The Goobies Photo 2010

I've been looking at this photo for weeks on my desktop. It makes me smile every time I see it. I love Kai's face, Gaby's girliness, Noah's total comfort level, and B's attempt at a smile. And Meg and Spencer just look good and happy. I think this photo captured a moment in time that will make me smile for years to come.

Meg had a great photographer in the valley do the photo shoot. Her business is called Captured by Mikki.  Check out the other photos from the photo shoot on her blog.

Introducing Miss Celia

This little darling is baby Celia. She joins 4 older siblings, is greatly loved by all and is as sweet and delicious  as she looks

I love babies. And the more babies join the family (and baby Celia is #21) the more my heart explodes with L-O-V-E. I can't believe how much each new baby splits me wide open with excitement and joy. And that love doesn't diminish any of the sweetness and delight I have in any of the other 20 n&ns that I still get to enjoy. I feel so, so lucky to have so many of them around. I know the parenting gig can be a tough one but I appreciate so much all of my siblings and their spouses and their willingness to be parents because the rewards for me as an auntie? They are incomparable.

In the meantime, check out my sister-in-law Cissy's blog where she shares more about this little sweetheart. And sit and stay for a spell. I love perusing Cissy's writing because she has such writerly way about her and knows how to tell a story simply and well.

Meanwhile, I'm planning my next opportunity to stop by and give little Celia another cuddle. 

Queens of the Dance

I'm "borrowing" most of this post wholesale from my darling niece Abby who writes on a private blog at http://babsaroni.blogspot.com. She is such a creative teenager who loves music and words and is poised to conquer the world with her gifts someday soon.

Tonight though she just made me LAUGH when she pulled out a video from this summer that features two of her aunts dancing for National Dance Day (inspired by the show So You Think You Can Dance). What do you think of the talent these two display?

These are Abby's words on the subject:

This is my FAVE video that my Aunt Julie (Brown hair) and my Aunt Cassie (Blonde hair) made. I'm suprised it only has 67 views. But I know we can get it to thousands... :)

Let's make Abby's dream come true by getting them more airtime and see if you don't bubble over with their crazy fun while you are watching. :)

Ladies at Lunch

A week ago, my mom invited my sisters and sisters-in-law to lunch at a new restaurant in town called La Jolla Groves. We went on a Thursday afternoon when the place was bustling and full of women, women, women. It was a beautiful, sunshine-filled spot with a delectable menu full of scrumptious selections. It seemed everyone was in bright colors and had big smiles. It was just a lovely afternoon. If I was a lady of leisure it is something I would want to do every week--enjoy an excellent lunch with good friends.

After lunch was over, I was the first to leave and as I walked out, I realized just how much I love all the women at that table. These are good women, filled with light, hard workers who make careful, deliberate decisions about family, home, education, ambition and future. These are women who love deeply and care whole-heartedly about their husbands, children, family and friends. They are accomplished, educated women with bright minds and immense talents. They are women who pray and serve and study the gospel. They have a vast array of gifts and skills and interests and yet they take the time to come together as family to help and bless each other. I feel so, so lucky to have them in my life.

I have two native sisters of my own who I love and adore and the sisters-in-law add a bevy of beautiful, gifted women that make me feel like they all have my back. I know that we had lunch in a gorgeous location with linen napkins and marble floors and I appreciated that beauty. But the joy that welled up inside of me came because of the goodness of these women who I sat and ate with, who I share my life with, who I've spent countless hours with at the family dinner table on Sundays. I've watched them all work and love and pray through good times and bad ones. They are good and fine people and I feel lucky to know them.

Thank you to my sisters, my friends.

Highlights from November 2009

Again, I'm doing a short recap of the events that marked my month as most of it seemed to pass in a blur. The photos help me clarify what stood out during this month.

B's birthday. What made this day such a big deal was the fact that the little tyke had been talking about his birthday for no less than six months. He was SO EXCITED. It could not be contained.

Cissy and I driving to SLC to see the Pioneer Woman at The King's English Bookshop. We were some of the last people to get in to hear her speak and this photo was my best attempt after aiming over the heads of the crowd.

PW got done speaking around 7:30PM and Cissy and I headed across the street for dinner. We had a numbered place in line and we knew we had a long wait ahead of us. So, we got to try out this darling little bistro called The Paris. Love the name and loved the food. They serve organic and locally raised fresh foods and it was delicious. We warmed ourselves with pumpkin butternut soup and I had The Paris Salad with red d'anjou pears, goat cheese, maple-glazed pecans and a honey vinaigrette. So yummy!

This is Pioneer Woman's sister-in-law Missy who she raves about often on her site. Missy spent her time taking photos of all of us and chatting. Also, as Cissy and I were freezing outside in the line, we ran into PW's mother-in-law and spent about a half an hour talking to her about Oklahoma, ranching life and the book tour. Both women were down to earth, relaxed and happy. It was great fun to spend some time with them.

It took us three hours to get to this fateful spot of finally meeting the Pioneer Woman. Bless her heart, can you imagine what it must of been like on her side of that desk? To spend a few minutes with women and have photo after photo taken and to sign book after book? It must have been exhausting. We were so excited to meet her though and happy we had waited. I'm so glad that Cissy wanted to go too. It made for a great night for both of us and I had so much fun with her.

This is after one of our regular Sunday dinners. I call this one "The Quorum." There was something about all of those white shirts standing together laughing and teasing each other with my two nephews joining in on the fun that just squeezed my heart. My brothers are good men and I see them modeling how to be good men and good fathers to my nephews and it gives me goosebumps. Love all these boys!

Maxwell and Jorgen who are both getting so tall that they are reminding me of my brothers at this same age.

My three older brothers: Rus, Adam holding baby Liv, and Ric. Love this trio.

Papa Bear relaxing after dinner. He taught all of us his rock solid values and core goodness. I love seeing my brothers emulate those gifts.

That is just a taste of some of what made up my November. It was a month to be thankful for many things and recording it here helps me be grateful once again.

Group Laughter

This is from a few weeks ago after Sunday dinner at Matt and Cissy's house. Most of the crew were watching the trailer for the movie Year One and getting a kick out of it. This is what makes them laugh and I can say that half the reason we all are cracking up is watching each other crack up. That and similar little sideline comments like the one that Rus inserted on my last post.
"I believe 'liminal space' is the whole area inside the outer crust of a key lime pie. I know, I'm good with words."

18 Things I Wish I'd Known before I Went to College

For Cassie's 18th birthday, I wrote a list of things I wish I had known before I went to college. Cassie actually starts college this summer so I thought I could share a few points of insight with her. Good or bad these are things I learned through trial and error and offered to share with her. I'm sure I've missed some great insights, so what would you add to this list? What would have made a difference for you when you first left home and started college? What do you wish you had taken advantage of as a freshman? Or what habit made a great difference for you in college? 

I'd love for you to add to my list and give Cassie a smattering of our collected wisdom. 

1.     Never, never, never take a 7AM class. You will never wake up for it and you will hate yourself all semester long for signing up for it. For that matter, I wouldn’t even take an 8AM class but some people are just gluttons for punishment. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.


2.     Watch the class load your first semester. Don’t exceed more than 12 hours your first semester. It takes a while to adjust to the demands and rigors of college and you will only do yourself a favor if you keep the class load manageable your first year. Juggling school, work, social life, homework, church responsibilities, life skills, and family time takes a gigantic learning curve so cut yourself a bit of slack in the education department your first time around.


3.     Life skills matter. Things like cooking meals, doing your laundry, cleaning your house, maintaining a car and tracking your finances. They are the kind of things that have to be done every day and make your life painful and unhappy if they aren’t done. Just succumb to their reality and do them every day and you will save yourself a lot of angst and worry later because you’ve already mastered the essentials.


4.     Actually learn how to make your bed—every day. This sounds insane but at some point you will leave college, enter the real world and hopefully get married and have kids. Learning to make your bed now will just lighten the load. If you learn to make your bed every day then you grow accustomed to having a neat bed. If your bed is neat, you will pick up your clothes too. If your clothes are picked up then your bedroom will be clean. And then you won’t want the bathroom to look like trash, so you will keep it picked up. Bed-making and dishwashing are two habits that begin to breed cleanliness in your life. And when you suddenly don’t have Mom the-most-amazingly-clean-woman-in-America around anymore to clean up after you, you will wish you could invent her robotic double to come and live with you permanently because cleanliness is never so easy as it is when you live within the walls of her home. And it never will be again. TRUST ME. So, do yourself a favor and start picking up the cleanliness habit.


5.     You have to earn money in order to spend it.  This was a concept I understood in theory but it took a long time to put into practice. You have to buy things like your own laundry detergent and your own toilet paper and your own ketchup. That takes some getting used to. No more is your money just spent on clothes or entertainment or fun. Now you have to buy things to make your little household run and pay tuition and buy really expensive books that you will cart around for the next ten years before you marshal the guts to toss them. It is so hard to adjust to the realities of living on your own and paying your own way and then to find that you have to buy superfluous things like milk and bread with the very little funds you have at your disposal which will make you want to weep sometimes. So, get a job. Yes, even get a job on campus. And really, really pray that this education thing will pay off because you don’t ever want to work for so little money ever again.


6.     Sleeping is not optional. The fun will be almost nonstop. Plus there will always be a big test to study for, a huge paper to write or a really deep conversation that needs to take place with someone. That is all in addition to the one million other things that need to take place each day. Sleep is almost always the first thing to go with a packed schedule. Don’t succumb though. Don’t believe that cutting yourself out of a few hours of sleep is not a big deal. It is. Sleep will make a major difference in your mood, your outlook, your intellect and your energy level. Sleep is the easiest thing to chuck when your stress level rises and your schedule is overflowing. If you hold on to sleep now, you will learn how to do stress and do a busy life while still getting enough sleep. Plus you will be perkier and happier and much more pleasant to be around. Sleep is not overrated.


7.     Learn how to pack your own lunch. It will save you money, it will save you time and it will save your health. I would have saved so much more money in college if I learned this skill earlier. Plus, I would have been healthier. If you anticipate your need for food, you will prepare healthier and better food than you can grab when you are on the go and starving. Plus, you will learn how to feed yourself and not depend on vending machines or fast food to fuel your body. They both do a terrible job at it. Learning, studying and playing take energy and with little money at your disposal packing your lunch just makes sense all around.


8.     Saying “no” is often the nicest thing you can do. The boys will be plentiful and good-looking. The big change with college is that most of them will be strangers to you. And just because they are at BYU and LDS doesn’t mean that they are great people. You will come across some stellar duds on the social scene. You may even come across some scary ones. Never say “yes” just to be nice or because someone keeps asking you out. This is where your gut and the Spirit really matter. Learn to trust how you feel. If some guy makes you feel funny—even the slightest bit—tell him “No.” The sooner he leaves the better. Learning to say “No” is really the nicest thing you can do for yourself and him.


9.     Do all the crazy freshman activities that are offered. Go tunnel singing. Hike the Y. Participate in Freshman Academy. Play an intramural sport. Go ice blocking. You will make amazing friends in college and sometimes the way you will meet them is through doing all the crazy stuff that is offered. If you start taking advantage of every opportunity as a freshman you will get in the mode of doing whatever fun things that cross your path and you will meet great people along the way. Plus, you will pick up a habit that will help you meet new people throughout the rest of your college career. Don’t hold back. Just go for it.


10.  Smile at everyone, just don’t talk about it in testimony meeting. A smile helps you feel warm, friendly and approachable and it helps you open your eyes to potential friends around you. Smiling will help you look up and look on the bright side too. Just don’t talk about how smiling changed your life or someone else’s in testimony meeting. Let every other freshman in your ward do that for you.


11.  Talk to your professors. They are in the business of learning and they will help guide you through the labyrinth of academic life with great insight. Learn how to make friends with your professors and visit them during office hours. They will be some of the greatest people in your corner.


12.  Do the honors program if you have the guts. The Great Works list alone in the Honors program will elevate your mind. Honors requires extra reading and research with a professor but it will put in some of the top classes on campus with some of the best and brightest minds available. This will hone your skills and your mind as you prepare for the future. It will take some work too. At least take some time to consider it. You won’t be sorry.


13.  Grades do matter. You don’t know what the future holds for you. You may be perfectly happy with your major and the direction you choose now but ten years down the road you may decide to go to graduate school and suddenly that transcript from college is going to look awfully important.


14.  Invest in a really good backpack. You will be carrying a lot of heavy books around campus for the next few years. A good backpack will save you as you walk hundreds of miles each week across campus. Then wear both straps on your shoulders. It will save you many a backache.


15.  Ask questions. Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question (although I can’t promise that you won’t feel stupid asking some questions). Just get over it now. The only way to get anywhere in life is to learn how to ask great questions and the only way to do that is to learn how to ask some really bad questions in the process. Questions open up your mind and heart to truth. Are you ready for it?


16.  Expand your cultural horizons. Spend a night at the BYU Planetarium. Go to every free exhibit at the Museum of Art. Attend free recitals and concerts. Go to International Cinema. Go on study abroad. Learn another language. You will never have so many free and discounted cultural activities right at your fingertips as you do in college. Take advantage. Listen the Men’s Chorus in person. Watch a ballroom dance competition. Soak up any horizon-expanding experience you can. 


17.  Call your parents. They love you and want to know what is happening in your life. They are also a wealth of information, common sense and life experience. You will start to see how truly wise they really are as they help you navigate these first years of adulthood. Just remember to say “I love you” every time and don’t forget to thank them often. They won’t ever tire of hearing it.


18.  Write it down. These experiences will never come again and you will be able to relive them if you write it down. Even if it is one sentence a day, it will help. A journal can hold your secrets, listen to your heart and help you find your voice. Write it all down. You will be amazed at the life you lived when you look back over it one day. 

She's Growing Up

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that these are Cassie's senior photos that Megan took. She's quite the photographer.

My baby sister graduated from high school last week. I can barely believe it. She was born when I was a teenager and she was a baby that was wanted and hoped for and prayed for in our family. 

My dad went to law school when he was forty years old and when I was just starting junior high. My parents had seven children when they went back to school and they had very busy lives. I remember though begging my mom to have another baby. I had one sister but I wanted another and in my naivete, I just assumed that all mom and dad had to do was decide to have another baby. I didn't understand how much another child adds loads of responsibility and time and care to their lives. 

Shortly after Dad graduated from law school, I had a birthday. A couple of weeks before my birthday, my mom started laying hints for me about what an incredible birthday present she had for me. As a teenager, my mind went a bit wild. What was I getting? A car? Some furniture? A bunch of new clothes? I was so convinced that this present was really big that I wouldn't go out to the garage for a couple of weeks just in case I stumbled upon my fabulous little red convertible that Mom and Dad were stashing away for me in there. 

A few days before my birthday I was home sick from school. Some time that day my mom came in to my room and told me she couldn't take it any longer and she was going to give me my birthday present early. Then she told me she was six weeks pregnant. 

I burst into tears I was so happy. 

The following June, Cassie joined our family. She was the eighth child, the third girl and so, so wanted. We were all so thrilled with her arrival. She's been a joy and a pleasure since then. I know she gets a hard time because she is the youngest and she didn't grow up on the farm or suffer through the hard years of law school and Dad's early years as an attorney. But I think she is only teased about that because they can't find anything else to tease her about. What would we do without Cassie? Mom says she has kept them young and full of life and vigor. I say aren't we lucky?

Happy Birthday, baby sister. 

May Days

Flowers that my sweet sister and brother-in-law gave me for Mother's Day. I'm an auntie who loves all her little people and these made my heart sing. Thank you. 

I've been out of commission for a week, mostly sleeping. I know I'm not feeling well when eating is too big of a hurdle to climb. It simply becomes a chore and I would rather not. Mostly I slept and slept and slept some more. I'm feeling much better now and glad to have my energy back. What a true treasure it is!

I downloaded a few photos from happenings over the last month and wanted to share. So, enjoy the small photo tour. 

MAY BIRTHDAYS

Tami and Rus have the same birthday so we had birthday cakes for each of them and celebrated. 

I don't know who set up the candles on Rus's cake but somebody was having fun. 

Rus, of course, had to warm his hands by the flame created from all those candles. 

I hope it was a good birthday. 

May is a very, very big birthday month for us. In one week we have Brock's birthday and anniversary, Granddad's birthday (gone but not forgotten), Grandma J's birthday (gone but not forgotten), and Rus and Tami's birthdays. Plus throw Mother's Day in there and that week always feels very full. 

And there are still more birthdays coming later in the month!

THE GIRLS' WEEKEND

The girls of the family (except Cassie, the graduating senior, and Julie who lives five hours away) spent a weekend up at a condo about a half an hour up the canyon. We had a great time even though it was a quick little trip. The purpose of the trip was a chance to talk about redroko.com. Meg, Julie, Cissy and Michelle are the core leaders for that blog and the rest of us like to believe we are the first followers. So, we had a great chat about the website and then lots of chats about other things as well. 

I, somehow, got to sleep in this very pretty king size bed that night. Ummmm, yeah, that was fun. Do you know how big this kind of bed is? I planted myself right in the middle of the bed and sank into bliss. I felt like a princess. The other princesses slept in the four other beds in the other two bedrooms. 

Michelle loved me sitting in front of her trying to get a good shot. The sun was coming in right behind her in the window and I was having a difficult time. Four days later she would deliver a new baby. 

Meg also barely put up with my little photo shoot. (And note to Meg: This is a good photo. I want brownie points for NOT posting the photo you didn't like, which I liked. I will just say that since you so delicately threatened me with death I decided to not chance it.)

Cissy and Meg in full conversation mode. I think we stayed up until midnight just getting a good chat in. 

And dinner. Michelle's sister, Lauren, is here visiting to help out Michelle with the new baby so she came with us and I think had a good time. (l to r: Lauren, Michelle, Tami, Mom, Jenny, Cissy, Meg)

CASSIE'S SEMINARY GRADUATION

Baby sister is growing up! She will be eighteen in a few weeks and is graduating from high school. I can barely believe it. My parents will officially be empty nesters in a few short months. 

BABY LIV'S ARRIVAL

This sweet little munchkin showed up last week and put a smile on everyone's faces. In this photo she is just over 24 hours old. Sweet, sweet baby. 

Michelle seemed amazingly energetic and alert after her birth. She also had her own birthday just four days after Liv's arrival. They spent it laying low and letting little Liv hang out on those funky lights they have to sleep on when they have jaundice. 

And this little peach kept everyone smiling as she protectively watched over the new baby and reminded anyone who held her "That's Mama's baby." Yes, the protective older sister streak has arrived with a vengeance. She gets very distressed if baby sister is out of her or Mama's eyesight. 

Thankfully, Auntie Lauren and Grandma Sue know how to keep her busy and preoccupied. Lucky little girl. 

What a great May so far!

The Ides of March: Photo Time

It's picture time here at Eden's Garden. My memory card was too full and scanning back through the photos over the past month, I've remembered several events that made me smile, so I thought I would share.

First, Katy and I went to the ballet Madame Butterfly back in February. The ballet was gorgeous, detailed and spectacular--everything I expect from the fine company to the north which is why we made the trek in the first place. I like to dip my toes in the cultural waters and see if I can get anything to stick. We even took this photo--illegally. The nice lady usher came up and told us this several times as we kept trying to snap a photo of ourselves with my camera and then with my cell phone. Both times we were encouraged to put away such devices as what we were doing was rather naughty. Apparently the management is rather frightened that we might end up taking a photo of something more important than the little, squished chairs we were crammed into up on the balcony. 

So, this was the best photo of the lot and one that made me laugh as I remembered the dinner that Katy and I had gorged on just shortly before and the smoking oven that resulted. We had roast chicken and my new favorite broccoli recipe and somewhere in there my little oven did its ritual bout of smoking profusely because of a pool of oil that had collected on the bottom of the oven. I'm learning that yes, I have to clean it more often. Katy just said that it didn't seem she and I could have a really spectacular meal unless a fire was involved somewhere along the way. 

Which is exactly why the two of us are friends. She gets me. 

Second in my stock of photos was this one from Dad's birthday earlier this month. Mom made another delicious cake and even went so far as to collect all 63 candles needed to celebrate Dad's age appropriately. 

Resulting in this rather exciting fireworks display that left some of the wee ones entirely entranced. And most of us big ones as well. 

And if we are being honest, I'm sure it left Dad himself a bit stunned. I never seem to be able to wrap my head around how old I'm getting so I imagine it only gets worse with age when you feel young and totally yourself on the inside but you start to realize that age and evidence are collecting on the outside after seeing a lighting display like the one shown. 

I hope it was a happy birthday, Dad, despite the rather bright reminder of your years. I'm lucky to have you and lucky you have allowed me the space and honesty to be myself--even braving the ride with me. I'm not sure you will ever know quite how much it means to me that you've stayed in my corner despite the ups and downs. Love you and all your years of collected wisdom and humanity. 

Here's another lucky little girl with her daddy. She has him completely wrapped up in her happiness and joy. I think there is nothing quite as tender as seeing your big, tough brothers turn into the fathers of little girls. They endure pink and princesses and even pouting because these little girls reach in and twist their hearts in a way just no other person can. And the heart-melting goodness of it never gets old. 

Nor does my desire to keep taking photos of those wee ones and their cohorts--the little boys. This one, who calls me "E'ee" and kisses me with gallons of love each time I see him, has me entirely wrapped around his finger. A position that I am unwilling to surrender any time soon. Because those kisses and that particular lilt to his voice when he calls my name makes life entirely too delicious. I just don't know how all you parents do it in the world of everyday life. I would gnaw on him full-time if I had access to him 24/7. And then his brother and sister enter the room and I'm a goner again. And don't even get me started on being surrounded by all 17 (soon to be 20!) of the n&ns. I think that's why "auntie" really is a pretty spectacular job--all the love, none of the actual hard work. 

Then, of course, this evening brought a big smile to my face. Christine (otherwise known as Chef Christine) and I went out for a girls' night and tried out Pizzeria 712 which is making a name for itself with its fabulous, fresh, amazing food. It is the kind of great food and great atmosphere that we've needed so much more of around here and I immediately became a fan, especially after eating their sweet potato bacon spinach salad with maple vinaigrette. Super yummy. Christine had one of their tasty pizzas and she assured me (and my gluten-free status) that despite not being able to partake, she could report that it was goooood. Hmmmmmm. 

If you are ever in town, stop by. You will thank me. 

And finally, I went with my brother and his family and my sister and her family to the open house of the Draper Temple. Thanks to Rus, we were able to take a private tour along with a group from India that our uncle invited.

The temple was gorgeous and it was fun to show the kids the rooms and talk about why the temple is so important. It was also fun to sit talk with our tour leader afterwards and hear the questions the group from India asked. We had a great discussion. 

Also, it was coooooooold. The temple is situated up on the side of the mountain and it was a bit bitter that evening. I got each family to pose for 1.7 seconds flat while I took the photo and then we all scooted to the warmth of the car. 

Warm is good. Which is another reason I love this month of March. It may begin a little cold, but by the end of this month, spring is upon us without a doubt. And spring really brings a smile to my face. 

UPDATE: Take my little poll on the right. I'm just very, very interested. When you eat a treat which is it? Ice cream or chocolate? I'd love to know!

In The Pink

This is me at nine years old dressed up as an I-don't-know-what and walking in a little parade. My family had taken a trip to a scout camp in Philmont, New Mexico and each child was assigned to our age group where we spent the day with camp leaders who took us on hikes, told us camp stories and tried to distract us by making us dress up in giant pink flowers and walk around the camp while our parents clapped and told us we were beautiful.

For this trip, we borrowed an RV and we drove all the way down to New Mexico in style. My favorite part was riding in the loft right above the driver's seat in the RV and seeing the road stretch out in front of me. I felt like I was flying. I never tired of staring out at the scenery in front of me and watching the summer fields or metropolitan cities that rolled by.

If I could tell myself anything at this age, I think I would say "Hold on tight, honey. The journey is just beginning. " I had a lot of joy, pain and bumps in the road to encounter and I wish I could have given myself a stock of courage for those bumps that would bruise the most and linger.

And next I would have said, "Never wear those pink flowers again."

At least I would have my best interests at heart.

Celebrating the Love: 40 Years

We celebrated my parents' 40th anniversary last month. A few years ago they started inviting us all to spend the weekend together at a cabin in the mountains to celebrate their big day. We go skiing, sledding, snowmobiling and watch lots and lots of movies, chat as much as possible and generally just make ourselves merry. Mom plans spectacular food for us to eat all weekend, Dad usually gets us discount tickets to the ski resort and they make it a great party. Isn't that nice of them to baby all of us on their anniversary?

It really has become a favorite annual weekend. This year we tried to do a few things to commemorate the big day.

We took them breakfast in bed because we used to do this as little kids. Years ago, breakfast often arrived with charcoaled eggs, soggy toast, half-cooked bacon, and watery hot chocolate. Somehow Mom and Dad would gulp down all of it. And smile like we'd given them filet mignon and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Hopefully, breakfast this year was a little more edible.

The hardest part was keeping my mother in bed past 6AM. She tends to worry about getting food on the table instead of sleeping in--even on vacation. We had to ask her nicely to go back to bed when she tried to sneak down the stairs at 6:15AM.

To try to beat my mother out of bed, we had to start making breakfast at 5:30AM. I was so impressed that my siblings would get out of bed this early on a vacation day. Go, family!

Cassie and Meg made a big sign that said Happy Anniversary that we hung up. We also helped Dad get the 40 pink roses he wanted to give Mom for their big day.

Of course, then we spent the rest of the weekend celebrating. We had a couple of surprises up our sleeves and we wanted to spread them out over a few days--you know, not overwhelm Mom and Dad with all the love immediately.

We played in the snow on Saturday. We watched more movies. We ate lots of good food. We just enjoyed the weekend and our time together. 

A few days after the cabin, the second surprise showed up. It was a book of our trip to Denmark. This was the super-big surprise that I had been working a long time on. It was 70 pages, full color, of about 300 of our photos from the trip. I think they liked it. 

It certainly took over my life for a few days as I tried to complete it. 

Sunday we shared the first big surprise. Mom had said again this year after Christmas that just once she wanted all of her kids to play a musical number together on the instruments we had learned as children. Well, I thought "Why not for their anniversary?" We had a very nice neighbor who plays in the Temple Square orchestra and I asked her for help. She helped us arrange the music and gave us the parts for each instrument. Then we practiced. 

Sometimes, I wish we had recorded those practices because we laughed so hard during them. 

We even laughed ourselves a bit silly right before this performance. We told Mom and Dad we had a surprise for them at the house and they were supposed to arrive at a specific time after church. We got there earlier and practiced a few times and got the giggles out.

Which was good because it allowed us to focus on their faces during the performance. 

Now, you can laugh yourselves silly. Just remember that several of us have not picked up these instruments for years. So, be kind. One of the best parts for me is watching my parents be so thrilled about the whole thing. 

And thanks to Julie, we actually have a recording of the big event. She generously let me borrow this video from her blog. 

Hopefully, all in all, it was a weekend where we feted Mom and Dad and their commitment and love for each other. We certainly feel lucky that 40 years later we get to celebrate together the magic that started this journey.