2021 Blue Jeans Week 7

What a crazy weather week!  We had record low temps which I have never seen in my life.  School was cancelled 3 of the 5 days this week.  We were threatened with rolling black outs because of such high power usage--but thankfully that never happened, and we lived the week running our wood burning stove, because our heaters could not keep up.  Crazy!  Things I have never seen before!  Add it to the list for 2020/2021.  But we are all healthy and well and stayed warm.  We had water and never went without anything.  So many cannot say the same thing.  We are grateful!!!  Take a look at our week...

Our "fancy" Valentine's dinner.  We were supposed to go to my mom's, but my dad was sick, so we stayed home and ate tomato soup with cheese bread and goldfish crackers in the family room in front of the wood burning stove.  Non traditional for sure, but still special! We had hot chocolate and our heart shaped frosted sugar cookies for dessert.  Yum!

School cancelled snow day #1 for the week...Hello snow!

These fun girls had Monday off school anyway and my sweet sister and brother in law took them skiing for the first time.  They LOVED it!!!

The temperature Tuesday morning when Ben went to work.  No school today.  We had a horrible North wind that gave us a wind index of -30!!!  Baby, its COLD outside!

2nd snow of the week.  Day #3 of school cancelled.  Mr J was good enough to shovel a few times!

School cancelled activity for Mr J.  He decided he wanted to try out his sister's trombone, so he did some online video lessons and had some fun.  

My cake for February.  This is a coconut chocolate cake which I made for our belated Valentine's day dinner we ended up having at my parents on Saturday.  So yummy!

My kids went up to my grandparents cabin and enjoyed the snow up there this weekend.  They made a snow camel.  Pretty awesome!

Mr A and Mrs A enjoying the snow and the camel too

Back at home we made a snowman before all our snow quickly melted.  Our temps are warming up and this snow is not lasting long.  A crazy week!  

Thanks for visiting!  Hoping wherever you are that you are safe and warm!  Have a great week!

 

2021 Blue Jeans Week 6

Burr!  It is COLD outside!  We haven't seen above freezing temps this whole week and won't see it until maybe Friday of this week.  Wind chills of -27 and the low today is supposed to be -14!!!  That is without the wind chill!  Burr!  School cancelled today and tomorrow.  Rolling blackouts because everyone is using so much electricity to stay warm.  Just crazy!  We are grateful we have a wood burning stove to help our heaters keep up because it is just way too cold!  Wherever you are, I hope you are safe and warm!  Take a look at our week!

The week started out cold, and it just got even colder!  Record breaking cold!  Colder than I ever remember it getting.  Wind chills in the negatives and not seeing temps above freezing for almost 2 weeks!  Got some snow early this week and Mr J shoveled the front walk. It is covered again in inches of snow and with more still coming.  Hello February winter!

Our Annual family Valentine's day box.  It was not as spectacular as it usually is.  Not as many people to help decorate it now.

Fun thing this week was we finally got to attend Mr J's band Christmas concert.  It was postponed from December because half the band was in COVID quarantine or had COVID, so it was fun to attend the concert this week and hear the band--limited numbers allowed in, socially distanced seating and masks required.  Christmas music never goes out of style and we had more winter weather now to accompany the Christmas music than we had in December!  Mr J had an awesome solo in one of the jazz band numbers.  It was awesome!

Documenting some more family history.  This old fashioned refrigerator sits in our entryway.  It was Ben's great-grandma's.  The top opens and that is where they would put the big chunks of ice to keep the food cool that they put in the main part of the refrigerator.  This was in Ben's parents home and when they decided to sell their home and go on a mission several years ago they asked if any of the kids wanted anything, and Ben and I requested this.  It is a beautiful piece of furniture but also of family history.

It would not be Valentine's at our house without making heart shaped frosted sugar cookies.  We got out the icing bags and decorating tips and did some pretty fancy ones this year.  These are so good!  It is my favorite recipe of my mom's and it just wouldn't be Valentine's without them!

A cold date night!  We went to a concert Saturday night--socially distanced and masked and very few people there because it was so COLD!  But it was a fun concert. It was an impersonating singer that did all sorts of voices and songs.  Nice to be out and together despite the cold!  It was our Valentine's date!  Sure love this guy! 

Stay warm and safe and healthy!  Have a great week!

 

More wedding pictures

 Got back the other wedding pictures from the photographer a little while ago, and I just haven't posted them yet.  So, here we go....Mr and Mrs A were married in the Bountiful, Utah temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We could have 16 people there, and my amazing dad performed the ceremony.  It was basically just the parents and grandparents there.  The younger siblings could not attend.  After the wedding at the temple, we had rented a place to have a luncheon with those same 16 plus the younger siblings of Mr and Mrs A.  It was a beautiful and perfect day!  After the luncheon, we were done!  They went off on their honeymoon, and we flew home the next day.  THANKFULLY no one got COVID from the wedding or associated activities.  We tried to be safe and distanced and masked, but you can't take all your wedding pictures with masks on....:)  We were very thankful everyone was able to come and be safe and stay safe since!  There are tons more pictures, so I just picked a few of my favorites. Take a look....

Mr A's family.  They are amazing!

All my kids. Makes my heart happy to add one more!

LOVE this one soooo much!!!

The parents.  

The grandparents.  Sadly some of Mr A's grandparents could not be there.  They were missed.  My 95 year old DeeDee did make it though!  Loved that!

Mrs A and my DeeDee, her great grandma

So grateful she was able to be there!

Everyone!  Love it!

At the wedding luncheon

They were able to have a dance.  Mr A with his Mom and Mrs A with Ben.  Loved that!

Then they shared their couple's dance

And then they were done and off :)

It was pretty much perfect and could not have gone any better!  Only thing is we wished more people could have joined us--aunts, uncles, cousins, etc, but for the circumstances, it was perfect!

2021 Blue Jeans Week 5

Winter has definitely arrived here.  We usually get our coldest weather in February, and it has definitely come!  Burr!  It is cold outside!  We had a good week.  Nothing too exciting.  We are all thankfully healthy and well.  In person school and work continues.  We are grateful for the opportunities we have and the community in which we live.  I realized I didn't post the family wedding pictures, so those will be up next.  Better late than never, take a look at our week....

I have been a Becky Higgins fan for over 10 years.  I have done her physical Project Life book also for over 10 years, but in 2020 I decided to try out her project life app and print my book through that.  Got a nice hardback one for Ben and I and then a paperback one for the kids.  Also did a wedding album for Mr A and Mrs A and it turned out great!  I think I am converted.  No more buying physical albums, page protectors, kits and ordering photo prints, just doing it all on my phone, and my 2020 albums are done!  Love it!

 I called my 95 year old DeeDee (my grandma) this week.  So glad we can do video calls so we can see each other.  Love seeing her!  Hopefully sometime this summer we will be able to see her in person and give her a huge hug!!!  She is amazing.  Still lives at home by herself and bakes cookies almost every day or knits or crochets something.  She got her first vaccine shot a few weeks ago and should get her second this week.  So happy for her!!!

Doing some family history documenting here, this necklace was my DeeDee's.  She wore it all the time when I was growing up.  I remember sitting on her lap and playing with it. I thought it was so cool as a kid.  It is a gold whale's tail.  My uncle went to Hawaii and got it for her when I was just little.  It was the one piece of jewelry that I remember her wearing and associate with her.  About 10 or so years ago when I was at her house, she asked if I wanted any of her jewelry, and I quickly knew exactly what I wanted.  I wanted her whale tail necklace. She very graciously gave it to me.  It means a lot to me and is my DeeDee necklace.   

My graduation desk pictures.  This desk holds each of my girls' graduation pictures and the picture of my 3 girls from Mrs A's wedding that I LOVE!  Will post those pictures in a different post today.  It took me a while to get Miss E's graduation picture printed and out, but I love this.  Just a few more years and we will add Mr J's to this desk, but thankfully that is still a few more years away!!!

Hello February!  Getting our Valentine's pillow cases out and on the pillows today!

Ben ordered some new pickle ball rackets with some birthday money he had not used (his birthday is in Oct) and we tried them out this weekend before it got super cold.  Friday night for our date night, we went to our church and played indoor pickle ball in the gym-just the two of us, and then Saturday he wanted to try them outside on the regular pickle ball court.  They worked pretty well, but we sure didn't last too long outside as it was COLD and windy, but he got his fix so that is good!

Picture from Miss O this week.  These are her freshman roommates, and she got together with them this weekend and had blast.  Such awesome girls!  

Thanks for visiting!  More wedding pictures come soon!  Stay safe and healthy and be kind!

2021 Blue Jeans Week 4

Welcome to February!  January seemed like a really long month for some reason....anyone else feel that way?  We are healthy and well and grateful for that!  It was a good week.  Nothing too exciting, but had a yummy cake to celebrate our state's birthday!  Take a look at our week....

Ben serves as the Bishop in our church congregation which would be equal to a priest or minister, but he also has a full time regular job.  The offices in our church are all volunteer and unpaid.  These are his counselors, clerk and secretary (my dad on the left).  All great men who also volunteer unpaid to serve.  Grateful he has this group to help him with his responsibilities!

Fun picture from Mrs A this week.  They had this awesome frisbee on their wedding registry, and someone got it for them, and she was so excited!  We have the same frisbee that she grew up using.  Lots of fun!

Quiet and cold evening at home by myself--Ben and Mr J at church, so I cuddled up with a warm blanket and read my book.  Perfect evening to spend wrapped in a warm blanket with a good book!

Working on a cake for this week.  I do them over a few days--make the cake, wrap and freeze them one day, make the filling another day, and then I make the frosting and assemble on a different day.  

Love this picture of my college kids this week.  They played pickle ball together and then had lunch together.  Makes my heart happy to see them together!

Friday Date Night--with COVID, stay at home dates are definitely the norm, especially on a cold winter night.  We did a puzzle date night.  It was fun.  

My grasshopper pie cake all done and decorated with a sunflower to celebrate our state's birthday.

My traditional sunflower cake picture, but Ben was the only one home to have me take it with the cake this year.  We celebrate our state's birthday every year with a "sunflower" cake.  This was ours this year, and it was yummy!

Thanks for visiting!  Stay safe and healthy!  Be kind!  Have a great week!