Happy 21st Anniversary to us!

Happy Anniversary honey!

Yellow is my favorite color!

And these just made my day complete!

I love you Todd Jones and I'm so lucky to be married to you!

(But doesn't yellow mean "friendship?"  Does that mean he only wants to be "friends" now?)  Nope, I don't think so either!

Brandon turns 15!

Brandon had a birthday!  He turned 15 years old on April 25th.  I can still remember Brandon when he was born.....so cute and quiet.  His dimples were to die for!  And now here he is, on the pathway to becoming an amazing young man of God. 

This picture was taken the night of a stake dance Brandon went to.....I actually got him to smile.  Hallelujiah!  What a good-lookin' kid!

One of Brandon's friends (a GIRL) gave him this cupcake on his birthday at school.  Huh?  He told me she gives one to everyone on their birthday....ya, not sure if I'm believing that.....sounds a little fishy to me. :)  I mean seriously, did you see how good looking he is?

He really did like this cupcake, I'm sure of it!  But looks can be deceiving....he definitely wasn't sharing at the time... :)

Brandon and his friend, Sam, at the talent show concert.  They performed a duet together, with these glasses and it was pretty awesome!  Good job you guys!  I love to hear you play, Brandon!

We love you, Brandon, very much and feel so lucky to have you as part of our family!

Happy 15th Birthday! 

Easter 2012

Happy Easter!  This is what our Easter looked like before the kids "dug" into their baskets....all nicely set up and organized.

Eric's basket....

Brandon's basket....

Dallin's basket....

Kyle's basket....

Jacob's basket....yes, he wanted boxers!  Funny kid!

Jacob on Easter morning....

Brandon, showing off his new "Alto Saxophone" tie....

Kyle got a new pokemon game....

Dallin got a cool remote control helicopter....

Eric pretty much got an envelope with money in it....the perfect teenager gift!

It was a nice day and we enjoyed our time together as a family.  All of these events are going by much too quickly for my taste, but I'm trying to squeeze out every last drop of my kids' youth that I can before there's nothing left to squeeze.  I love these guys!

Happy Easter!

Family Easter Party

My sister, Wendy and her family, drove down from Vegas conference weekend and we decided to have an early Easter party.

First, we played football outside....(and by "we" I mean, Brad and the kids, while the rest of us sat on the porch and enjoyed watching them work up a sweat...my kind of party)!

Figuring out a strategy to win....

You didn't believe me, did you?  But here we are on the porch, "watching."  Notice my mom and dad both on their phones.....not to each other, of course.....Way to make the picture look good, Michelle!  :)

Wendy brought a pinata for the kids to destroy.  They had so much fun hitting it....think about all those boys getting a turn to "wack" it a good one!  This is Caleb.

Kyle was trying to beat it up with his fists....who needs a bat, when you've got Kung Fu?

Even cute Moriah got a turn, with daddy's help.

Josiah, trying to bust it open....

And Caleb....

And Joshua.....

And Kyle (this time with a stick)....

And Alexis....

And Dallin, who guess what?  He broke it open! That poor little thing didn't stand a chance against all these powerful boys!

And then the candy.....Yippee!

Then we went inside for homemade Sundaes.  We had lots of sprinkles and lots of toppings.  So fun!   Moriah got a sucker....

The beastly Sundaes being made....everyone had a great time!

Tim-Tam-Slam

Have you ever heard of the "Tim-Tam-Slam?"  Me neither, but my best friend, Loralie, taught me all about it.  Her daughter just recently returned home from an LDS mission to Australia.  Apparently Tim-Tams are famous there. 

But first.....a picture of me and Loralie.  We look like we could have been trouble makers when we were younger, but I assure you that was not (always) the case.  We had some good times, her and I, and I love her tons!

Back to the subject at hand.....Tim Tams are little chocolate-covered wafer treats, similar to the size of, I don't know, a bar of soap?.....not a very appetizing comparison, but you get the idea.

Basically you bite off a tiny corner of the cookie bar (not the soap) from each end.  It doesn't have to be a big bite.  Then you put some hot chocolate into a foam cup.  Next, stick one of the ends of the cookie into the hot drink and start sucking as if the cookie is a straw. 

You will be amazed that in a very short time, the hot chocolate will indeed be "sucked up" through the cookie and you will taste the deliciousness of the cocoa.  But don't suck too long, because in a matter of seconds the cookie will melt away and you will be left with a sticky mess in your hands.

 

As soon as that happens, quickly shove the whole cookie into your mouth.  What a treat!  It's really fun to do with teenagers too.....but, just so you know, it takes a little bit of practice. 

Now say that again.  What are we supposed to do? 

Oh yeah, take the cookie, bite a piece off of each end, then stick it into a cup of hot chocolate and suck!  It works, I promise!

See it working?  Sort-of?

Then, don't forget to shove the whole cookie into your mouth, just as it begins to melt.  Oh yeah, and you can drink the hot chocolate afterwards too.  It's a fun FHE activity.....try it!

By the way, my friend gave me the package of Tim-Tams.  She found them at Target, but I don't think they are always in stock.....I've never seen them before.....then again, I've never looked. 

 Happy Tim-Tam-Slamming!