Nick's birthday present.....

Nick looks like a new school boy. He was so happy that his wife bought him a laptop computer for his birthday. He was surprised to know we already new about his gift when he opened up our gift and found a laptop backpack! He has three sememsters left of school. We are proud of him for his dedication. It hasn't been easy for him to balance his church calling, work, school classes, studies and a family. He announced that school will breeze by now that he has a laptop so he can do his studies anytime and anywhere.

Metal mouth, train tracks, brace face......

Ryan has a new nick name.....j/k. It's his turn to wear braces for the next two years. We've put nine kids in braces and we are finally on the last one! Ryan is a trooper. He not only will be wearing braces for the next two years, but he has a tongue crib attached that drops down from the center of the mouth to prevent him from using his front teeth when swallowing. He was anxious to get his braces on, so he can get the traditional ice cream sundae on the way back from his morning appointment.

Aesthetics girl

Aubrey has been accepted into the E.V.I.T. aesthetics program starting in August 2009. She has wanted to go into aesthestics since she was 12 years old. The program is integrated in her Junior year of high school. It is a 12 month program. We are proud of her for going forward with her goal, doing the application work and staying on track with her school studies.

What's up with that?

Okay, my posts are getting far and few between. My camera and computer are not cooperating with me. I'm having trouble uploading my photo's. It's no fun to post without any pictures. I've got to catch up on the happenings around here. Let's see -- Ryan is wearing braces now, Aubrey got accepted into the aesthetics program in Mesa for her Junior year, Jessica made State in the Cosmetology Regional Skills Conference, Steve had a birthday and Michelle is looking forward to seeing us this weekend up in Provo. Hopefully, I can play catch up with the photos when we return from our Utah trip.

BYU-I!

On February 18, I checked my email around midnight. BYU had sent a decision about Jessica's status. Jessica was asleep for the night, but I knew she would be way excited. So I went to wake her up, but she just rolled over. It wasn't a surprise to find out she got accepted, but it was nice to see it in print. Michelle decided to transfer back to BYU-I, for a semester, just to be with her sister. I can't believe we'll only have two children living at home soon. Time goes by so fast and before you know it the kids are getting married, off to college and missions and you become empty-nesters. The blessing of it all is grandchildren. We have 8 of them now. Two new ones born this year: Ty and Creed. We have two grand-daughters and six grand-sons! It would be so fun to get all of them together!

Happy Valentine's Day.......

According to legend, Valentine's Day originated in the Medieval Era when the Catholic Saint Valentine, a priest at the time, refused the Roman Emperor's law ordering young men to remain single. The priest Valentine secretly performed marriages, but was found out and thrown into prison. The night before he was executed, he wrote the very first "valentine," giving it to a young woman believed to be his love. The note read, "From your Valentine," and thus began the celebration of love. So............I hope all of you sent your love a Valentine to carry on the tradition and to let those that you love know how much you appreciate them.

Valentine Treats

I discovered chocolate covered cinnamon bears last year. I've been craving for them lately and didn't want to wait until April to go to BYU women's conference to buy them in the bookstore. I mean, how hard can they be to make? Well, I made them today and have almost eaten half of them. So I quickly made a fun pretzel treat. An idea that I got from my friend. Maybe my kids won't notice that I ate so many chocolate bears.