Life has been a roller coaster. I’m not fond of roller coasters. I’m afraid of heights. This roller coaster has been a doozy and after much screaming, throwing my hands in the air, bargaining with any higher being that would listen to me, vomiting a few times, and feeling like my stomach was left behind at the last lurch, I am finally back on ground. I’m not sure about the stability of it, but it’s better than the speed and uncertainty of the last ride I was on. Rather than typing everything out I’m just going to catch you up in pictures. You’d like that better anyway huh? (captions *under* the photos)
Mini Turtle Brownies. Yum to the O! Want to know how? Super simple. Mix up a box of brownie mix and put in a well greased mini cupcake pan. Or better yet, line the pan with the mini paper cups because these guys are HARD to get out! Unwrap a Rolo and push into the batter. Bake per directions on brownie mix box. AS SOON as they come out of the oven press a walnut in the top. Not the prettiest, but oh so delish.
The dogs woke me up one morning with their annoying bark. This is what they were alerting me to. I miss these guys. They were regulars around our house. One of them was so young that it still had fuzz on it’s antlers.
I was awful about taking pictures of our move. Hello. I was emotional. There were a couple of times I had to completely walk away from the experience and try to gather my composure. Or to pray. Hard. But there were over 12 trucks there, 2 suburbans, and a commercial moving truck. There were more than 30 people there to help and support us. (there were even teens there even though their parents were unable to come.) The love that we felt that day was incredible. With all of that help we were out of the “big house” in around 90 minutes. At the “vacation home” people stayed until beds were set up and made and the kitchen was pretty. Anyway, things are settling down here. I’m sure I’ll post more about it later. (oh, I *did* have pictures of people but they were less than happy with me posting those here. Sorry.)
Battle of the Books with the Purple People! These guys rock. Uh, they call themselves the Purple People. They are 4 of the cutest kiddos. They were challenged to read 14 books and then went to a competition (thus the ‘Battle’ part) where they were asked questions about those books. Atalie read every single one of them. Some of them twice. They won 2nd place in their school and went on to district. They didn’t do as well there but they made their school, and parents, proud.
Our church provides the youth as many opportunities as possible for the kids to have wholesome entertainment. Alternatives to some of the questionable activities at school. Mormon Prom was something that Colleen has been looking forward to since she turned 15. You might remember this post about how she asked a friend to this event. Well, the day came. What. A. Beauty. We had a dear friend come help with her make-up and hair, she got her nails done by another friend, the dress was less than modest without sleeves but made perfect by Greg’s mom (so grateful that the dress came with a wrap that we could use for sleeves! AND thankful the dress was a donation! It was PERFECT!) and the shoes were a cumulative of gift cards she has been holding on to for this event. We pampered her with the jewelry and bag.
Not conventional prom footwear, but oh-so-Colleen!
A* walking in the door with the *home made* corsage!
Colleen’s favorite picture. She likes the peace sign.
A*, Colleen, K*, and M* (I love the candid shots)
MY favorite picture of the two of them. I think. Okay, who am I kidding? I loved ALL of the pictures!
The girls. K*, Colleen, and M*.
Okay, I think that is enough of that. It was a very special time for me as a mom. My baby girl is growing up. {sniff, sniff}
Mother’s Day. Cute rug rats, huh?
I adore this vase.
Other gifts. They made me smile. I also got breakfast in bed. Crepes with fruit, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. Mmmm.
And my honey making Mother’s Day dinner. French Dip. It was so good.
So while my ride may not be as scary as it was a couple of months ago it is still moving along at a rapid pace. Not the roller coaster. Maybe more of a spinning ride. Which I still don’t like but feel is a tad more tolerable. Many thanks to my family (near and far, actually related or not) and good friends. Rides are almost always more fun when you don’t have to do them alone.
Greg and I got married.
And that turned into this:
That bundle of cuteness took four days to come out. Four. Days. I’ll save you the pictures but can you say, conehead? She made up for the horrible labor and delivery by being this:
and this:
Her long lasting carreer as big sister. This baby was born to her the same day Cameron was born to mommy and daddy. We had a glimpse of it then, but didn’t realize just how great a big sister she would be.
Howdy! My name is Mandi.
I'm just a regular Queen of Hearts married to "My favorite Deputy". Together we are blessed to be raising our sweet princess Belle, our always thinking Flick, our nimble and feisty Peter Pan, our full of spunk Tinkerbell, and our ever humorous Donald Duck. Yup, we're a bunch of characters.
