A February to Celebrate!

February Birthdays of Kids/Spouses/Grandkids, Dinner With Friends, a Mindy/Kids Visit and Sweet Sixteen!

To continue with my plan to give a little shout out to my kids, 

their spouses and grandkids

in their birthday month:

Emily is our beautiful daughter-in-law

and she brings lots of love, sporty fun, energy 

and intelligent conversation to our family - 

what a great combination, right?

And she and Ryan have super kids!

Mindy, our very daring daughter, added to her Adventure List 

this year by hiking the Stairway to Heaven 

 to the very top of Oahu. She's the cruise director 

for our family - she is organized, will tackle 

pretty much anything and is always up for fun!

And she and Jeff have super kids, too!

Jake, our handsome, second-oldest grandson,

is a major athlete in about every sport.

My favorite thing about Jake is 

his tender, kind heart.  

He loves little kids!

We went to dinner with our friends, the Madsens, 

as we do each year around our birthday time 

(Jane's is a day before mine).

In our Just Married days, 

Jane and I carpooled from our USU apartments 

to our teaching jobs at South Cache Junior High School.

Since Mindy and Jeff have been married, 

they have lived far away from us - 

New York, Denver, Houston.

Now they are comparatively a stone's throw away - 

well, just over four hours, depending on potty stops.

Jeff had a business meeting

 in San Francisco for three days,

so Mindy loaded the kids up in their SUV

and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's.

Mindy and I took the kids swimming 

in Sunbrook's indoor pool,

then Roger returned from work 

and we headed to Los Lupes in Mesquite.

Mindy would eat Mexican food, 

particularly chips and salsa, 

three meals a day!

It's kinda like how I love fish (and sweets!).

Mindy and I went through a few homes 

in the Parade of Homes on Saturday.
Grandpa was so kind to babysit the kids 
and take them to the park and for a walk.  
What a great Grandpa!
This was Mindy's favorite,
and it was decorated so very cute,
with bright colors accenting neutral background.

Sunday we had a big breakfast,
Grandpa's famous pancakes, 
bacon and a fruit compote in this sweet bowl 
that Ryan and Em gave me for my B-day.
Then Mindy and the kids cleaned, 
packed up and headed for home to meet Jeff.
Our church starts at 1pm,
so they couldn't stay and go with us.

Sweet Sixteen Sadie and her first Big Dance

We are so proud of this very special girl!

February always brings a welcome relief from January.

I can't believe all of the tourists 

who come into the Chamber of Commerce, 

where I volunteer, who comment 

on the sunshine and great weather in St. George!
Spring is just around the corner!