New Beginnings, Happy 20th and Monster Jam

So this is what happens when Ashley and her friend Kate borrow my phone...I get lots of pictures

Some of nature

the dog...

Our yard, each other, the sky...my phone is full of them.

I suppose this has become our cat. It would come and meow and want attention, one day Ashley gave it some dog food and now we have a cat. 

Ashley's friend's party at the park. 

I think an afterschool party at the park is actually a good idea, no housecleaning involved!

Jeff celebrated 20 years at New York Life recently!

To celebrate his office put on a nice luncheon. His mom and brother came...

Brian drove up from Orange County to be there...

The office staff and Daren Gunnell.

People told stories about Jeff, told him nice things.

I heard stories that I hadn't heard before and some that I had heard from someone else's perspective. It was a great luncheon.

People were so nice we joked that it was like attending your own funeral.  You deserve it Jeff :)

At the end of January we held our New Beginnings night. 

We did a nautical theme to go with the new mutual theme.

Decorating the room was almost as much fun as the program...

Had a lot of help from my presidency. We loved the fruit table along with the pineapple palm tree.

The nautical licorice knots were a complete Pinterest fail.

The night was a success...

and the girls seemed to have fun...

Especially some of the girls that will be coming up this year. They can't wait!

We gave out these necklaces that night and I've seen some of the girls wearing them...

this is what it said on the back. 

We were invited to a superbowl party this year. Great food and a fun time talking to friends (I only watch a little of the actual game :)   Jeff making new friends. He's the best babysitter.

I was reading a magazine and found a quote that I loved. My new motto...

"Creative clutter is better than tidy idleness" 

This is my back counter and luckily Jeff turns a blind eye to my projects. 

Some of the results of the clutter. We made a dress for Ashley that she's been dreaming up for a long time. We bought the material and she told me what she wanted but I didn't have a pattern. So I kind of went off a pj shirt pattern and had to cut it way down for size and made the skirt and made it work. She was happy with it and it looks like it was made just for her (which it was, ha ha).

I also made some valentine hair things...

I posted the picture on facebook and actually sold a few, ha ha.

So Jacob has been planning to ask Nicole to Mormal for awhile. He already pre-asked her so he knew she would say yes. She's in his seminary class and was thinking of grand schemes to ask her including fireworks, boys dressed in suits and multiple locations...we told him to keep it simple. 

So what we came up with was a giant cookie in a box with a scripture reference...Jacob 2:28 (which is the date of the dance)

He doctored up the scriptures...

added balloons...

and had Jeff put on Taylor's pizza delivery shirt and delivered it to their seminary class. 

She was happy and her friends took a video of it. 

I'm sure they'll have a great time :)

This was our volleyball mutual night. Jeff did it a couple of weeks before and the boys were super competitive...

the girls not so much. They pretty much played jumble ball and just hit it back and forth without points or playing by the rules. 

They didn't seem to mind though and it was still fun.

The next night I went to watch Jacob mascot the basketball game at King. 

It was fun watching him and fun watching the game.

I'm glad I went because it ended up being the last home game so he's done for the year. 

After the game some of the kids had fun chasing the "little wolf" he had to escape so he could change and go home.

For 3 days I played Kindergarten teacher for a friend. This is her class. We sent her a get well picture and I had 3 very busy, tiring but fun days. 

She has been teaching for a long time so she has lots of resources and fun things for centers and is how I remember my Kindergarten class being. 

The last day we got to watch the school production of the Wizard of Oz. They did a wonderful job with great costumes and props and even great singing. 

One of the students sitting next to me said 

"I like this! It's like watching TV...but it's up close....and it's real!"

That weekend we met Angela and Robert in Anaheim to watch the Monster Jam.

None of the kids wanted to come so it was just us. 

Ian's favorite car was this one. It looked like a dog and had a wagging tail and a tongue that came in and out. 

Our seats were up high and we still had to have ear plugs the whole time. 

I had never been before. It was a fun night and a great way to hang out with my sister and her family.

Finally I'm ending with a flashback picture that Mary Ann showed me of Taylor way back when he was in the road show as a munchkin complete with red tights, big lollypop and spiky hair. Ha ha.