My Friend

Kendra's family moved into the house directly across the street from mine when I was only 3 or 4 years old. As little girls we'd have tea parties with our Cabbage Patch Kids, sleep-overs in the back yard, and pretend weddings with the neighbor boys. I remember, as teenagers, staying out late on countless summer nights talking and laughing together.

Here are a few of the reasons I love Kendra:

She's genuine in all she does.

She's beautiful.

Her smile and laugh are infectious. Sometimes I call her if I'm down because I always hang up the phone smiling.

"What's Up Doc?"

She's a wonderful wife and mother to her 2 sweet children. An example to all women of how we should live our lives.

And she's my dear friend.

Happy Birthday Kendra!

Happy Vernal Equinox

The first day of spring was the kids' last day of spring break. I took them to the St. Louis Zoo for the afternoon. After figuring out how to get there while avoiding the mess on Rt.64/40 (thanks Chris and Claire), we had a great time. The St. Louis Zoo is the best zoo I've ever visited... and it's free! It was a beautiful day to visit the zoo, see all the animals, and enjoy a picnic lunch together.

Projects

When I learned that Micah would be home for 2 weeks I started thinking about all the things that needed to be done around the house. I made a "honey-do" list and stuck it to the fridge. I'm pleased to say that a couple of the things actually got done. This project, however, was his idea. Micah made a cat scratching post for Junie and she loves it. Having him home has spoiled me (we watched seasons 2 and 3 of "24" in less than 2 weeks!) and I'm sad he has to go back tomorrow. Luckily, the days until classes are done are counted, not computed.

In Like a Lamb

It was 77 degrees today here in St. Louis and we couldn't let such a beautiful day pass us by. Micah and the kids didn't have school so we went to the park for the afternoon.

We fed the ducks/geese...

Played on the toys...

Had a picnic...

And rode bikes. Harrison and Rio learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels!

What a fabulous spring day to spend with my family.

New Favorites

I like to see what's new at the grocery store and try the things that look good. So here are just a very few of my new favorites.

Kashi Honey Sunshine
These bite-sized delights are gently creased at the ends and baked up toasty and golden into puffy cereal pillows. They’re then tossed with the perfect touch of naturally sweet wildflower honey for added crunch and taste. They look like Cap'n Crunch, but your mouth will be surprised when you take your first bite. Yum.


Snyder's of Hanover Butter Sesame Sticks
Enjoy a sweet and salty snack with the delicate flavor of real butter and sesame seeds. Baked to perfection for a light and crispy texture that's great for snacking anytime.

Snyder's has some great new snacks and I bought these on accident, thinking I was getting the honey wheat sticks. I am so glad I did because these are way better. Another Snyder's favorite is one my sister turned me on to at Thanksgiving: Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Pretzels (available only Oct. - Dec.).




Dove Milk Chocolate Promises with Almonds
What more do I have to say? I do enjoy a little foil wrapped treat. But watch out. These ones are about 45 calories per square.

That's it for now. Comment if you've tried any yummy new foods.

Our new kitty

Meet Junie!

Micah wanted to get me a kitten for Valentine's Day and we found Junie a little early. She's a little white Persian kitten with pretty reddish marking on her ears, paws, tail and face. She's very playful (which is why it's hard to get a good picture of her). The kids have fun playing with her and we all love having her in our family.

Happy New Year!

Here's a list of the Top 20 / Bottom 10 things about
our holiday season:

Top Twenty:

Break from school
Driving around looking at lights together
Visiting friends and neighbors
Kids singing with the primary in sacrament meeting
Visiting Santa

"Tree" scented air freshener

Christmas bonuses
Cards from friends and family
Christmas Eve crepes for breakfast
Pedicure with Julie
Making gingerbread houses with Grandpa Buck and Grandma Julie

Christmas Eve dinner

Micah narrating The Nativity video
Matching jammies

Jack's new trampoline

Easy Bake Oven

Star Wars toys

Elmo Live!

Happy, healthy, well-behaved children
Being with family

Bottom Ten:
Missing the family not with us
Micah working nights
Car problems
Jack launching off his new trampoline
Kids pigging out on candy

Eating too much
Burned bacon
Doughy sticky buns
Driving to The Confluence and it being closed due to flooding
Not having enough money to buy the closeout TV at Circuit City

We hope you had a happy holiday season and wish you all the best in 2009!