Happy Birthday, Gup!

Sunday, the 13th was Guppy's birthday (I won't say how old she is, I'll just let you know that it starts with a "3" and ends in a "6") and the girls and I were able to zoom on up to Montpelier to spend a few days with her and the Ruuds! Tiffany was there for some of the time too so we made sure that we had a party! First, we made her an angel food cake (Okay, "Hostess" made it, but Tiff, Kenna, Brooklyn, Briana and I decorated it up a bit!)

Oh, and notice the chocolate fountain in the picture...we had lots of fruit and lots of snacks to dip! The funny thing about the chocolate fountain...this was our second batch of chocolate...you see, the first batch was just as beautiful and delicious looking until TONY DECIDED TO ADD MILK TO IT BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE IT A BIT SMOOTHER! But NOOOOO, it totally clumped it up and clogged the motor thingy! I thought that I had a picture of the nasty stuff, but it must be on Gup's camera! Check out the bonfire that was created from all of Koriann's candles! (If you don't already know...Koriann is Gup or Guppy...check her blog for an explanation of this nickname that has stuck with her since she was a baby!)

Here we have the crowd gathering for some chocolate fountain, minus me and Tony (I was taking the picture and Tony was probably still hiding under the bed-worried that he was going to mess up another batch of chocolate!)

What would a party be without a pinata?! Tiff and I thought it would be fun to have a pinata, so here's a picture of Tiff, Gup and the pinata, and me...does it look like her?! The kids had a blast beating on that thing while Tony swung it from the banister overlooking their family room! (Check out Briana's blog to see pictures of kids swinging at the pinata! )

"What is Tony doing?" you might ask...he's making out with the head of a forlorn and beaten pinata that looks like his wife!

Well, Gup, we hope you had a very happy birthday and thank you so much for letting us come and celebrate with you! Oh, and she even had to teach Relief Society on her birthday! Because we were all there, she didn't even start preparing for her lesson until like midnight and it was a great lesson! She is excellent with her wording and making a lesson exciting and spiritual all in one! I'm jealous. Happy birthday Gup!

General Conference...you gotta love it!

Oh, what a wonderful weekend it has been! Don't you just love General Conference? To participate in a "solemn assembly" and sustain a new prophet of God was amazing! Every speaker seemed to have a message just for me and I grew to LOVE President Uchtdorf (I already had a soft spot for President Eyring, and of course for President Monson)!. I loved how down to earth President Monson was during the last session; so dang funny, but also so sweet and to the point. Here's a few pictures showing our family enjoying this Conference Weekend...
Kelsie and I started the morning off with a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls (before you start thinking that I'm Miss Molly Homemaker, remember, I make the dough in the bread maker!)...

Kaycee and Briana listened intently to our Church leaders as they played Conference Bingo...

Brian was "listening with his eyes closed"...

I know that our Church is definitely inspired of God, because we get this awesome spiritual rejuvination every 6 months! General Conference is always so uplifting to me and it comes just at the right time...when I'm starting to feel inadequate as a mother, as a visiting teacher, as a Young Women leader, as a wife, as a member of society. The prophet and General Authorities speak to me, make me feel loved, and give me that little push that I need to continue moving forward. I hope you all enjoyed it too!

Dying Eggs, Hunting for Eggs, Singing to Grandpa, Going to Church, Eating Cadbury Eggs and Egg-Salad Sandwiches

It looks as if Easter Weekend has come and gone, and boy was it early this year! We had to pull out the winter hats and scarves just to have an Easter Egg Hunt! Brian's dad turned 60 so all of Brian's family was in town for a surprise birthday party for him. While here, we had all the Pope cousins at our home for an Easter Egg Hunt. We had nearly 200 hidden eggs; the kids found them all in record time as they tried to hurry in from the cold! Sunday morning the Easter Bunny left a few good things, including a new outfit for the girls (instead of the usual Easter dress...he must have noticed that they have enough dresses in their closets!) and our Sunday lessons were very nice and focused on the Savior and His Resurrection. And we finally finished eating the last colorful hard-boiled egg! Farewell Easter of 2008!