EXCUSE MY ABSENCE

Wonder why I haven't been posting on my blog recently?  Well I have been busy making this

 and this

 and this

 and these (they're taggy blankies)

 and this

 and this

 and this sweet little number.

And there was also a trip to California to celebrate this guy's milestone birthday.

I realize now why he is still not married... he's waiting to find a woman just like me.  Good luck on that one Adam, you're going to have to lower your standards.

He was a very gracious host and I was surprised (I shouldn't have been) at his thoughtfulness (buying special food items for us to enjoy and a pristine apartment for us to stay in, it wasn't when we left). We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our trip... well minus my minor blow up in the car when someone criticized my driving.  Oh and there was a trip to San Diego one day to go here...

To all my LDS friends, this should be on your bucket list.  It was absolutely beautiful.

SUGAR AND SPICE

I was afraid that growing up in the midst of four boys, my little girl would be a tomboy.  That was a waste of time. I couldn't have asked for a more girly girl.  In fact, our neighbor used to call her his 'little pink lady'.  One day upon seeing her in a little dress that wasn't pink he commented to her that he was surprised that she didn't have any pink on.  She promptly lifted her dress to proudly show off her pink knickers.

She may not have been a tomboy but having four brothers taught her to stand up for herself.  In grade four she wrote a letter of apology to her teacher after having been caught sharing a note with a friend that included some unkind language about another girl.  She explained in the letter to the teacher that she had not learned the language at home but from the teacher herself, and in grade two after hearing that her older brother was being bullied by a rather large kid she approached the boy in the school yard and told him him "Stay away from my brother you fat b@$*#!" I didn't find it funny at the time but I laugh about it now.  That girl had moxie.

She has a really soft and tender side too, quick to give a hug when needed and always ready with a listening ear. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, and family, especially her brothers and now her husband and daughter.  She values her role as a mother and is attentive and gentle with her daughter.

She has a brilliant sense of humour and we have shared more laughs together than any mother and daughter should (that's a hint that it's often inappropriate).  

She is a smart and confident young woman and I'm proud to call her my daughter.

Happy Birthday Brittany!

WHAT FUN

I had no idea that decorating a tent for a wedding was so much work or so much fun. The joy in it came from working together as a family to create something beautiful for our only daughter/sister. It took us the better part of an afternoon to set up tables and chairs and hang lanterns but the end result was well worth the effort.

The most amusing part of the day was the phone call I received from my dear husband as he tried to purchase more fabric for the tables. I had decided early on that I would prefer one long piece of cloth to cover a row of tables rather than smaller tablecloths for each table. It ended up being much cheaper than buying tablecloths and the effect was nicer. I am now the proud owner of 25 meters of white material. At $2.50 a meter it was a fraction of the cost of the cheapest tablecloths I could find at $14. I would have needed 12 so that was a saving of over $100 dollars. Then there was the added benefit of talking my husband through the ordeal of having to go to a fabric store and finding/purchasing the appropriate material. With the help of an attentive employee at the store, he passed with flying colours and arrived home quite pleased with himself. There is hope for the man after all.

A BROTHER'S LOVE

For years he called her four nostril bum face, teased her incessantly, and kept any potential boyfriends at bay but every weekend for the last month Matthew's been working hard in our yard doing landscaping in preparation for Brittany's big day. He offered to do it and it's been a labour of love. Some days I think I have the best kids in the world, other days I know I have the best kids ever.