California Wedding

I had a wonderful time in California for my brother's wedding. Jason is the youngest of my five siblings, so this was an especially meaningful gathering for our family. His new bride, Chelsea, is a beautiful, fantastic woman.

I took a few photos of Jason and Chelsea the day before the wedding.

The weather in Fresno was gorgeous. Low 70's, lots of sun.

Chelsea is fun to photograph with her saucy looks.

This is outside the Fresno temple. The little girls wore matching purple dresses with purple flowers in their hair and on their shoes.

A favorite photo.

Later that evening at the reception. Jason also looking saucy.

First Dance.

They had a candy bar resplendent with purple candies. I grabbed this shot of their rings in the rock candy.

Jason made this incredible photo booth. Everyone had a great time taking their pictures. They were able to take home a set of photos, and were asked to put another set in the guestbook - scrapbook style. It was fun to see guests getting really into it. The final book is a treasure.

Here is MJ and I in a couple of our photo booth shots. We had a fabulous weekend. It went by too fast! Congrats, J & C!

Warm Pineapple Greetings

I love this idea from Hot Diggity Blog to give pineapples as gifts. I think they are gorgeous - and who wouldn't love some sweet and juicy tropical flavor at the end of a long cold winter?

Here is the pineapple and tag I put together to thank a couple friends for watching the girls for us while I am in Cali and while Jon has to be at work.

Worry Lists

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, reality hit that I am about to take a 5-day trip away from my baby. The older girls can practically take care of themselves - but I worry about Hope getting the foods she will eat and the naps she needs to be a happy girl. I busily started scribbling notes in bed, to help me remember all the little things we do every day.


The next morning I got it all typed up and printed out and taped to a cupboard door. I have her napping and eating schedule, a list of meals and snacks she will eat (this is even helpful for me when I feel clueless about what to feed the girl), and necessities for babysitting and church outings. Jon takes care of Hope often enough to already know all of this stuff, but it gives me peace of mind to know all the info is there just in case.

California here I come. I look forward to your 70 degree weather. Bless you.

Love Truck

You know someone is a serious photographer when she buys a large vehicle as a "prop". I have to say, though, that I am so in love with this beauty.


Do you think Jon would let me park one in the back yard?

Peep Cupcakes

I volunteered to bring a treat to our elementary school's "family fun night" this evening. I've never really liked to eat Peeps, but I am completely enchanted by their bright colors and cute little faces (even when their eyeballs are a little catawampus). I made these cupcakes to bring tonight - it will be a challenge to keep the girls out of them until it's time to go.

Kristin 1 Leprechans 0

We pulled off a green dinner, so all is well. (Thanks for the suggestions, by the way!) I decided to go with green chile enchiladas, with a little extra green in the sauce. It actually looked a lot like the stuff the Spy Kids mom and dad ate at Floop's mansion. Very gloppy. Very green. But every bite got eaten.

The ice cream cake was awesome. So simple, but always devoured.

St. Patrick Shmatrick

Yesterday as the girls got home from school they were already talking excitedly about St. Patricks day: "Do we have enough green?" "Will the leprechauns visit?"

I told them I put leprechaun pesticide around the house, so they wouldn't come inside and do any shenanigans like they do at this house. It's cute - but I haven't got the energy. I thought it would be fun to fill the girls' shoes with a green treat - but I got distracted when Jon and I decided to watch "The Dark Knight". Cool movie, late night, forgot all about green treats.

I felt really bad when I realized Madelyn had made all these signs to welcome the leprechauns, in hopes they would be able to overcome the fake pesticide around the house. Didn't happen.

I would make a festive green dinner to make up for my St. Patricks Day humbug attitude, but I don't think my family will eat green food.

Split pea soup - awesome for me, no one else will touch it
Green mashed potatoes - they detest mashed potatoes
Green eggs and ham - a little too slimy even for me
Green grapes - they prefer red; it's a mental thing
Green milk - they won't drink it unless it's chocolate; thus negating any green effect

You see my problem.

Epiphany! Green dessert... I'm thinking mint Oreo cookie crust, vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup topped with Cool Whip tinted green.

Are you a leprechaun enthusiast or fellow fumigator?

Go Green

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Free Redbox Movies

We love Redbox. Did you know they offer free movie rentals on Mondays all the time, and they are also doing free movies on Wednesdays during the month of March? Sign up here to be put on their newsletter. They will email you the free movie code. Just enter the promo code before you pick your movie to get your freebie. You can also get more than one free movie if you use a different credit card for each rental.

Warrior Cheerio Princess

I was looking through the photos Cailin took of her Chicago trip, and was amused to see photos of the elevator buttons, a quilted hanger she called her "cushie", the hotel door, the bathtub, the soap display, the hotel room safe and the cartoon she was watching. I was then amused and surprised to see this photo of Hope she took just prior to her departure. Cheerios on a baby's face is always a humorous thing.

The Force

Hope regularly trashes the joint. She is a whirlwind of devastation. She is a force to be reckoned with. She is also a climber. Lately she has been enjoying emptying the drawers of this dresser and climbing in them to get a better view of what she can pull to the floor from the top.

A girl after my own heart

I love candy. Always have. When we were in the Middle East one of the things we loved was the good chocolate. Even Snickers and Twix bars were covered in the smooth Dutch stuff. When we came back to the States, we lost our delicious Dutch stuff, but gained a whole new generation of classic knock-offs. The strawberry milkshake Whoppers? Oh, yah. I'll take one. I remember as a kid having to hide my candy stash from my brothers and sisters. My favorite hiding place was what I had felt at the time, was completely ingenious. I would tie a string to a box of whoppers or other sweet goodness and lower the box behind my bed. I would craftily pull the string to get to my candy when no one was watching. My hiding spots are less ingenious these days, but just as effective.

I was enjoying comparing some photos of Hope and I at about the same age. We had the same inclination to stick our tongues out at cameras.

And eating is one of our favorite pastimes. My mom always said people would comment on my blue eyes when I was small, and Hope's eyes are definitely stunners. And she really likes candy, too.

Recipe Book Winners!

We put everyone's name in a basket...

A winner was chosen and eaten...

And the soggy winner of our cookbook is Jennifer! Because I appreciate your comments so much, and I loved your ideas for feeding the missionaries, we picked a second lucky winner: Claudia - your name was also pulled from the basket.

Congratulations, winners!

Please email me your addresses, and I will send your books out tomorrow. Thanks for playing. :)