday you will want to remember.