i love moo

Boy do I love it. But I love her more. I have decided to cut dairy from my diet to see if it will help my baby with a potential cow milk allergy. I have been 2 days without dairy and it's ok. Only a million more to go until she is one and weened. I am already missing chocolate. And I know pizza will be a hard one. But you know, Almond Milk is deeelish. So we're good. And she's worth it.

Feeling the LOVE ! ! !

We had such a fun Valentine's Day! I woke up to the kids chatting excitedly about all the hearts that were taped on the walls and "have you seen the kitchen?, it's crazy!" I was pleased that my 10 minute decorating the night before had them so wowed.

I let my husband sleep in while I got up and made heart pancakes with fresh strawberries for breakfast, fed the kids and got Preslie and Hunter out the door.

After Dax left for work, I got ready and made sugar cookies and frosting to take to Preslie's class Valentine's party. I dropped Mack off at my neighbor's and Quinn and I headed to the school. Preslie and her classmates were excited. I am glad I thought to bring my frosting bags to spell the kids' names on their cookies. They all wanted their name in cursive. I had fun helping my friend Lana with the class party and seeing all the people that Preslie talks about everyday. Quinn was an angel and after the party, we grabbed Hunter and headed home to start our sugar-induced comas.

It is tradition that you dump all the Valentines on the floor and start eating the candy as fast as you can until it is all gone. I told Preslie and Hunter to be careful because when I was in second grade, I did that same thing on Valentine's day and when I went to bed, I puked conversation hearts all night long. I can vividly remember that night and I have been careful never to repeat my sugar overdose.

The kids and I got some valentines ready for some of our neighborhood friends- kids and adults alike- and set out to deliver them the way I did when I was a kid: by putting them on the doorstep, knocking and running away. Apparently my neighborhood was the only one who did it that way because my husband didn't do that as a child and I've never heard of anyone else doing it either. I think it is one of my favorite Valentine's Day memories. Picking the right Valentine card, planning your escape plan and hiding spot, sneaking up, placing the valentine, knocking, and running like heck.

But let me tell you, the kids LOVED it. We all had the best time. We had one close CLOSE call when we delivered cookies to Hunter's primary teachers. He and I were hiding in their garage and their son pulled up with his buddy and came walking right past us. Talk about adrenaline rush! The kids did get caught by one of our fun neighbors but it just adds to the excitement for both giver and receiver.

Dax came home and we ate crock pot roast, baked potatoes, peas and homemade bread for dinner. Then we played and wrestled and laughed our guts out on the floor. A couple of sugar-induced meltdowns (of course) and then into bed.

And what do you think happened in the middle of the night? Preslie woke with a stomach ache and ended up puking and staying home from school the next day. She can't say I didn't warn her.

happy arms

Quinn's arms flap like crazy when she gets excited. What a cutie.

Here is my Super Man working on the last edits of his big Master's thesis. We're on the home stretch! Hip hip, hooray!


Preslie and Dax went to an Activity Days' sweethearts breakfast and had a lot of fun. Let's hope Dax is Preslie's sweetheart for many many more years...


Here are the boys playing Super PacMan...one has no shirt, the other no pants.


And lastly, a video of Quinn and Mack interacting. I know it looks like Mack's head is about to smack into her and at any moment Quinn might topple off the chair, but I assure you I had the situation under control..

my house smells so good

I just pulled 4 loaves of bread out of the oven. Oh, yeah! Dax wanted me to make bread and suggested a double batch so that we'd actually have some left tomorrow. He helped knead the huge ball of dough, which takes muscle, so that was good.

We visited my parents over the weekend and had a good time. They are so cool; I just love them. My Mom had a puzzle out and it was fun to work on it with her. It is something we both enjoy doing and I love how everytime I found a piece she'd cheer for me.

Quinn was so happy and smiley this weekend and had eyes for my Mom. She kept staring at my Mom smiling and making noises to get her attention. Then when Mom would look up and talk to her, Quinn would squeal and laugh and wiggle. It was super cute.

On Saturday we went to a fun desert cafe called The Chocolate in West Jordan and got some cupcakes. Cupcakes have been all the craze lately and I needed to see what all the hype was about. Well, the frosting was delish; the cake was good but not exceptional. But a fun atmosphere and their turtle brownie was really good.

Mack Quote of the Week

When Dax's Dad was here helping us rebuild our fire mess, this awesome conversation went down...

Craig: Mack, what's your favorite song?
Mack: Oh, I like Cowboys Fweetheart and Black and Yellow.
Tristie: [laughing her head off]
Craig: What's Black and Yellow?
Dax: It's a rap song.
Mack: You HAVE to trust me, Grandpa. It's really fun!

So here's to Mack. The boy who likes the two most opposite songs there could ever possibly be. I would like to arrange for LeAnn Rimes to sing a duet with Wiz Khalifa...

never trust a groundhog

Today I painted the last of the touch ups on the fireplace area so we are all back to normal. It was a bit of work to get all the fire damage fixed up and I am happy to have it done. A big thanks to Dax's Dad who drove all the way up to help us. Here are pics of before, during, and after the repairs..

Hunter was a darling student of the week in his class last week and also sang in his 1st grade program entitled "We Love Winter".

I can only love winter son long because as I type it is currently -10 degrees outside. When you live in this town, winter is generally not a pleasant time to go out sledding or playing in the snow. It is spent trapped inside your house with nothing to do so you make cookies too much. And I don't care how good your house is insulated (mine happens to be quite so), nothing can keep -10 out completely. This is why the woodburning stove is crucial. For the couple of weeks it was out of commission, our gas bill went up $40 from the previous month.

Nothing quite warms my heart quite as much as my sweet little baby. I got her 6 month picture taken and also got Mack's done too. He was one the last time I got a profossional shot of him.

I hang out with these two a lot and I sure do love them.

Mack is still on his diet of cookies, candy, and syrup. What an inspiration!

Dax has been working hard and was recently workin' it with mohawk for a few days. He shaved it off because he had to teach a lesson in church and wanted to be taken seriously. I think it would have been a great attention getter/keeper.

yay yay february!

Yay for this month. It is just fun. Much better than January. Closer to spring, lovey dovey heart days, and end it off with my birthday. I'm gonna be THIRTY!

30!

Today I thought would be a good day to take down my Christmas cards that have been taped to my railing for all this time. I have loved seeing them everyday and remembering that we have friends and family that love us.