Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's 2010 was a fun weekend.  It began early in the week as the kids made mail boxes for school

Doesn't he look sweet!  He was very focused on his box.

This was probably her last year of making one.

And she was very proud of her creation.

Valentine's was on a Sunday and the kids had the Friday before and the Monday after off from school.  PARTY!!!  So we headed up the canyon to a cabin above Sundance.

There was plenty of snow.  We had Brent's two girls along with Kim and Tom and their kids and my Mom along for the ride.

The kids spent hours sledding out back.  As usual we had plenty of food to enjoy.

We even had the famous triple layer cake in the shape of a heart for the occasion.

I love this fireplace.  We had it going the entire long weekend.

And my hubby brought these up to make me smile.  They were the perfect centerpiece for the weekend.

To say fun was had by all would be an understatement!

Quilting

Okay, for anyone who knows me really well, you are probably questioning the title of this post.  Even though my sisters and mom are expert seamstresses, I never enjoyed sewing as much as them.  I know how to sew and I can do it when needed, but it is not something I do just for fun.  My mom has really gotten into quilting the last few years and has made some beautiful items.  So maybe I was just feeling left out.  But when someone in our neighborhood offered a quilting class I decided maybe I should try it.  I thought it was a good opportunity to learn from a professional and learn with friends at the same time.  I'm proud to say I have successfully completed two blocks so far!

And I think they have turned out pretty good.  I'm not convinced I'll become an expert quilter like several people I know are, but I'm excited to see how it will all turn out in the end.

Field Trip

Jessica has been looking forward all year to this field trip.  Every year the sixth graders go tour the State Capitol while the legislature is in session.  Both Mark and I wanted to go too, so we both went as chaperons.  Because the kids go to a Charter School they normally need a ton of chaperons to help drive and supervise.  But for the first time ever they rented a charter bus so they would not need as many drivers.  There were 55 sixth graders and about 10 parents and teachers on an old school bus.  It has been a long time since either Mark or I have been on a school bus.  The noise level was out of control!  But it was a lot of fun.

The weather was great and we had a wonderful view of the capitol as we came up.

We first met in a small area on the first floor and met with Representative Brad Daw who fielded highly intelligent questions from the sixth graders.

We then broke into smaller groups and went and sat in on the House and the Senate as they debated some bills.  Then each group broke off and toured the Capitol building.

What an amazingly beautiful building

And the grounds were just as beautiful.  Especially with these cute girls touring around.

And we didn't even know there is a Vietnam Memorial at our Capitol.

After our tours the excitement really began.  The Governor's nephew is in Jessica's class, so his mom made special arrangements for our kids to have a private meeting with Governor Herbert.

And Representative Daw joined him as well.  Again the sixth graders had not so intelligent questions, but he was very kind to answer them all.  Even stood for a picture with all of them.

And we met him in the Gold Room.  It was beautifully decorated.

And if that wasn't enough excitement for the day we then got to go over to the Governor's Mansion and his wife gave us a private tour of the building.

 It was fun hearing all the stories about this amazing building.  The kids especially liked all the ghost stories she shared after a little begging.

So after a very full day we all got ready to board the bus only to find out it would not start.  We had to wait for a replacement bus to arrive which took about 45 minutes.  Thank goodness it was good weather so the kids could be outside.  We got back to the school about 30 minutes after school got out, but I don't think any of the kids cared.

Weekend in Phoenix

This year instead of having one big Pampered Chef Conference in January they did small ones all over the US in February. Unfortunately none of them were very close to us in Utah. We could choose to go to any of them. The closest ones were Denver, Phoenix or LA. I voted to go somewhere warm, so a bunch of us headed to Phoenix. Most everyone drove, but Carol and I choose to fly down. It was storming a little when we took off. Once we got above the clouds it looked amazing.

The clouds were just a sea of white.

Normally for these conferences we try to squeeze as many in a hotel room as we can.  But Carol has a niece that has a second home in the Phoenix area.  She was kind enough to let us stay there.  So instead of 4 to 5 of us in one hotel room we each had our own bedroom and bathroom.  And this home was beautiful. Marble floors throughout the house.

We went in the backyard every morning and picked oranges and grapefruit for breakfast.  You don't get that in a hotel.

My bed was so comfy!  And this was the view out the window!

It was still a little too cold to swim, but it sure looked beautiful.  And there was a tennis court and putting green in the backyard too.

We sure had fun hanging out in this house.  And because of staying in a house we only ended up eating out once while we were there.  Usually our conferences involve lots of restaurants.  What a nice change.

The first night we had done some research and found an event to attend.  Who can turn down . . .

The Chocolate Affaire!  It was sponsored by a local Chocolate Maker.

Imagine what a child would think if they received this Santa for Christmas!

But the event included so much more.

The whole park was lined with vendors selling crafts, food and of course Chocolate!  We connected up with all the consultants that had driven down from Utah.

And Summer was there with her kids, her Mom and Dad and her sister, Autumn.

Then Saturday morning our meeting began first thing.

Summer was really excited to be at her first big meeting.  We got some awesome training and found out all about the new Pampered Chef Products that will be released in March.

After our meeting, the four of us that were staying in the house all went and saw "When in Rome"  A really cute movie!  And got a little shopping in while we waited for the movie to start.

Sunday morning we all headed back to Utah.  But because Carol and I were flying we had time to stop by the Mesa Temple on the way to the airport.

Note it is in the morning and there was no need for a jacket.  Such a nice change from a Utah Winter!  It was a quick trip and we all wished we could have basked in the Sun a little longer.  But it is always great to return to our families.