Cooper & Kites

We usually bring home a little gift for our kids when we leave.

What do you think we brought them home from Vegas?

The boys got kites!

Not these kites.

But some really cool ones, none the less.

I couldn't get a good picture of the boys' kites.

The were flying way too high.

It was such a fun, free feeling to watch them.

The kites and the boys.

I did get a wonderful picture of this...

What a perfect spot for a

happy splash of clover!

Actions speak louder...

"Our task is to preach the gospel.

Use words if necessary."

~ St. Francis of Assisi

Found this.

Loved this.

Wanted to share this.

In other words. . .

Brent nicely reminded me that the song we were

swooning to in front of the fountains was

"Fly Me to the Moon"

by the king of smooth Frank Sinatra.

I don't make this change for anybody but myself and my desire to remember it perfectly.

Thanks honey. I heart you.

How was the show, you ask??

The show was OUTSTANDING!
We were seated at tables right up by the stage. Perfect!
A couple times during the show Donny (sigh!!)
came off the stage via the table tops (double sigh!!)
to shake hands. That would be MY table!
Or rather 'our' table, as Brent was with me. : )
Donny and I held hands not just once but twice!
I can attest to the fact that his hands were not sweaty
at all but rather dry and scratchy.
I didn't mind.

Oh ~ And the repeated eye contact...

Fuggetaboutit!!
(and don't you dare try and tell me he was looking at all the ladies as much as he was looking at me! Let me enjoy this.)


How did Brent enjoy the show??
Well, when Marie came down the stairs right by
our table and stopped in front of him,
ran her fingers through his hair and planted
a perfect kiss on his forehead,
I think he was a bit starry-eyed. Heck! I was!!



I wouldn't let Brent wash that kiss away until we got back to the car so that I could get a picture. No cameras were allowed into the theatre so you just have to take me at my word with this recap. Then I made him dab it with a tissue, which I now have in safe keeping.



Here we are back at the hotel with Marie's kiss, show tickets, commemorative glass
(which I'll be using out by the pool this summer), streamers that fell at the end of the show
and of course, my hand that held Donny's.

I took this picture after the show. I wanted one of the marquee in the night time lights. We were driving down the strip ~ I stood up in the car (yeah, all the way through the sunroof) to get an unobstructed view. I got lots of honks. I'm sure it was my visible enthusiasm and not the fact that I was a 42 year old nut case!

I had to get a shot of the Flamingo Hotel. This was larger than life. It covered the entire hotel.



And then I had to get one of. . .

. . . the three of us.

Post concert, Brent and I went to dinner at the

Burger Bar in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

It was THE most delicious burger to have ever melted in my mouth. If ever you are in Vegas to see Donny & Marie or The Phantom, you must put this on your list of places to eat. And the buttermilk onion rings were a splendid side.

Saturday afternoon we took a stroll over
to the Belliago fountains.
All in perfect synchronization
to the smooth Harry Connick Jr.
It was sweet & romantic.






Inside the Belliago was a beautiful site.
Giant, happy flower umbrellas that looked as if they were suspended in mid air.

I want this cathedral ceiling and these umbrellas
in my next home!

Another ceiling in the Belliago was filled with
bright and beautiful blown glass.
It was huge and impressive.



They also had an atrium type garden that was
a relaxing way to end our afternoon.



Along with the cathedral ceiling and umbrellas,
I would like this water feature ~ tulips included
at my next home.



I could have taken hundreds of pictures.
Which leads me to my next birthday wish. . .

I want a great camera.

And when we returned home we found
a freshly manicured lawn,
a spotless house,
dinner on the table
and those heavenly lemon cupcakes for dessert.



Kristi (our sitter since Cooper was a babe in arms)
just makes it so easy.
We love her to pieces! No really,
I could never find the right words.

And this is the end of my 42nd

birthday blogpost.

(I can hear a collective sigh and

'thank goodness' all across blogland!)

It's good to be me!

I must say that turning another year older does have its perks!

From phone calls, emails, ecards, FB notes, lunch, gifts,

treats on my porch, and ice cream with my family,

I'd say it has been a *perfect a day.

Thank you for celebrating with me!

And now Brent and I are off.

*perfect day (defined by the Osmonds) ~

May tomorrow be a perfect day.

May you find love and laughter along the way.

May God keep you in His tender care,

'Till He brings us together again!

Good night everybody!!

Birth Day

Well, here it is.
The GOOD and the BAD.

All spelled out for me.

If I have questions about who I am or what I am about,

I can refer to this post.

Actually, much of it I would agree with.

Some of it I would not.

Gratefully my 42 years of earthly experience have given me a more heavenly understanding of who I am.

It is a birthday gift I'm most grateful for.

Sock details

After 18 years of doing my family's laundry, I have a confession...

I HATE (I know that is a strong word) to stick my hands into my children's dirty socks to turn them right side out so that they can then be washed. It slows me down and honestly ~ it is plain disgusting. Notice I am not clumping my husband into this mess because he does turn his own socks.

Bless him.

Some may say "Why do you bother turning the socks anyway?"

I say "Because that is the way my mom did it."

End of discussion.

Now I can say "Mom, I totally get it!"

I have asked for cooperation time after time over the years. And each of them did get a built in excuse when they were just kneehigh to a grasshopper. After all, they were only kneehigh to a grasshopper. But really, it has gone on too long. I don't want to reach into the laundry and touch those dirty, crunchy, sandy, stinky socks anymore. And the bigger the kids get, the bigger the UCK gets! It has taken me 18 years to come up with a solution but after a few weeks of following through with my threat, I now have almost no inside out socks to report of.

My threat?? It basically went like this.

But first you have to imagine me like this ...

And then I said,

"If I have to touch one more

stinkin'

filthy

disgusting

sock, I'm going to explode!

From now on, if I come across one of these afore mentioned socks I will toss it into the hall and then I will gather the offenders from the far corners of the house and you will come together for a sock turning party!"

I did follow through and I must say that after only a couple times of being called to participate in a sock turning party, the vile pile of offensive socks has now greatly diminished and only a few pair remain. They are learning (I've even overheard Cooper take off his socks and then say to himself "Oh man. I better turn these.") and now you can imagine me like this...

It looks like rain and smells like heaven...

It is cloudy and overcast today.

I wish it would rain.

Because then I might be justified to

buy this... or this...

or this!!

The beautiful umbrellas make me smile and I'd like one.

And for the life of me I can't remember where I found these!

And the sweetest smell lingers in the air this time of year.

Orange blossoms!

Next to lilacs it might the best fragrance to tickle my nose.

And in all honesty - we have so much of this smell around here

that the orange blossoms are a welcome diversion.

This is a photo by The Pioneer Woman

Her photography of life on a cattle ranch and the food she sets

on the table will make you want to pack your bags

and move in with her. At least it does for me!

Pardon that disruption.

I was talking about umbrellas

and orange blossoms ~

both of which make me happy.

I'm headed outside to watch for my beautiful boys to come bounding home from school.

While I'm waiting I'll drink in the dizzying scent of orange blossoms and impending rain.

It began...

I read c*jane.

Her latest post was just what I would say if I could say it like her.

This is such a crazy busy time of year for our family.

The pull of life seems to sometimes fog my mind,

but having my babies is truly where it all began.

And beginnings are a beautiful thing!

I remember this like it was yesterday ~

and I'm telling ya,

it is going too fast!

And one thing is for sure.

This birthday boy knows how to play the angles...

Come on, what Kindergarten gal can resist a

Kindergarten guy with a couple boxes of KKs!!

And a chocolate mountain cake for the monster trucks

is about as six year cool as you can get!

Cooper, my raucous redhead ~

I wouldn't change anything about you.

From our morning snuggles,

to our night time finger kisses,

and all the crazy times in between.

You LIGHT up our lives!

I love this picture!

It really nails your personality.

Like ~ Come on! What are we waiting for?!?!

And because you laugh hard,

I know you love hard.

And I'm grateful to be part of your

six year old wonderment!

Happy Birthday!

I love you 17.

~ Mom

We have something in common. . .

I watched my friend Josh the other morning.

We usually get along really well.

But he has become such a mama's boy.

But really, isn't he a gorgeous baby!

Even with "I want my mom!!" tears streaming down his cheeks,

he is beautiful!

I tried to console him. Love him, squeeze him, cuddle him.

When it was clear that nothing was going to stop the tears,

I went and got my camera.

Josh was really sad.

It's okay Josh.

I know how it feels to miss your mom.

Say it with me. . .

Awwwwww!!!

Yeah, he's sweet like that.

And we enjoyed our traditional Valentine's Day chinese take-out.
It has been a standing tradition since Maddie was a baby.

And another long time standing tradition. . .

my mom's scrum-dilly-umptious

Cherry Torte Cake.

And the kids couldn't wait another minute to break in the fire pit.

So we slammed some S'mores too!

We had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Go Lady Canes!

There really isn't a better feeling for a parent than when the

hard work and diligent efforts of a child pay off.

When we picked her up from the final night of tryouts

she ran out in front of the car, bounded over to

my side and flung open the door. She threw her arms around my

neck saying over and over "I did it Mom! I did it Mom!"

I didn't think I'd ever be a basketball fan but I am now!

Congrats Sis! I love you.