A Taste of the Islands...

Brought home some coconut syrup and macadamia nuts from Maui. This morning, I enjoyed making Hawaiian pancakes for my girls. Did you know it is national pancake day today? Whatever that means. I figured this would be a yummy way to celebrate.

A Gift from Alli

Alli knows how much I love flowers. She gave me this potted flower bulb for Christmas and I decided to start growing it so that I would have a gorgeous flower for Valentines. Well, usually there is only one stalk. This time we got lucky and have two stalks with 2-3 flowers on each one. I have loved watching it bloom. Thanks again - Alli!

BYU Basketball with Friends

We had a great night at the game and it's always awesome when BYU wins! Each of us had our estimate of what the score spread would be and Derek guessed BYU by 12. Well, he got it and won the prize. We are with our friends The Morgans and The Becks - fun people!

Classic Roller Skating

The roller skating activity for young women's was a blast!

It's so good for these kids to see what our activities were like in the 70's and 80's.

Every year when our family would visit from California, my mom would call our Utah friends and plan a roller skating day/night. Usually we would go to Wheels on Highland Dr. (it's not there anymore) but, I have really fond memories of that. I remember the Buehlers, Taylors, the Johnsons coming. I wonder if there was anyone else?

Ice Skating Rink to Ourselves!

We now know that if you go to the Gallivan Center at 4:00pm (right when they open) on a random Monday, you most likely will get to have the entire rink all to yourself! The ice was perfectly smooth too and as we skated for the first 20 minutes we could hear the ice cracking beneath us. It felt like we were on a frozen pond.

 

Grandma stayed inside with Brynlee. She held her, sang to her and pushed her in the stroller as they both watched us skate through the window.

 Chris met us here after work. Kayli was extra happy!

 

What a fun skating formation. Chris pulled us all around the rink a few times!

 Jensen and Quincee came too. It's so fun to see that they are enjoying married life together!

It's appearant everyone had such a good time today. We'll have to come back again...

Super Bowl with Super Family!!

Spicy Chili in the pot hot and ready for company to arrive. Derek loves to make this every year!

Brynlee and Kayli looked so cute in their matching dresses. Brynlee's little smile lights up the room!

Everett is showing his artistic skills on Lexi's ipad. He drew a great self-portrait. He seemed to have all the girls attention on him verses the game.

Jake and Lexi - These two will always be the best of friends! I have enjoyed watching them over the last 10+ years...

Edison, Mary, Grandma Judith, Brynlee, Tesha and Harrison

The serious football watchers gathered downstairs!

It seemed like a total blowout for a Falcon win in the first half, but then the Patriots came through to tie the score in the 4th quarter and then win again in overtime!

In between watching, Jake and Chris were heavily involved in a game of intense ping pong.

This is where it's at every Sunday night for these two. They have had mounds of practice time over the past year.

Everett keeps drawing for fun!

These two look so cute together - 2 months apart in age, but a big difference in height and weight right now.

During the halftime show, we were more entertained with these awesome dance moves by these three cute boys!

 The babies were stealing the show this year. Everyone wanted to take turns holding them.

 Sara and Everett play a duet of sorts on the piano...

Brynlee, Tesha, Jake and Harrison. It's so great to have these people around!

 Cutest littlest guy around and a tiny football that looks almost as big as he is!

 Cute Henry liked this football because it was just his size!

 It seemed as if these two already know how to do some of the football referee calls. Their 1st super bowl and they seemed to enjoy the party together!

 Cute moms with adorable babies! Fun for Brynlee to have a little cousin close to her age and welcome to the family Tesha!

 Brynlee's new trick is shoving her fingers and whole fists in her mouth. It's something to do. She looks like she is trying to whistle...It's a dream to have this cute little sweetheart around the house!

I had to include this fun little illustration that Lexi did while she was here watching the game. She is so talented and I enjoy following her instagram to see what she comes up with. 

And speaking of final scores, the Patriots won 34-28. Madi predicted this exact score in her AP US History class, so she got extra credit of 10 points. We might need to take her to Vegas!

Such a Happy Day!

It has been almost 8 years since Amy lost her husband Dan (March 2009).  Eight years is a long time, especially when raising a family all on your own. Amy has been faithful and diligent in caring for her children as a single mom. Fortunately, she was blessed with supportive families that have helped her along the way. I still have questions as to why Dan was taken so young. We have talked about this almost every time I get together with Amy.  I know she misses him, but she knows that Heavenly Father has a plan for her.

Max and Amy Moody

Today was such a happy day!! These two were married and it was a wonderful ceremony. Amy's bishop and good friend married them. He gave some great advice to the new couple and to Amy's kids. He noted that even Jesus had a step-dad and Jesus loved both of his Dad's so much. This is a perspective I hadn't really thought about before. I am thrilled for my beautiful friend! Max is a good man. Time has a way to heal the heartache in our hearts and I'm so happy these two found each other!

Derek and I loved being part of the wedding and luncheon to celebrate! It was so wonderful to visit with both of Amy and Dan's extended family!