A Boy and His Dogs

Tyler, Little T, and Mr. Snoopy...

You know it's true love when a little boy chooses to sleep on a blanket...on the hard floor... in the kitchen...every night... with his dogs.

Aubrey Jane at Nine Months Old

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this little girl! When I see her smile like this, I just want to pick her up, squeeze her tight and kiss both cheeks!

What makes her especially sweet and beautiful is the fact that the first three months of her life she was SO miserable and grumpy. She constantly spit up. A LOT. Her tummy hurt ALL the time and she cried so much. No one could make her happy but Mommy, and even she wasn't always successful. It was so sad to see her hurt and listen to her hard, hard crying.

When she finally started to feel better and began smiling, it was like a ray of sunshine across her face. Her smile just split from one side to the other, ear-to-ear. It was the cutest thing I ever saw. (I know I am prone to hyperbole, and I have a LOT of "cutest-evers" but that's a grandma's prerogative. )

At 9 months, she is just beautiful. Feisty, mischievous, LOUD, fast, slobbery, stubborn, sure to find every little crumb on the floor and put it in her mouth...but REALLY, really beautiful-inside and out!

A Funny Story

When we were at Amy's dorm this past weekend we noticed this "hottie wall" in her hall.

The girls had cut out pictures of actors, singers, and other cute guys and put them up to look at. I noticed one I didn't recognize and asked Amy about him. Pointing to the slightly bald young man in black at the top of the pictures I asked, "Who thinks this one is 'hot?' " Amy chuckled and said, "There's a funny story to that one."

It seems when they had Family Home Evening at their apartment one night, one of the boys- Todd- came to Amy and said, "Amy. I need to talk to you about this 'hottie wall' you girls have." He led her to the photos and asked, "Now, which ones do YOU think are hotties?" Amy pointed to Jude Law, Paul Bettany, and Gerard Butler and answered, "Oh, probably these." "No, Amy," Todd answered, "You need to look a LITTLE harder." Amy glanced at the top, found the photo of TODD that he had placed there himself, and got a good laugh! I loved it! Amy says Todd is 18, going bald, very confident, a good leader, and a fun guy. Gotta love those BYU guys!

Amy and Mandy

My dear friend Kris gave me this picture of her daughter Mandy and Amy together at Mandy's cousin Nancy's wedding. Mandy and Amy were the string duet that played the wedding music. Mandy is an amazing violin player and when Amy plays cello with her they sound wonderful together.

Mandy is six-months older than Amy and they have been friends since Amy was 18 months old! Mandy was a grade ahead in school, but that didn't keep them from being "best friends forever."

All the way up till they were thirteen or so they played elaborate "adventure games" where they made up characters and situations and acted them out. One of my favorite memories of them is when the families went to Disneyland together and Mandy, Amy, and another friend, Audrey, were enacting an adventure at the beach with their pirate swords from the theme park!

The original plan was for Amy to graduate a year early and the two of them would go to BYU together. When we decided we weren't ready to part with Amy early, Mandy went ahead to Utah State University in Logan. Now that Amy is at BYU they still get together occasionally. They spent this past weekend at Mandy's apartment and cooked Easter dinner together.

I'm so glad they are still friends and enjoy each other's company. We love Mandy and miss her too!

A Day Over the Mountain

We spent today in Provo and Salt Lake with Amy. It was so fun to see her-and never long enough! We can't wait till she is home for the summer!

First the girls tried out being in a college dorm. They FILLED it up!

We spent most of the day at the Hogle Zoo.

The girls loved the giraffes. There was a new baby!Ally is the same size as an orangutan. Well, except for her arms...

The elephants were very active, eating, "vacuuming" with their trunks, and chewing on the wooden walls.
Afterward, we went to the "swing-y park" and the girls went for a fun ride. (It was a lot of work too!) A fun day!

Mt. Pleasant

Maddie, Julie, Ally and I are at the Mt. Pleasant house for a few days for spring break. I should say we are at Grandma S.'s house, because she has got it fixed up so nicely! I've been feeling sorry for her being up here with "no furniture" in an "empty" house, but as usual, she has taken a little and made a LOT of it! The house is nicely furnished with odds and ends and looks great. It has comfy places to sleep, sit, eat, and play. What more could we ask for?!

The girls played in the snow in the back yard till dark last night, then cooked hot dogs in the fireplace for dinner. They played with the Playmobil fairy tale and pirate sets, then made up an elaborate game with plastic animals in the fireplace rocks! I had to force them to bed at midnight! We asked them what they wanted to do today and they said, "Play in the snow." Easy vacation, huh??


Who says you have to be a Girl Scout to "cook out?"


Say what you like about this place. Mock it's "rural-ness" if you please. I think the name fits. What a pleasant getaway in a pleasant little town.

Happy as a Lark

There is nothing particularly amazing, noteworthy, or precocious about this video. I love it though, because it shows a happy little girl toddling around the backyard, singing, playing, enjoying the good weather...just having a great time. Why can't we all be more like little children?? Grateful for the things we have, satisfied with the way life is, happy and content...



I love you, happy little Sydney!