Quite Possibly the Best

This year was a big birthday for me.  The dreaded 3-0, though I am not sure why so dreaded?  I wasn't expecting much - just a quiet family birthday dinner with cake.  We knew Fisher's family was gathering in Utah and I was feeling a bit sad that we couldn't join them.  Fisher has been busy studying for a BIG, hairy specialty board exam which has taken up most of the little spare time he has - so like I said, I wasn't expecting much.  My low expectations were met and exceeded by an eventful, memorable birthday weekend!

The weekend started great with a Friday night "Sweetheart Dinner" that my cooking club plans each year.  Spouses are invited and this year the menu was French with a full 20 courses - or at least it seemed that way.  I guess there were more like ten courses.  It was all so delicious with good company and an evening of great conversation.  On Saturday night, Fisher surprised me with a special date to the Art Museum and then dinner at a very nice restaurant.  An even more delicious night with wonderful company and conversation.

On Sunday morning I slept in to my hearts desire and finally dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 because the girls were "ready" for me to see my birthday decor and display.  I walked into the family room and two cute giggly girls hopped out and said "Happy Birthday!"  Then I headed toward the kitchen to see the traditional Birthday display when an equally cute beautiful, but much older girl popped up from behind my counter and said "Happy Birthday!"  I can't even describe how completely confused and speechless I was to see my little sister standing in my kitchen early on a Sunday morning.  I think I just stared at her for 30 seconds trying to figure out how in the world she got from Washington DC to Peoria, AZ in a few hours and without me knowing!  But K-Rae did - It was the best birthday surprise!  I was so happy to see her!

Birthday Surprises

We had a nice, low-key day.  After church Fisher and K-Rae made a delicious Birthday dinner of Chicken Piccata, Sauteed snow peas, rolls, and Key Lime Pie.  K-Rae is a great cook and she and Warren made a very impressive and delicious meal.  Now that I think about it - I ate a lot of really good food in the course of three days! 

Birthday Dinner

Key Lime Pie -  A favorite!

We enjoyed a some evening games, the birthday treasure hunt and then went to bed early as we were all pretty worn out.  My whole day was peppered with phone calls and emails from family and friends wishing me a happy birthday and sharing favorite memories with me.  It was so lovely to read the emails and talk to people.   I felt so loved and I really could not have asked for a better day!

On Monday we headed to the Children's Museum.  The girls have been asking to go for months and they had a blast.  I was very glad that K-Rae was with me to talk with and have an extra set of hands!

Hiding out in the noodle forest

Ice cream for sale

The bike "car wash"

As if flying across the country to surprise me wasn't enough, K-Rae gave me a pedicure for my b-day and so we spent Monday evening talking while she rubbed my feet and Fisher dozed on the couch.  Her trip was far too short and after a Tuesday morning walk and quick shopping trip, it was time to head to the airport.  While we were waiting for Curly's bus, she and Lou traced each other on the sidewalk.  Lou completed the picture by connecting their hands.  We are so glad K-Rae came.  I am grateful for wonderful family and friends who took time to make it a special birthday weekend!

Beautiful February

 February is a great month in Arizona!  We always have visitors in February.  The weather is beautiful.  And February is the month of my birthday.  This year was no exception - maybe even one of the best Februarys ever! 

Life is always fun with cute and creative little girls around. Usually Saturday lunches are pretty low key - leftovers or quesadillas and tomato soup or maybe fried rice.  A few weeks ago, I was not home in the morning and Fisher was busy in the yard, so he told the girls that they were in charge of lunch.  We sat down to plates set with dried mangos, chicken nuggets, granola bars, and bunny crackers.  They even remembered their fruits and veggies and washed some strawberries and even picked some lettuce from the garden.

 My parents visited early in the month.  We had them for a few short days before they headed to a sibling meeting in Gilbert with my dad's family.  We enjoyed a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden.  The garden was really interesting and I learned a lot about plants in AZ.   We also enjoyed some quality playing time at home and outside in the lovely weather.

Botanical Garden

Stories with Grandma

Tickle time with Grandpa

Lou roaring in Grandpa's face.

 We love Lou's preschool teacher this year and this is just one of the many cute learning crafts they have completed.  Lou is sporting her anatomy with a brain hat and a vest displaying her inner workings.  The day I took this picture, the poor girl had a yucky cold that left her face puffy and nose raw.

 I think our girls would be happy if the only toy in our house was the box of dress-ups!

Dress-up time!

Yuck

This week can be summed up in a few words -
gatorade, laundry, gingerale, laundry, soda crackers... you guessed it, laundry
I feel like a time warp place took place and I lost a week of my life.
We have all had the flu that keeps on giving :)
Here's to a healthy week ahead

Belated

The problem is that I have good intentions to blog so I sit down, open my blog url, and see all these posts from friends and family that I haven't read for days or weeks.  "I'll just quickly read that one," I think to myself and a half an hour later I have read 10 blogs and I am out of time to post on my own.   But, at least I know what my family and friends are up to.

January has been a lovely month.  To Curly's delight, the leaves finally fell off the trees and there was enough to make piles for playing.  Fisher blew all the leaves into a corner of the yard and the girls have spent several happy afternoons out there.

We had a nice weekend visit from Oma and Grandpa last weekend.  It was beautiful weather, so we enjoyed walks and playing at the park.   We went to dinner at a Korean BBQ one night and we all tried something new (even the girls)!  Fisher and his dad were bold enough to try the octopus and the kimchi soup.  The octopus felt like a chunk of bouncy ball in your mouth and Fisher was tired of chewing before he was full.  Aside from the texture, most of what we tried was actually quite good. 

Fisher and his dad fixed our broken (for a year) doorbell.  Now we have a doorbell that sounds like a church bell tower.  I feel like we live in mansion and the girls love to sneak out and ring it... I am not sure that fixing the doorbell was such a great idea :)

We were lucky to be able to celebrate Oma's birthday while they were here.  The girls made sure that we did in true Lake family tradition with the "birthday hat" and a treasure hunt for her gift.

We enjoyed the relaxing weekend visit before returning to the business of normal life.  Fisher is studying hard for his specialty boards in a few weeks.  I have picked up a few shifts at the hospital while he is home studying.  Lou thinks this is great...dad doesn't care how much makeup she wears :)

Berry couldn't be more thrilled that dad lets her play in the mud!

My friends and I were the planners of our cooking club's German dinner last week.  It all turned out quite delicious and I enjoyed an evening out with the wonderful ladies in our group!

Home for the Holidays

Last night I told Curly that I was sad that school was starting and wanted her to stay home with me.  She seemed suprised and asked, "Then why does the song say, 'Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.'?"

Why does it say that?  I loved having my girls home and they had so much fun playing together every day.  We didn't go anywhere (very far), which was a first for us.  Instead family came to visit us and we had a wonderful time.  Here is our lengthy Christmas wrap-up -

The last day of school Curly's school has a "Jingle Bell Jog."  Not really a race just an excuse to get kids moving before they cram themselves full of Christmas goodies.  Parents are invited to participate, so we did. 

Curly and Lou at the Jingle Bell Jog

Fisher grew up receiving an ornament each Christmas and we have continued the fun tradition.  This year we wanted to find some cactus ornaments to commemorate our first Christmas staying home in the Arizona sun.  We failed to find any, so on Christmas Eve we made salt dough ornaments.  We had a good time and they actually turned out very cute.  The finishing touch would have been to decorate them with twinkle lights (as people do here), but the craft store was out.

Salt Dough wreath and "blob"

For Christmas Eve dinner we had a traditional German meal - Rouladin, rotkohl, spaetzle, potato dumplings, gravy, and german cheesecake.  We had a couple in our ward over for dinner.  They were very entertained by our darling overly ecstatic children (at least someone was :).  After a quiet drive to look at Christmas lights it was off to bed.  Fisher and I were excited to go to bed at a decent time, but it was not to be.  Poor Berry was up most of the night with a bad case of croup.  Christmas morning came all too soon with exhausted parents and girls  bouncing with excitement.

Feeling better - a happy girl even when she is sick

In spite of our exhaustion, it was very enjoyable to see the girls exclaim over every present they received.  They were just as excited about a new toothbrush as they were about receiving what they had asked for. 

Toothbrushes!!!

A baby doll!

Books!

Lou's loot - The Pillow pet was on her wish list and is very loved

Curly asked for slippers and a locket and Santa came through!

Christmas being on a Sunday, we enjoyed a quiet afternoon.  We were able to have a conference call with the whole Lovell family plus some as we talked to Paisley on her mission.  The girls and Fisher decorated a gingerbread house and we all went for a walk after dinner.

A few days after Christmas the Lovells arrived!  Lainey's parents, two sisters, and brother + girlfriend, gathered from all quadrants of the US..  We attended a Lovell cousin wedding in Mesa the first day, visited museums, took walks, played games, and just enjoyed being together.

The family at the Mesa Temple

Girls waiting with Aunt K-Rae during the wedding

We had three pics of our whole family together last year - My goal this year is to take one each time we have the opportunity.

Sisters with cousin Sydney at the reception

My sister K-Rae gave dad an inflatable floating remote control shark for Christmas (the gift for the man who has everything :)  Everyone was entertained by the bobbing shark, which did look pretty life like as it swam along.

Eating mom

Watch out!

Taking a stroll to see the neighbors.

Waiting for dinner at Abuelo's - Yum!

K-Rae and Berry

Gifts from Aunt JG

Gifts from Grandma C

Lou doing some morning Yoga with Dania

On New Years Eve, we took an outing to the Musical Instrument Museum.  It was impressive and interesting (especially for the adults) and there was a lot more to see than anticipated.  We ended up spending most of the day there.  In the evening we enjoyed, sparklers, games, and food.

The experience room at the Musical Instrument Museum

Having fun with sparklers and a camera on New Years Eve

Playing "Body Jam" on New Years

Aunt JG gave the girls a science in the kitchen kit.  Here they are making fizzy drinks. 

Playing "The blindfold game"

The dryer is a fun place to hide

K-Rae and mom and dad left a couple days before Nate, Dania, and Jeniel.  We hiked at Thunderbird park and visited the Science Center.

Berry is ready to hike, but not thrilled about it.

A few minutes later

Nathan and Dania

Happy to have family visit!