Table for Eight

Bam's version of a CUP-cake--only frosting, no cake. Bam's birthday is a few days away, so we thought we would get a jump start on it and have a small SURPRISE party for her last Thursday. She was surprised--and maybe a little confused (we had told her she was going to the mall with Papaya)--but once she realized what was going on, she was pretty happy! We had a great night with two of her BFFs: C and C (and Papaya). --They painted at a paint-your-own-pottery place. --They went for Chinese food (and ordered food that they thought the knew ... but didn't). --And then they came to our home for a tiny piñata (burrow filled with skittles) and cupcakes/dessert with the family. Bam has never had a surprise party before, so I am glad we were able to sneak one in before she turns 30! Love you, Bam. Happy almost-Birthday. You make our lives so fun, beautiful, and meaningful. And boy are you a kind, creative soul. XOXOX Bam and Papaya a few minutes after...

  I know, I know ... I've fallen off the Daily Blog Train. Again! Last time I wrote it was nearly our daughter Papaya's 16th birthday. Our son, Elder Meehan, was about 4 months away from the completion of his church service mission. And non of our teenagers could drive solo. Wow have things changed! --Papaya had a great 16th bday, passed her drivers exam, and is now driving. --Elder Meehan now has a departure date from his mission. We will see him before July 1 (after 2 years of not seeing him!). --Bam turns 18 this month and passed her permit exam (She wasn't super hip on driving earlier--which was great by us. LOL). --Jr. passed his permit exam and will be driving by November. --Zu and Lu are still loving school (minus grammar), playing a lot of volleyball, and starting to do things without their mom and dad (Ahhhhhh! They are growing up!). --Dave and I are good overall. We decided March 1 we needed to eat a lot healthier, so he I created a goa...

  1. Add real plants to our home. (Not sure succulents grow in Utah indoors, but I am gonna look into it.) Usually each New Year I create written goals for myself ... b ut for some reason this year I didn't feel like writing them in sentence-format-- at all . It's not that I didn't want to set goals; I just didn't want to write them as a list of To Dos. I thought maybe I would be more inspired by posting pictures (from Pinterest, etc.) that show the things/ideas I'm working toward achieving in 2015. And so that's what I did. I came up with some images that reflect the goals I'm working on. Some are trivial, some are more involved ... but I think it's a good starting place for me. 2. Add some funky sterling silver to my wardrobe. 3. Add color to my life. (In all forms.)  4. Finish our kids' rooms and make them comfortable places to spend their time. 5. Add a meditation room to a corner of our house. 6. Foc...