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New and Old Cousins are United!

Lou got to meet her new little cousin, just three weeks old!
Curly loved playing with one of her favorite friends and cousin! They are exactly one year apart and are finally starting to play nicely together most of the time. This picture was taken after dinner at "Old Spaghetti Factory" in Spokane. Amazingly they were very well behaved and chowed down on all the yummy pasta.

Busy Mom Finds Time to Celebrate!

This is the scene that greeted me when I arrived home from a 10 day trip on my birthday. Thoughtful Fisher stuck every hat we own in the ceiling tiles with a sign reading, "Hat's Off for Lainey's Birthday!" He also made speech bubbles for all our framed pictures with a conversation about how "young" I am getting.
This is one of the three yummy birthday treats people gave me (Not to mention the Craigo's "Cookie Monster" I had with my family in Rexburg). This delicious Russian "Bird's Milk" cake was made by my sister. Fisher also made me a lemon birthday cake and my good friend Ashleigh made me a yummy huckleberry cheesecake - oh the calories! But it is my birthday, right! And I "don't eat the WHOLE cake!"

2 1/2 Year Old Girl Uses the Potty!

That's right, yesterday was "P-day." It actually went really well...only one accident so far... Curly thinks being diaper free is great and keeps jumping and dancing all around the house enjoying her new freedom.

So Blessed!

I am in Rexburg this weekend for the dedication of the Rexburg Temple. It has been a very special weekend for me. I was able to attend the "Celebration" that is performed the night before the dedication. Most of the participants are young adults, teenagers, and children. The performance included music, dancing, and narrative about the history of this area. Learning more about all the trials and work that made settling this area possible made me appreciate Idaho even more. I loved growing up here, but now I feel even more blessed for that opportunity. Not only was the celebration educational for me it was also amazing! I was so impressed with the talents of all the people who performed. My sister sang in the choir and they sounded beautiful!

Today I attended the first dedicatory session of the temple. President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the temple. He said it was his first official act as the newly sustained president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Before dedicating the temple, he sealed the cornerstone of the temple as is tradition. He was so funny. What a sense of humor! I just wanted to share my thoughts about this wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday Nate the Great!

Today is my big brother Nathan's Birthday! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Cake

"Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn't, she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, that person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn't a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don't eat the whole cake. You don't eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that's safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what's served on the happiest days of your life."

From "Eat Cake" by Jeanne Ray

Happy V-Day & B-Day!

I am going to be out of town for Valentine's day so I surprised Fisher with an early Valentine's Day Adventure on Friday. We headed up Millcreek Canyon to enjoy the beautiful new snowfall. We brought snowshoes and hiked where no human being has been before - well maybe not, but it looked like it! I highly recommend it! It was so beautiful and we had a wonderful time being together!

In other news... My cute sister Kristi is turning 21 on the 12th and my cousins Elyse & Emily also have birthdays this week. We had a Girls night birthday party on Wednesday night - a yummy dinner and then Pizookie (I just figured out how they came up with that name - pizza + cookie - duh!). Fisher's sister shared this yummy treat with us last summer (Thanks Ba!)This delicious dessert is pretty complex. You whip up some chocolate chip cookie dough, spread it in a pan and bake till barely done, then while it is still hot you cover it in ice cream and dig in....oh so yummy! Emily loved it - as you can see from this picture!

We had lots of fun and its was sad when the night came to an end! Happy Birthday Girls!