Lois' giveaway

My fourth daughter Lois, is having a giveaway on her blog! They are beautiful letters that she creates. Go and leave a comment and you may be a lucky winner!
http://dougandlois.blogspot.com/

To Infinite and Beyond!

I read Lindsay's post on her blog about Lois' giveaway, and I began feeling very nostalgic. Sean and I visited with Lois and Doug in Dallas a few months ago, and I really miss Lois and Lindsay for that matter.....

Here they are in their matching Easter dresses. Lois and her mom Cathy, Lindsay and I went to JoAnn Fabrics and the girls chose the dress pattern they liked. We each bought the matching fabric and voila! Lois and Lindsay had matching dresses. We were in different wards, but the same church building. When they would see each other in the halls between meetings, they would scream (quietly) and jump up and down. They had some people convinced they were cousins and some people actually thought they were sisters!

The dresses had a skirt overlay so this is what that pose is all about!

Aaaaaaahhhhh.......

They actually did jump in the pool fully clothed. They had gone for a walk and it was so hot outside that they simply jumped in to cool off.

For Lindsay's 16th birthday present, Lois arranged to have their pictures taken together by a photographer. We have lots of other poses too.

Lois was at Lindsay's high school graduation at Tuacahn in St. George.

Now the sad part.....Lindsay was living in Houston with Jeremy when Lois and Doug were married in the Logan temple. We drove up there as a family and were able to enjoy the day with them and represent Lindsay. It was a beautiful day.

It was a long day though, everyone slept on the way home. I think Addison was doing window well work for Craig.

The first reunion after Lois and Doug were married. Lindsay was home visiting and she and I drove to Riverdale, Utah, to visit them.

This is a funny story but I can't tell it as well as Lindsay and Lois. I was about to take their picture, when Lindsay and Lois both kissed Jeremy on the cheek at once! Jeremy was creeped out that someone besides his wife was kissing him, so we reenacted the photo and Jeremy will never live it down!

Charlie's Angels

Lois loved "Sunkist" soda and it was always a part of their sleepovers.

Lois was with Lindsay when Lindsay graduated from Brigham Young University.

See? My four daughters. This is Jordan and Addison's Eagle Court of Honor.












My mother wrote a beautiful ballad for Lindsay's wedding dinner. Of course Lois is in it! I thought it would be fitting to share it here.

The Ballad of Lindsay Leigh, or Infinite and Beyond

Listen up everybody, I've a story to say

about a little girl baby, born down Arkansas way

She was smart, she was pretty, and her momma was proud

They were all pretty ahppy, There was just one cloud.

A big old tornado almost blowed them away

so her Daddy packed them off down to Florida way

Lindsay blossomed and grew in the Florida sun

where the palm trees sway and the crocodiles run

One day she was sunnin' by the Hibiscus tree

and she said, "I need a friend, I'm as lonely as can be."

"I wish I had a twin, someone just like me."

Well, the Lord, He must have heard her, for He said, "Now let me see!"

"She has sisters, she has brothers, she has lots of family

But I guess she wants the friend she had when she lived here with me."

"I wonder where I put her? Oh, there she is!!" said He

That's when He brought out Lois, and their friendship came to be.

Well, she grew and she developed, especially musically

Then her family said, "We're moving West. That's where we have to be!"

So they moved in with their "Grammie"

to a place called Calgary

Now Lindsay had a habit of speaking very fast

so with her Southern accent, the Canadians did ask

"Is it English she is speaking? Or a tongue from far away?"

"We can't quite understand her." "Did you hear?" "What did she say?"

Well, they quickly grew to love her, and they had a lot of fun

They kidnapped snowmebn, left and right

They T.P'd every tree to sight

and filmed Wanita's World at night

Her seminary teachers thought she was the cat's meow

When it came to scripture mastery, she and Rebecca showed them how.

Now, Dad was very lonesome, for he missed his little horde

so, from Canada he packed them up and moved them to St. George!

Ah! The warmth and the sunshine, away from the cold.

She basked in the landscape and never got bored.

She practiced her flute, adn in fair Tuacahn

her love for the arts and theatre was born

She worked making teriyaki but tips they were few

so she thought, "I'm in Utah!!! I'll try BYU!!!

She went out on dates and had lots of fun

but each one she rejected, he wasn't the one.

When off in the distance she saw a black horse

something made her look twice, and she altered her course.

As the vision drew closer the sight made her wince

It was a big black Biretta, could this be the guy?

But, she'd promised her Grammie she'd not fall in love

'til she finished her mission. Oh heavens above!!!!

Grammie's mission goes on 'til two thousand and two.

That seems like forever. "Oh what shall I do?"

"He seems almost perfect. He's an RM from Spain

But he's leaving for Houston. I'll not see him again."

Meanwhile, Jeremy finished his Bachelor's degree

A civil engineer, he wants to be

but Houston's too far from South Jordan, you see

So he bought a gold chariot, all shiny and new

and went to see Lindsay to see what she'd do

He drove her away to Brigham Young Park

and asked her to marry him, there in the dark

As he gave her his ring and proposed - right or wrong

She said, "You are my Prince, I was right all along."

It was the fifth day of June. One they'll never forget

For the promises made; for the covenants kept

In a sacred temple, Salt Lake was its name.

For time and eternity vows will remain

on earth and in heaven, forever the same.

Heavenly Father smiled down from above

and said, "My dear children, I remember with love."

"the goals that you made when you lived here with me."

"You have kept yourselves worthy and made yourselves free."

When the years fly away and your children are grown,

you'll sit back and remember the joys you have known.

May you always be blessed with a life filled with love

as you follow the Spirit and our Savior above.

Stake Conference

This weekend was Stake Conference. We used to live across the street from the Stake Center (church). We would just walk over and go home whenever the meetings were over. Well.......living here is so different! Our stake center is in Gainesville, which is a 45 minute drive.

On Saturday, Ricky had priesthood leadership meeting from 4 to 6 and we had the adult session from 7 to 9. We left home at 3 and didn't get home until 10.

Today, Sean and Ricky were asked to be ushers. Ricky wasn't feeling well so he couldn't go to church. Sean, Vanessa and I left the house at 7. Sean had to be there at 8, and Vanessa had a young single adult meeting from 8:30 to 9:30. Then Stake Conference was from 10 to 12. We got home at 1:00. What a full weekend of church meetings! We did have a good time and now we know how to get to the stake center. It is a beautiful big building, way bigger than any we went to in Utah. Sean said he has never seen a gym as big!

Shampoo

The weather is nice and warm here in Florida. The water is heating up in the pool. Not warm enough for me yet, but it's getting there. It is just the right temperature for my little Sean-i-poo and Shampoo, the killer whale he adopted. Here is the link to Sean's blog so you can see for yourself!
By the way, he loooooooves comments, he lives for them. Don't we all?

http://picswithsean.blogspot.com/2009/03/do-what-im-doingadopt-whale_20.html

Quilted "table topper" giveaway (not mine)

I like have put a lot of blogs on my Google Reader. I check them daily. I follow 170 blogs. Some I just scan, but others, I read very carefully and savor the pictures and journalling because they inspire me. Of course I love my family and friend blogs. They make my day. The rest are on food or quilting. One of my favorite quilt blogs just had a virtual party. We sent a virtual gift and made virtual food. It was a lot of fun. I gave one of her favorite top 10 gifts, so my name was mentioned! My friend Lori won though. Congratualtions Lori! We actually gave the same gift, a featherweight sewing machine, but Lori went the extra mile and gave a vintage red colored one.
Anyway, Kim has a giveaway on her blog. A beautiful pastel pieced and quilted table topper. Here is the link to her blog if you want to enter.
http://bittybitsandpieces.blogspot.com/
Thanks for commenting on what dress pattern I should make for Kennedy's dress. It helped a lot. It was unanimous.

I Need to Make a Decision

Just look at this adorable face. Okay, the little one in the pink. Ha ha ha! I have been planning on making her an Easter dress for months. It is down to the crunch. I have ordered two patterns in the mail but just can't make up my mind. Kennedy is 1 l/2 years old and she is growing up fast. I originally bought the Bessie pattern because it was different. Then I thought Basic Square Yoke Dress. Now I am back to the Bishop style dress. It is mostly for little girls, so maybe I should make her Easter dress in that pattern. What do you think?

Here are two samples of bishop dresses. My fabric is almost the same as the pink print. That style really suits a teeny little girl.

This is Bessie. It is smocked in the front and the back, and buttons down the front. I made it for Vanessa when she was 7. It was white fabric, with smocked candy canes. I might make it for Kennedy that way at Christmas.

This is the Basic Square yoke dress pattern. Short puffy sleeves with a sash in the back. It buttons in the back, and has a peter pan round collar. This would work very well for next Easter, or the Easter after that when Kennedy is 3 going on 4. Bridger's age.

This is the Bishop pattern. I don't really like the dresses in the photo that much, but the dresses the little girls in the first photos are really cute. The fabric I'm sewing the dress with is the white with pink flowers.

So please leave a comment and help me decide. Tell me why also. Thanks for your help. Anxiously waiting your opinions because I need to get started ASAP!

Happy Birthday Sean

It is Sean's 16th birthday. He requested homemade pizza for dinner. Well I didn't have my pizza stone, so they weren't as good as the last time. The pepperoni one is for Sean, the one with mushrooms is for Ricky and Vanessa.

The vegetarian "kidney"shaped? one is for me. I didn't feel that great, and was cooking from the time I got home from church, to the time we sat down for dinner. My rolling pin disappeared during the move, so I had to roll the dough with the pasta jar. Sean tried flipping it in the air, but it was mine he was trying to do that with and look how it turned out!
I felt sorry for Sean since he had such a small family gathering for his birthday, so he got a rootbeer float. I don't think that made up for the loss of his brothers and sisters though.

I made him a triple layer homemade chocolate cake.

Vanessa gave us each our favorite king size chocolate bar. Mine is the Caramello. I put it away in my sewing drawer to save for a special occasion.

This was Sean's gift from Ricky and I. We will go shopping when we have some spare time and get him a life size set. That will give Ricky and Sean something to do together. Vanessa and I can either drive the cart or go shopping!

This was Vanessa's gift to Sean. She sure is generous. What a nice gift!

Sean was ordained a priest today (Sunday) by his father. He has earned his Duty to God requirements for the office of a Teacher. Way to go Sean. That is a lot of hard work, and you have to be organized to fulfill all of the requirements.

Vanessa is loving her brother, but I'm a little concerned about the knife....

Sean sure reminds me of someone in this picture....could it be Addison????

Time to Go Home...

I forgot about this picture! I did get a picture of Lindsay and Jeremy. Thanks, Dave. Jordan and Kim came over a little later, and we had Key Lime pie. A Horst tradition.

Fun with Family

On Saturday, I went to the Draper Temple open house with Dave and Rebecca. We drove to a church in Draper, parked the car and took this bus to the temple. It was busy on Saturday, but we really enjoyed seeing the beautiful temple. Everything was so well organized. On our way home, they bought chinese food to take out. We ate at their place and watched Steel Magnolias. I had a great time.

I went to Jordan and Kim's house for dinner on Sunday. Here is Jordan with the "girls". Cheyenne and Raleigh. Kim made us a delicious pork chop dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy, butternut squash, and a salad. For dessert she made a homemade pound cake. We watched the movie Ironman on their ginormous screen.
I had dinner at Shauna and Alan's house twice!! They are Jeremy's parents. Shauna is an excellent cook, and it happened to be Jordan's birthday one time (he turned 12, Jeremy's nephew), and Eric's (Jeremy's brother in law) birthday another time. It was great to spend time with Jeremy's family. They are sort of our extended family.

I also was fortunate enough to enjoy lunch with some friends while I was there.

"This is getting good." hahaha! (inside joke)

The Move

I gave Kennedy and Bridger a lot of baths. They love to snuggle when they get out, and i love to oblige! Look at Kennedy's big eyes.....Bridger is sooooo cool, that he gets out of the tub with his sunglasses on!

Here are their mug shots.....

I told them to put their arms around each other and they did! Cute, cute, cute!

That reminds me, I was at my favorite quilt store, Material Girls, and told my daughter to count how many times she heard the word "CUTE". At least 5 times per minute, I'm not kidding.

I took Bridger to preschool right after the big truck arrived. Kennedy and I went shopping.

The one who was the most traumatized by the move, was Scout. He stayed in this basket for over 20 hours. See his eyes peeking out?

At the new house, worn out with his batman socks from Aunt Em and his monster truck sweater from Grandma and Grandpa, and his gator jersey from Grandpa.

Breakfast at the new house. Bridger is very good at posing, but Kennedy hasn't got the hang of it yet. Bridger's favorite breakfast seems to toast, whereas Kennedy's is anything Bridger is having! I had a great time helping out. I didn't get one picture of Lindsay and Jeremy. I will get Vanessa to make up for me when she visits the end of March. Lindsay and Jeremy bought me a beautiful silk orchid that goes inside of my tall glass apothecary jar. I have it sitting on the kitchen counter by the family room. They took me out for a delicious meal at Buca di Beppo. I love that place, but hardly ever get to go. Thank you for being such great hosts.