26 and such a good day

i struggled turning 25 and worried i would be the same with 26 but had such a good day i hardly thought about how old i was turning.

with trina and mason in town we did a birthday dinner with dutch oven pizza, s'mores, and lemon custad aggie ice cream and just spent the evening chilling in the back yard at my parents. the night was perfect.

this picture represents julie and mason so well, one not interested, the other eating.

and what more can you ask for on your birthday than a few surprises from someone far away:



i have a feeling it's going to be a good year.

a waffle series: the neapolitan

i love the strawberry most in neapolitan ice cream and this cookie definitely doesn't lack in strawberry flavoring. 

mini chocolate cookies with a strawberry infused buttercream drizzled with white chocolate. 

a little disclaimer: this cookie is still in the works so you may see another version in the future.

a new mario game

my sundays aren't normally too crazy but yesterday was an exception. started at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 9:00 p.m. but it was a great day. caught this picture while out doing visits with the r.s. presidency:

he said they were waiting for trick-or-treaters. and they'd even had some already. all i kept thinking about was the 90 degree weather and his long sleeves and hat. but he was having fun and that's all that matters. seriously so funny.

i hope my kids have some crazy ideas like this little man. and that i don't stop them from doing them.

apostate emails

what does it say about the quality of friend you are when you receive an email with the subject line: hafta send an apostate email geez. and this is from the missionary who is only supposed to email family and the rest of us rely on the snail mail of canada. but it had been so long since she's heard from me she felt the need to break the rules and deny herself the blessings associated with it.

i'm a horrible friend. any way to get her those blessings back?

a waffle series: the turtle

a variation on the classic, generally for a more mature audience (what kid likes nuts?)

chocolate cookie with chocolate frosting topped with pecan halves and a caramel drizzle.

only because it never wakes me up

love love finding a text on my phone from 4:30 in the morning that starts with good morning. to be thought of that early.

a waffle series: the original

the day my aunt rosalyn brought the first chocolate waffle cookie to a family event was the day my life was changed forever. they have been a family favorite ever since with my mom affectionately calling them 'wafflies'. and not to be confused with what's found all over pinterest. these are way better.

a few weeks ago my mom got thinking about all the different kinds of waffle cookies we could make. and thus began this waffle series. 

we'll start with the original:

chocolate cookie with chocolate frosting. a classic that will never go out of style.

a little dating advice

i'm not 18 any more. and even when i was 18 i don't know that i appreciated 'creative' dates. i think i've gotten to the point where i want dates to be something i would do on a real afternoon with my husband one day. after it's been a really long day and all we want to do is talk over dinner. then take a walk through one of our favorite streets. and be home by 8:30. and that's better than ok. i would love you more than you can believe. i don't need creative. skip the duct tape roses and picking out outfits for eachother at the d.i. please. did i mention i'm not 18?

sometimes i don't even change my clothes from what i've been wearing all day. because that's reality to me.

and maybe that's why i'm not married.

my motto: leave me wanting more, not less

no real reason why except that it was great

last night was such a good night. nothing extraordinary happened but i went to sleep with a smile on my face. 

it was jason's birthday so we celebrated at my parents with the classic pistachio torte that jason loves. julie loves swinging and sliding at grandma's so out we went. 

i got this picture that i still can't stop laughing over. it kills me.

as my uncle brad said, "how could you ever have more fun than that?" true story. when was the last time i ever came close to being that happy?

good conversations with friends followed the family fun and it was just really great.

a little office fun

a few weeks back it was billy's 40th, which is a big deal, so we had a little fun with it. nothing crazy. 

please note the wheelchair sitting behind his desk. and you can't see the walker posed and ready in front of the road sign. i got a few comments from human resources on the appropriateness of the sign but at least it made everyone laugh.  props to my brother brandon for an awesome design job.