Sweets to the Sweet!

We hope your Valentine's Day was fun! We enjoyed being together and saying "I love you" in little ways. Steve and I swapped babysitting with some friends in the ward watching theirs the night before so we were able to get out for a movie and dinner that evening. Ah, love that rare treat! By the way the girls thoroughly relished the wonderful Valentine surprises sent by Grandmas and Grandpas!

"Hair Cuts for the Lot!"

Name that movie!
We were all in need of a hair cut. I cut Steve's last week and finally (it's been over 6 months) got my own trimmed. Then I hesitated over what to do about the girls. I debated doing it myself a few days then finally decided that at least this time it was worth going to a salon. The girls were excited to get their hair cut -especially Lexi who had decided she wanted a short "do" like Mom's.

This place (called Cookie Cutters) specializes in children. They got to pick a movie to watch, sit in a way cool plane or car of their choice and after they were all done they got a balloon with a sucker and snowman cookie cutter attached. A very pleasant experience.

The end results... both look darling with much healthier tresses :).

Valentine Cookie Fun?

So,... I have discovered that when choosing to double a recipie one must be extra catious while doling out the ingredients -especially when one has "prego brain". Otherwise you just might end up putting in 4 times the amount of sugar thinking of the amount of flour called for. Then so it's not a complete waste and so you don't feel like too big an idiot you end up quadrupelling the whole recipie, an insane amount of sugar cookie dough and half your day shot! On top of that when you finally do get around to baking the cookies -if you tried a new recipie be prepared for the first two batches to be a melted together disaster.
Optional lessons to be learned:
1. New recipies are only to be tried in very minimal quantities.

2. Baking is an increadible waste of time /energy and should at least be cheated at with premade dough (especially when prego).

3. Just because a friend may say a recipie is good doesn't make it so.

4. The old addage "Measure twice, cut once" can /should apply to recipies as "Read twice, measure once" or whatever you want it to translate to.

Despite the madness, the girls thoroughly enjoyed playing little bakers with plenty of sampling of course, and since that was the point I guess the event was a succuss after all :).

9 Years Later!

The year was 2000 -early spring -the hour around 5:30am. My mission companion was jogging in circles around the culdesac where our apartment was while I (too lazy that early in the morning to join her) sat in a lawn chair wrapped in a blanket reading/ watching her. No I didn't mind getting up even sooner than required for missionaries because Hermana Vranes was the coolest companion ever! If we were climbing a steep hill (and there were lots of them in the mountains of Puerto Rico where we were serving) and I was getting tuckered out -she would tell me to grab onto her top backpack strap which she called "The Rains of Vranes" and continue to lug me up the hill. Ever positive and full of energy -we had a blast together.

A year later she was one of my bridesmaids, and yesterday I finally enjoyed the privilege of attending a bridal shower for her. Also in attendance was our beloved mission president's wife Darla Davies (who happens to be in my stake). While together we began plans for a mission reunion this April. It will be my first! Although Deb (Hna. Vranes) is getting married in San Diego (her fiance is Blair Carlson is from Escondido) I'm too prego to travel to the wedding. So I look forward to meeting Blair at the reunion.

P.S. Mark -if you're reading this- Deb Vranes has a younger sister serving a mission in Texas that gets home this April :D.

Random Wierdness

Our Lexi bug has this relatively mild disorder. For example today at Costco while standing in line to order lunch Alexis took off to my left I assumed to look at the large poster adds for carpet and blinds. When I concluded we would have the hot dogs I glanced over to see what she was doing then to the shock of the lady behind me busted out laughing. I think it was the add for the blinds that had a woman model in the lower left corner looking off to the right. Lexi (still in her navy jumper school uniform) had positioned herself exactly in front of the model in exactly the same way with a contemplative look and her hand on her chin. I hollered, "Kid -you are random!" She sure does enjoy being silly! Sure wish I had my camera!

Here we go! December in review...

Some of you found our blog during it's construction phase (okay I'm still working on it)which meant you probably visited and said, "Huh???" as there was not a single post to be found. Sorry -sorry! As you all know it was a busy month, but now that I have a few moments to catch my breath, well, truthfully because I've oficially sent the invite to check us out, I'm finally trying to figure out how to make our first entry. Hope I can make this blog interesting for you -so many of yours are such an entertaining experience. Thought I'd initially sumarize our last month. Well, enjoy :D!

Alexis' dance recital at "The Festival of Trees" where they perform each year. Afterwards we enjoyed some fudge together and many of the trees -my favorite being...

this one :).

Christmas Eve I had the pleasure of reliving from my childhood. My parents flew up and were with us as well as Mark and we joined the Packard family in the area at J.D. and Tiffany's. We devoured a wonderful feast, sang Christmas songs, performed a nativity (Alexis was Mary and Micaela volunteered to be baby Jesus :D), did the cousin gift exchange (the girls each opened a gift from us -cozy robes) and Santa even dropped us a line. Once home we designated our hiding places and did a practice run to be ready for Santa in the morning. It was a true delight watching my children experience Christmas the way I did growing up and remembering the excitement.

Santa brought a sled and this was its maiden voyage. Our neighbors the Shmidts took us to a great hill. Of course the kids took to it like fish to water. We couldn't even keep up with Micaela.

It was a great year end!