May 2011

Just some random pictures of the girls from May.  1) Karina, Aurora, and Tierra all ready for church. 2 & 3) Aurora and Calyssa sleeping, 4) Karina looking cute, 5 & 6) Riana and Sariah with the Journal Jars they made in Activity Day Girls- we've had a lot of fun with the jars, which have different questions in them to ask family members (like about Mom and Dad's childhood and such.)

  

  

 Mother's Day
1) While I was upstairs, still recovering from my surgery, Grant and the girls cleaned the house, for Mother's Day.  So sweet!
2) Per tradition in Grant's family growing up, all girls get breakfast in bed on Mother's Day (the opposite is true on Father's Day.)  Our girls love this tradition and feel very spoiled each Mother's Day.  We all appreciate the hard work from the lone man of the house to bring us all breakfast in bed.  :)
3-5) The girls worked really hard, in Primary and at home, making me lots of lovely gifts and cards.  Made with lots of love... my favorite!!
6) Calyssa looked super cute and was full of smiles!  What a perfect gift!
7) Since I was still only eating soft foods, my brunch consisted of scrambled eggs, a smoothie, and (lukewarm) hot chocolate.  Dinner was comprised of mac and cheese, peaches, and watermelon.  (I also think this was the first day I left the house in two and a half weeks, to go to sacrament meeting.)
8) My sister-in-law, Jolie, and my brother, Dan, were so sweet to bring me some chocolate covered strawberries, which I shared with everyone.  I did manage to get 2-3 down and they didn't actually hurt too bad.  Anyway, it was so worth it.  They were super yummy!
9-10) The girls were excited to give Grandma (my Mom), who lives in town, her card.  I wasn't able to fulfill my tradition of taking her out to dinner for Mother's Day Weekend (since I couldn't eat much.)  But I took her out a couple of weeks later instead, to our favorite restaurant... Olive Garden.  (Grant said I should've taken her out to Jamba Juice- that would've been pretty funny actually.  Although I couldn't drive because of the medications I was on.)
11) The beautiful roses I received from Riana, Sariah, and their coach... Grant.  He gave each of the girls on his soccer team a rose to take to their Mothers for Mother's Day.  So thoughtful!  :)
Despite my health challenges, I had a wonderful Mother's Day and felt very blessed!!

We celebrated our 13th anniversary in May.  Since our actual anniversary was on a Sunday, our girls were sweet enough to make us a romantic dinner (with a little help, but it was their idea.)  They decorated the table and our bed (which they definitely didn't understand but have seen it done before.  LOL!  Very sweet!)  Then later in the month, we went out to dinner at an awesome restaurant, Stanley & Seaforts, that I have always wanted to try.  (Grant has been there a few times for work and loved it.)  It sits up on a hill and has a beautiful view of Tacoma, making it quite the romantic setting and perfect for celebrating our anniversary together, especially since we were given one of the best tables to see the view.  And the food was incredible!!  I ordered a white fish with a sort of peanut Thai mixed with Hawaiian flavoring, which was actually quite spicy, even to Grant, and yet I didn't even really notice, which was weird, since I normally can't handle a lot of spice.  That and the fact that I normally don't like any pink to my meat and this had a lot and yet it was so good!  (They did substitute a different fish into the dish because the normal one is like sushi and since I am breastfeeding, I couldn't eat that one.)  I was shocked how much I loved it!  Grant was impressed!  LOL!  After the exquisite meal, they brought us out a complimentary dessert and card, for our anniversary, the best creme brulee I have ever eaten, with strawberries and whipped cream.  I'm not normally a big fan of creme brulee but, oh, it was so delicious!  Also, we had Calyssa along, who was an absolute angel, and all the restaurant staff fell in love with her.  They wanted to feed her some treats but she was still too small to eat solids.  Anyway, we had a wonderful time eating there and will definitely go back.  Thanks to my parents for watching the other girls, so that we could go!  :)

Photographers in Training-- Our girls, especially Riana, love to set up backgrounds and "dress-up" their younger sisters, and take pictures of them.  Here of some of the cutest ones.  I was impressed!!  (Just even getting Aurora to let you take her picture is quite a feat, let alone getting her to pose- impressive!)  They are going to be quite amazing professional photographers some day!!