Baby Hyrum's Blessing

Right after the reception on Saturday, we ran home and changed into our PJs and then drove to Rexburg. We got there around 1 a.m. The blessing was at 9:30 in the morning, so we thought it'd be better going the night before.

The blessing was beautifully done--Ty's brother, Chad, is so humble and thoughtful in his words. I tell ya--Hyrum is one lucky boy--he has two fabulous parents. We had such a nice time with the whole family there--Redge and Cyndee came clear from North Carolina. It's the first time we've met their new baby--Emma. I love the picture of Chandler kissing Great Grandma Lois--priceless!!

Thanks everyone for such a good weekend--good food, great company, fun times, and two sweet new babies to celebrate.

David and Laci's Wedding Reception

The happy couple:

Table centerpieces:

Laci's bridal bouquet:

The cake table (before the cake got there):

Laci and her flower girls:

The whole family (Chandler is asleep on Ty's shoulder--poor thing)

My little brother (well, younger anyway, he's not very little) got married a couple of weeks ago in the Bountiful, Utah LDS temple. Then last Saturday we had thier reception. He and his wife are both from Rupert, Idaho. Laci's dad is Senator Dean Cameron. So they sent out almost 900 invitations. The reception was well-attended at over 300 guests.

I got to do the flowers for it (thats what I have a college degree in--floral design, for those who didn't know). It was fun, but also a little stressful. The flowers ended up being delayed in Memphis, Tennessee because of weather, so when we got them, we had a few complications. The lilies were not opened up at all and so we put them in a bucket of warm water in the bathroom, then filled the bathtub with hot water to create some steam. They opened up some. Then we let them sit in front of the open oven for a while, and in front of my sunny sliding glass door. We only had 24 hours from the time we got them till the reception. The roses were a lot darker blue, but they lightened up once we got them in water and hydrated them. The wax flower we ordered was supposed to be white, and it was 2/3 PINK. Pink and white are WAY different colors when you're talking about matching colors for a wedding. Her colors were black, turquoise, silver, and white. NO PINK. Anyway, we just ended up pulling off all the pinker blooms and buds, and I think it ended up looking okay. My mom says I shouldn't tell people that and they'd never notice. Anyhow, I really do think it all turned out well in the end. It was fun to do.

I also want to congratulate Laci and David--I am so excited for them. David sure is lucky--he got a great gal!! I think she's fantastic, and couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law---she's a real sweetheart. Plus Laci's whole family is great, which is so important. We've really enjoyed rubbing shoulders withthe. Ironically, Laci's mom works at the same school as Ty's mom, too, and she speaks highly of them also.

Valentines Cookies

Our neighbors, the Hinckley's, invited us and a couple others over a few days ago to decorate Valentines cookies. We had snacks and the kids decorated their heart cookies, then played for a while and us moms sat and talked. It was fun, and the cookies were yummy.

Pinky-pie is loved.

I think our cat, Pinky-pie is one of the most loved and best cared for animals in the world. Marissa is constantly holding her, playing with her, feeding her, and worrying about her. And Pink eats it all up!! She's one lucky kitty. She has more than quadrupled her size since we got her. She is getting huge!! Chandler loves her a lot too, which is good since he used to have quite a complex about animals. He is not a single bit scared of her any more. She has been the funnest pet we've had. she's snuggly and purrs like a well-oiled motor. Yup, we all love her. Don't tell anyone I said it, but she's almost like a member of the family...I can't believe I said that out loud. I've always been kinda a pet critic, I guess. But I will say even though we love her, she stays OUTSIDE--see, I'm not a fanatic yet.

Mister Snowman

Ty's sister, Shay, gave the kids an adorable snowman kit for Christmas. We've been waiting for good snowman snow. We finally tried it out, although the snow wasn't very sticky, so our snowman was pretty small. The kids were nonetheless thrilled. They loved it so much they were kissing it. Funny kids. It was fun, though--thanks Shay!!

Gettin' ready for Valentines Day

I saw this cute project on Martha Stewart, so the kids and I decided to try our hand at it. They are lolli-pop flowers. We made them for neighbors, Missy's class, and family. They're super easy.
You use the color of lolli-pop you want for the flower center--we did red and pink for valentines. Then you can use paper hearts or silk flower petals, punch or snip a hole in the end of each and slide at least 4 up each stick. Then cut out leaves (it worked well to fold the paper in half like you are cutting 2 out at a time, and then don't cut clear through one end, so it wraps around the lollipop stick and matches up good). Write your message on the leaves, then hot glue beneath the petals to hold them up in place.

Locks of Love

Marissa and I decided to cut our hair and donate it to locks of love. It is an organization that will take your hair and turn it into a wig for people who get sick and lose their hair. You have to cut at least 10 inches. We both did just barely 10. I think whoever gets Marissa's hair is going to be lucky--her hair is the perfect shade of coveted platinum blonde, plus it's super thick, wire straight, and coarse. Mine was layered, so it wasn't nearly as good. Oh, well. We both like our hair for a fun change. I cut bangs--they've been a big adjustment since I haven't had them for almost 10 years (that makes me feel old!!). I forgot to take pix of it, but I'm sure you'll see our new do's in subsequent posts.

Frosty Wonderland

A few days ago we had so much frost that it looked like snow on everything. It was over an inch thick. I was trying out my new camera and got some cool shots. The picture of the chain is our chain rain gutter coming off our roof.