HeLp!!!!

This little sweetheart will be turning twelve in a few weeks and we need to throw her a fantastic "girl" party.  Taylor has undergone an evolution of sorts over the past year, deciding that girl stuff is not quite that bad.  She has decided that you can still be a very active, sporty girl and yet still embrace other feminine qualities and attributes.  So, we were thinking that a fun girls night is just what she needs to mark this auspicious occasion.  We need ideas as we are generally not a very girlie household - which is quite flabbergasting as girls outnumber boys 3 to 2.  We were wondering what such a party would entail.  Would we do a fabulous craft?  And if so - what?  Would it be scrapbookish, or involve fabric, or would we make accessories, or some other random craft? Or would we just do pizza and a movie?  Or manicures?  What are twelve year old girls capable of?  Can you tell I am a first timer?  HELP!   Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Please make your comments as lengthy as necessary to get us through this grand occasion.  Please, with sugar on top and a cherry!

To My Husband Whom I Love...

Thirteen years ago today it was the worst snow storm of the year.  We drove to Salt Lake where you treated me to a breakfast of Orange Juice and Whatchamacallit's.  We met a man who said "My name is Stringham," and as I sat next to you in the sealing room of the Salt Lake Temple your suddenly motorized arm made my teeth rattle.  I looked at you and asked if you were going to be okay, and you assured me that you were.  And we have been okay ever since.  Thanks for going through with it, baby, I love you more now than I did then.  Thank you for the past thirteen years they have been the most wondrous years of my life.

Love - Nat

Dear Dad....

We are not feeling as "Incredible" without you here!  We hope you are having fun and working hard.  Hurry home.  We love you...

Love - Us

Update on the Love Note....

Torey has never been described as a wallflower.  She is a "grab life by the horns" kind of girl.  And because of this she is not one to let the grass grow, so to speak.  The identity of the author of what was perhaps the world's sultriest love note was nagging at the back of her brain for at least 24 hours before she decided to act.  It was exactly the amount of time between the end of school the day she acquired the note, and the beginning of the next school day.  Torey is not one for pretenses either.  She just walked into class and demanded handwriting samples "for a project she is doing" from the three narrowed down candidates.  She then brought them home for analysis.  I have a pretty good idea who it was, but I am kind of enjoying the idea of a mystery....

A Love Note...

Someone in our family got their very first love note today.  It read like this...

To Tory (and then a heart)

From ...... hint: count the dots that is how many letter are in my name

Dear Tory,

All the time I have look at you I know is something.  You probly gested I like you.  I don't care that you are a Uath Uet fan.  So what who care I don't thats a fact.  I culd like the Uets eneyway.  But it do's mater what fool ball teams wes like.  It maters the way we akt.  But no more writing.  I love like you

And that is the end of the note.  Obviously, this boy needs some help with spelling, but I like the fact that he is trying to overcome relationship hurdles early on.  Let's not beat around the bush - football doesn't matter to me, I just like looking at you.  He's a straight shooter and I admire that.  I also like that he wants to remain mysterious, because some girls find that attractive, but then tempts her with the dot hint as to his identity.  You can bet that I will be looking at the class list and counting letters in names.  I will then take the shortened list and volunteer to correct papers so as to compare handwriting samples.  I will go to these lengths because all of us are wondering who this mysterious boy is who would put his love like for my daughter above team sports.  He's a keeper.

National Champs In Our Book...

1984 is nothing but a distant memory for those in this county, but - Congratulations to the Utes on a perfect season, 13-0.   What are the big boys going to cry about next?  Two BCS stompings in four years is not too shabby if you are asking us.  Congratulations to our cousin, Clint Mower, on the opening tackle that set the tone for the rest of the game.  

Love - Reed and Taylor

P.S.  Thank you to our good friends, the Peisley's for the fun get together tonight.  We had a great night and the kids are already asking about setting up another "play date."

Welcome 2009...

Welcome the New Year.  This year will bring us many changes, as we seem to be getting older faster than we would like.  This year we will see our oldest become a Young Woman.  She will graduate from elementary school, start Junior High, go away to Girls Camp, and begin to leave her childhood behind her.  Every cell in my body wants to grab her and hold on, but it will also be rewarding to watch her grow.  We will see another daughter hit the double digits.  She will progress as well, perhaps even faster because of an older example.  We have a little boy, who will stay little a bit longer (we hope), but will be sprouting before our very eyes.  We will attend many sporting events with the kids, starting with basketball, and then baseball, and maybe even wrestling - again???  Reed will graduate with his Bachelor's degree, and perhaps start more schooling.  We have resolved to be healthier, more spiritual, more fiscally prudent through this struggling economic time, and to stand a little taller.  We will keep our house cleaner, and we will be good stewards of this earth Heavenly Father has given us.  We will be less wasteful, and more organized.  We will try (again) to grow a thriving garden - and dangit we will keep the weeds at a minimum, as well as the tomatoes.  We will develop our talents and discover new ones.  And we will try to live every day to its fullest, because that is what we have been given.