'tis My Pleasure To Speak:
Reviewing Our Four Broadway Events

With only 3 nights available, we managed to find excellent seats to an assortment of plays and musicals playing on Broadway or thereabouts.

A Behanding in Spokane

I have to admit that the big draw to this play was Christopher Walken. We have admired his work for so long and we just needed to see him in his element live. He did NOT disappoint.

The story is about a man called Carmichael looking for his severed hand. Hence, the title. He has been searching for over 25 years. Martin McDonaugh, who wrote the play, also wrote another play that we enjoyed years ago entitled, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Spiced with profanity and seriously, but seriously politically incorrect epithets, I hardly even winced. Walken's dry delivery was pitch perfect and Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind--he played the role of Chuck Barrie...) was the perfect 'foil' for his character--he plays a hotel clerk with a very, very nonchalant death wish...and a strange interest in Carmichael's predicament. Zoe Kazan (who plays Meryl Streep's daughter in the movie "It's Complicated" and Anthony Mackie (Hurt Locker) play a couple who stupidly and unsuccessfully try to convince Carmichael that they have his hand in their possession--which is where the farce begins.

The play works in so many different layers. There is a very solid chemistry between the four actors and the audience begins to connect with each character almost immediately. Kazan plays 'a lady in distress', a wily manipulator, a liar, an ingenue with so much panache that one can sense a great deal of intelligence in her seeming helplessness. Each actor held his own but when Walken is not in the scene the 'electricity' dissipates. We certainly felt his quirky, inexplicable and charming eccentricity so just being in his presence gave us a sense of being in a unique and historical company.

I give this play 5 out of 5 snaps.

Lend Me A Tenor

We had first row seats to this play and so we got spit upon a lot especially by Tony Shalhoub who spits a lot! What a sublime pleasure! This zany comedic farce with the slamming doors had I thought, casting perfection. Making his Broadway debut, Justin Bartha, (National Treasure) whose character is the link pin to all the characters and all the action, was the beneficiary of generous actors whose performances enabled his character to bloom and shine without taking away from their own terrific performances. Shalhoub was wonderful. Period. Anthony LaPaglia, was engaging as the Italian tenor who arrives in town the evening of his first performance of Othello with a bad case of intestinal distress after indulging in greasy food and libations. He looked so ill that I thought maybe he may not be able to finish the play-- well, that's when it dawned on me that 'this is just pretend'. That's how good he was. Jan Maxwell who plays the tenor's wife was hilarious and gorgeous. I have to also mention that the set was fabulously built. We laughed throughout---and I mean, belly-laughed. It was pure therapy.

Mr & Mrs. Fitch

I really wanted to like this play because I adore John Lithgow. But I finally just gave in to the realization that the play itself was....well, annoying. I think LIthgow knew it. I could tell. He delivered his lines with the greatest of elan but the script itself fabulously falls flat. Yes, I do fault Douglas Carter Beane's utterly shrill and pretentious script. He is all over the place obviously trying far too hard to bombard his audience with name-dropping and references to the intelligentsia of literary greats. The script will, in one verbose sentence reference Waugh to Voltaire and then annoyingly worship Sylvia Plath, who in my opinion is so highly over-rated anyway. I mean, come on people---she wrote ONE book and then killed herself. But that's beside the point.

John Lithgow and British actress, Jennifer Ehle, play husband and wife gossip columnists who run out of gossip fare and proceed to invent a celebrity and blah blah blah. It's all too predictable. But that's not the problem. The problem is, Beane couldn't make up his mind about this play. It's not quite a comedy. And it's not quite a tragedy. Or a drama either. I was confused. The worst part is that I just couldn't feel anything but ambivalence or worse, not really care about any of the characters. I wish I could like them, but they are so annoyingly pretentious. I wish I could hate them but they weren't that despicable either. It's like some sort of horror date night with someone who's hot but won't go all the way. Why couldn't Beane just go commando and make the characters deliciously despicable that the audience could actually have a meaningful reaction? Or decide to make it a darker, edgier dramedy so the characters can have their comeuppance? So I just wanted the play to end and take poor Lithgow out of his misery. He is all that saves the play. I wish he just played the piano and sang the old standards...which he does so but only for a very short snip.

On a positive note, I found Ehle's wardrobe very chic and the set oh so very Manhattan. She is a beautiful woman. But it bothered me a bit that she tripped over her lines several times. Well, one can hardly be too hard on her---she is a Brit speaking American. I found myself wondering how in the world these characters could afford a nice flat with such rich details on a gossip columnist salary. But I digress. Well, that's all I did for most of the play. On another plus...John LIthgow-- in person-- live. And we sat on the 5th row dead center.

Promises, Promises

I was excited to see this musical because I am a Burt Baccharach-Hal David fan. Plus this musical is based on the movie "The Apartment" which starred one of my favorite actors of my childhood, Jack Lemmon. (And a young Shirley McLane) And also because I love Kristin Chenoweth.

But Kristin Chenoweth did not deliver the goods. Her performance was...to use a cliche, oh so very wooden. And it's oh so true. Sean Hayes did not disappoint. He has an almost Matthew Broderick'ish quality. But I'll tell you what was the stand-out performance of the night: Katie Finneran, who had a small scene but a gigantic, amazing performance. She brought light and sunshine to a whimpering production. I think she saves the night.

I would say that the star of the show is really the music. In the end, I enjoyed it and I was rooting for Sean Hayes whose performance was very likeable and in some instances, touching.

And that was Broadway for me last week.

Tony Goldwin and Katie Finneran

Goldwin (Ghost) was boring in his role. But Katie Finneran...wow! We were lucky enough to have seen her spectacular performance on "Noises Off" (we were with Tascha and Hannah). She won several awards for that play including the Tony.

Mothering When They Do Not Need Mothering...

Mothering When They Do Not Need Mothering Is An Opportunity To See Your Handiwork

When children started to come to our little family composed of me and my best friend/college sweetheart/husband, my focus turned to accumulating as much information as I could about the art and science of raising children. Many of these books and manuals were very interesting. Some comical. Some very scientific. Some teeming with wise advise from experience. Some contained a lot of superfluous garbage. But I took on as much information as my mind could absorb and coupled with my own acute observations of children and the adults who 'supervise' and care for them, I started to form my own conclusions and the resulting executions based on these became my very own style and brand of mothering. I would often, in my head, run various hypothetical scenarios and then figured out intelligent and sensitive solutions to potential pickles and confusing circumstances.

When one by one my children became teenagers and young adults, I found myself in unfamiliar scenarios that never before I had considered or pondered. I had to relearn how to mother when my children wanted independence and just have their mother be in a distance far enough that they cannot feel my presence and influence...or nurturing but close enough to feel safe.

With married sons and daughters old enough to seriously consider marriage, I thought I'd list the top five for now:

1. When your sons get married, you must accept that your daughters-in-law should, must and definitely take over your spot as the most important, influential and beloved woman in your sons' lives. If you have very close relationships with your sons, be prepared for that relationship to change drastically... as in, you must take your place in the background where you no longer are privy to your sons' every thoughts, opinions and especially, attention. That their wives are the most important persons in their lives is a testament of your sons' intelligence, wisdom and sensitivity. Aha. It is a testament that I raised them well. Therefore, I must feel utter joy about this phenomenon. This does not have to happen after marriage. This happens when they begin to date someone seriously. Get out of the way! If you raised your sons well, they will choose wisely. And in all probability, they will even choose wives who have many of your qualities---qualities that they love in you...qualities they are used to....qualities that bring them safety and security...qualities that make them feel loved.

2. Never discipline, berate or give unsolicited advise to your adult children in front of their sweethearts, wives, husbands and peers. Lord help our children if they have gotten used to our roles as meddling mothers and apron-wearing despots! They run the risk of searching for companions and spouses who can offer them what they are used to---especially if they love their mothers. When our children become adults, our responsibility is to get to know them as they have evolved while we were gone. We must see them with fresh eyes and wrap our memories of them when they lived under our constant care in a beautiful box, tie a nice shiny ribbon around that box and stow it in that museum of wonderful memories deep inside our hearts and minds. Then we must very carefully observe them...admire them and find their strengths because there will be countless...no, innumerable nuances and qualities that will fill us with wonderment and awe that this fine human being who came out of our bodies can love another human being with such tenderness, get deeply hurt in ways we can surely relate to, improve their situations, reinvent themselves or come out of heartache triumphant with beauty you've never noticed before.

3. Never talk badly about an in-law. Never never never. Oh...did I say NEVER? And just as important as this, NEVER ever talk badly about ANY family member. Oh the bad fruit this can bear can be the most bitter of all fruits. Your frame of mind or your perspective, tried by experience or tested by eons of time or culture CAN be inapplicable, immaterial or not even germane to someone else's reality by virtue of their experience or disposition. So you just cannot impose your own standards or expectations on others....especially the members of your family. You MUST sincerely try to see things in their own light lovingly investigating and learning more about the people who inhabit your circle of families. Seek to understand. When I first joined my husband's family, I immediately discovered that their sport of choice was to talk about a certain in-law. That was toxic because it just became a habit to talk about each other. I hate it. And it still goes on. This cannot happen to my family. It just can't. Too much joy is at stake!

4. Be kind and always speak in loving tones. If you find that the way you talk to each other is negative and sarcastic or even self-deprecating, fix it IMMEDIATELY. It's always hard to admit mistakes but once you get started, it's easy to navigate through hurt feelings. The most important principle I learned is that it is possible to ask God to remove negative feelings and to replace them with love and tenderness. Recently, I had the experience of a very limited interaction with another woman who liked to talk about the members of her family. There is so much turmoil and strife among them. I think that the way they talk to each other is steeped in sarcasm, loudness and unkindness. Even if they want to speak more kindly, they can't because the manner of speaking to each other has been established through so many years that they don't know what and how to replace this behaviour and changing feels weird and unnatural to them. Sometimes it is easy to talk to our adult children in condescending tones. That cannot happen. I just returned from visiting my children who are all in college or law school and it lifted my spirits so high to listen to them talk to each other---how they support each other, love each other and respect one another. Condescend? How can you feel that when you are being taught by your children? Allow them this and you will be lifted so high that you will know what 'awe' feels like.

5. I see my children's 'imperfections' as qualities that make them who they are. I mean, come on---we all know that no one is perfect so we choose companions whose imperfections are perfect for us. If we keep on harping and noticing our children's imperfections, we won't have time to 'respect' these same imperfections that make them who they are. And we miss out so terribly on seeing them. The time to police them is over. So what if one of them is opinionated? If you listen to their opinions with openness, you might learn something and be elevated. So what if one of them is loud? Is it possible to rejoice in their exuberance? Or so what if they like to watch movies that you don't think are worth the time? When we allow these things to annoy us and become part of the materials that build wedges and walls between us and our children, we lose. We miss out on opportunities to love them unconditionally.

Well, time has run away from me. And though I still have a myriad of thoughts, I must be disciplined enough to stop.

Besides, there's flan waiting for me.

Glittering Generalizations

"Marriage Is Hard" and Other Glittering Generalizations and Statements That Sound True But Can Be Dangerous Models of Thought

Here are my top twelve: (Okay---it's a baker's dozen now)

1. Marriage is hard or "Marriage is hard enough as it is."

2. I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

3. You have to serve a mission in order to be happy (and other stupid mission myths).

4. When you die, you get to be with Heavenly Father.

5. If you ignore it, it will fix itself.

6. If you ask for strength, God will give you trials instead so you can be strong.

7. "I asked God if it was right and I didn't get a response so it must be wrong" or "I asked God if it was wrong and I didn't get a response."

8. If the prophet said it, it's a commandment.
9. It's my choice and my consequence. And you don't have to bear any of it.
10. "When I was on my mission...." spoken 10 years or more after the fact or "those were the best two years of my life."
11. Quality time is what's more important.

12. There are only two choices: right or wrong.

13. God wants you to obey--not be happy.

I don't have time to elaborate since I am on my way to Salt Lake International Airport. But I will soon. In the meantime, discuss.

Oh. And I no longer own the pretty hair clip shown above. My daughters absconded with that and another Anthro necklace that I had with me---but happily done so.

ALL ABOUT JACK

Celebrating Jack's Birthday. He is now 2 years old--a wonderful rumbly-tumbly little boy full of energy, confidence and JOY! He is always happy (except when he wants to go to sleep) and is like sunshine---so bright and warm. He is so amazingly sharp and smart. We just adore him!

NOTES FROM PROVO, UTAH

Our visit to Provo, Utah was all too quick. We had a very good excuse to fly up: Leland's paper was selected as one of only 3 law school papers that would be presented in a Symposium held at BYU. Lee was ecstatic! And he didn't disappoint. His presentation was AMAZING. It's strange because as a mother, I always enjoy whatever my children did. But it's a great experience to actually realize how good they really are in real life. He was so confident, articulate and knowledgeable. His Powerpoint presentation was also incredible---not your usual bullet-driven bore. I learned a lot from just his allotted 15 minutes. During the Q&A period, he was at ease and answered questions interestingly. I was just so bowled over. He is going to be one fantastic attorney. Below is a photo of the door that led to the room where Leland presented his paper.

Of course, I couldn't resist making Nate and Hannah pose outside the door before we opened it and found Leland and Catherine. They were game and supportive to wake up early to listen to Leland who was scheduled to speak at 8am on a Saturday.

Later, we hung around with Jack and Lucy. Here he is with his Papi. Jack is the funniest 2 year old around! He has the most amazing blue eyes ever. And boy did he love to show off!

Below is beautiful Lucy Faux. She will be four in August which is mind-boggling for me. She is just so adorable and beautiful. Most of all, both of them are happy and contented little kids. This is a testament to Catherine's mothering skills.

Jack liked to play only with his Dad, his Papi and Nate. He didn't really pay much attention to us girls. Here is Nate trying to show Jack his cellphone.

That night, we watched BYU's Synthesis in concert. That's BYU's premiere jazz band. It was awesome because they had a special guest saxophonist: Don Mensa. He was unbelievable. I tried not to weep while he was playing his second piece. It was such an enjoyable night. Thanks to Nate and Hannah for purchasing our tickets and providing us with good company. We had a late dinner at IHOP after that 3 hour concert where Natascha finally got to join us. She was in Wendover watching Boyz 2 Men. We had so much fun! Below is a fun photo of Hannah and Nate. I will post the videos later.

Warning: Unretouched/Un-Photoshopped photo
This is what I looked like this morning with no make-up. So what? I'm in a bad mood. And yeah, that's a huge zit on my chin.

Bad Morning

The phone rang before 9am this morning. It was rainy, dark and cold. I was still in my night clothes. It was the gate phone. I hesitated answering because I was not expecting anyone to show up at my house. But I picked up anyway. It was someone who wanted to 'leave something' at my door. He said he had spoken to me before about doing some work on my roof a few months ago. I told him I was not interested. Then he said "don't you remember me? I spoke to you outside your door and at church!" Well, I did remember that he knocked on my door months ago soliciting work and I was very nice probably because he caught me in a good mood. But I know I had never talked to him at church because we were in different wards. So I knew he was trying to use the fact that we were both 'mormons' to try and get me to open the gate. I got mad. So I told him I didn't need any work done at this time and that I can't open the gate for him. What---just because he's 'mormon' I should be obligated to open the gate?

Just minutes later, the door bell rang. I knew he had gotten into the gate somehow-- usually when perchance someone who has gate access drives through and he can just follow the car in.

I can see him through the glass panes on my door from the loft. He waited a while. I got the creeps. I called my husband. I could see him writing a note and pushing it through between the double doors. And then he walked back to his truck.

Thoughts came into my mind. I hate it when other "mormons' use our commonality to try and get me to do business with them willy-nilly. It's as if just because we belong to the same church and believe the same things give them an exaggerated sense of entitlement to my trust and generosity. What's up with that? I have been a victim of this many times over.

My backyard is proof positive of this dastardly phenomenon. We hired a "mormon" in our ward to pour concrete, add curbing and other big changes in our landscape. It was the worst job I've ever seen. And he got upset that I was not happy! Months later, after the concrete had already been poured and he had suddenly disappeared, we find out he had cracked the pipes to the pool's solar heating. Now we are faced with thousands of dollars worth of fixing up his shoddy work. This is just one example. Of course, I blame us for being so stupid. We could have sued him but we knew he had no money. And anyway, what goes around...blah blah blah.

But I am in a bad, foul mood.

Last week, I found out that an associate of mine was gossiping about me. And I caught her in it. Yeah, I confronted her. But she's good. And I was frankly very entertained by her emotional response. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to see what she was doing and how she can deflect from the main thesis of the confrontation. So I decided that I'm just going to find something good in her, let her off the hook and keep my distance. But it's still disconcerting. And I don't believe her claims of innocence because of details of the circumstances which I don't need to get into. Funny but I found it so easy to let it go because in the end, I found myself not caring at all. Though I find it easy to be cordial and even pleasant, I cannot be her friend. And though she thinks that this silly event has in her words, "brought us closer", that really surprised me because I don't feel the same way. I felt like I was in a totally different world but at the same time, I do 'see' her very clearly. So I didn't respond when she made that strange statement. I also surprised myself because I did not find it important to me to tell her that I don't feel the same way. It just....didn't matter to me. I really don't dislike her at all and in a very strange way, I cannot say that I 'like' her either though I really want to. Let's just say that I feel strangely disconnected. That's what it is. Disconnected. Trust is a huge issue for me, I guess.

Tomorrow, I am going to the spa again. I hope to feel better even if my methodology of feeling 'good' is superficial. After all, these events that I described are really just fried froth.

Here's what I did ALL Saturday and the better part of this morning.
It's a video for our Relief Society meeting today.

MY SISTERS' HANDS

Valentine's Weekend Happenings

Not writing anything profound today. I just thought I'd memorialize some of the fun events this weekend.

Last night, I took some jewelry tools and repaired/restyled some old jewelry. Granted they were not anything expensive but nonetheless, they are bold and graphic pieces. Here's the funny thing though. When I wear my bold, personality necklaces like these: (All pieces are from Anthropologie except the middle one on the 2nd column which is from Stella and Dot.)

This is what I hear others gush to me: " That is a pretty necklace. I wish I could wear something like that!" Or, "I wish I could pull off wearing that bold of a necklace!"

My first impulse is of course, to say thank-you. Then in a flash I'd realize...well...that I may have been unwittingly slammed. If they can't wear it, what does that say about me? Thoughts flood my head immediately and I catch myself formulating quick retorts next time I get like comments. But then, I stop myself because it's oh so sophomoric and completely unnecessary, unwarranted and incongruent.

Still, I like wearing bold pieces to compensate for the cute things I can't wear because I'm fat. Enough of this nonsense.

Today, Kurt and I finally bit the bullet and watched Avatar. Holy smoke! We watched it at the nearest IMAX in 3D. Kurt even got teary-eyed in the end. (Ha!) And I just loved everything in the movie. I kept on thinking about the genius behind the imagined alien world. And I thought myself to death pondering how in the world they transferred one's imaginings into film with such great detail. Boggled my mind and I found myself lost in thoughts like this....just tooling over the fine details of the imagination and technical aspects of the making of this movie. Geezzz. Spectacular technology.

We had a very late lunch/dinner at a restaurant called Brio, an Italian bistro at the Towne Square Center. Delish. Had the lamb chops....medium rare of course. The dessert was fab. A trio of brulees---vanilla, chocolate and caramel. LOVED the caramel. Chocolate next. The vanilla had an annoying consistency---not as smooth as it should be. The egg yolks probably were cooked too fast or too hot.

Kurt surprised me with this BEAUTIFUL necklace* from Anthropologie that I had been ogling but didn't have the nerve to buy because well....it was way above what I was willing to fork out. But here it is and I love it. Can't wait to try it on.

Throughout the day we also got picture messages on my phone from Hannah and Nate. Hannah is spending the weekend with Nate's family in their cabin. They looked so happy together and so in love...so I am posting some of these photos. They both had a very unbelievably challenging summer and have rose above these challenges with grace and trust in God's hand and have emerged loving each other even better. We are excited to see what happens next. :-)

Yes, can they be cuter???

Yesterday, we had a fun lunch with our friend Tema who flew in from Provo, Utah. It was great to see her and just talk over a nice salad at Claim Jumper.

The photo below of Hannah and big boy Jack has nothing to do with the weekend but I just spied it whilst 'bluetoothing' photos from my cell to my Mac and thought I'd post it because she looks so pretty with Lucy's plastic crown.

Next week, Lucy and Jack will be over. I can hardly breathe with excitement. And yes, they will bring their parents Leland and Catherine. It will be a spectacular week. Finally, the cherry on top will be the arrival of Natascha on Friday. Yahoooo!!!! We are going to spa and frolic! I can't wait to have her. She is so much fun and such a breath of fresh air and a bolt of sunshine.

The day is not over yet and I have to finally read and get my Relief Society lesson organized. I don't even know what the topic is. Geeshhh... I better crack the whip and get moving.

* I just found out that this necklace, designed by Pieter Erasmus, an artist based in England, is inspired by the art, culture and colours of Africa. It was made popular when Michelle Obama wore it. (Ugh!) It retails for around 275 Euros which translates to over two times what it retails in Anthropologie. (Insanity!) See www.st-eramus.com for more of his works and details. I do love his work and this piece had been on my wishlist since December!

My Bizarre

Today I was sitting in my kitchen pondering about bread. Well actually, I was looking at a bag full of 'pan de sal' -- 3 bags of dinner rolls in that large grocery bag. That's 3 dozen rolls. Now I've been staring at that bag for nearly 3 weeks now. What's bizarre is that I know I will never open the bag and eat those rolls. So for days I've just let it sit there undisturbed. I could have taken them to someone who could have used them. I could have put them in the freezer to be used another day but then again, I know I would have let them sit in the freezer for months and not use them. How do I know that? Because there are a couple of loaves of bread in my freezer that I should just chuck in the garbage because they have been freezing for a long, long time. Months. So as soon as I see enough mold growing on them rolls, I'll heave a sigh and throw them out. Why do I do this? 'Tis bizarre.

There are also several bottles of water around my house and car in varying degrees of consumption. I have to admit that for some odd reason, I don't like to drink all the water in the bottle. But I don't want to throw a bottle with water still in it. So they sit on my table or car for days until I can get desperate enough to drink all the water so I can get rid of the bottles. Today I drank from about 4 nearly-empty-bottles-of-water so I can tidy up. Why do I do this? 'Tis bizarre.

Today, my cleaning lady is coming. So I spent half the day tidying up my bedroom and actually cleaning my kitchen so she doesn't think I'm a piggy when she comes in the afternoon. I pay her good money to do what I just did. Why do I do this? 'Tis bizarre.

For the past year, I've painstakingly watched my bangs grow ever so slow so I can get a sleek hair-cut. I also promised myself to never get bangs again---that I would stick to this decision this time around since I've disobeyed that same mantra several times before. But 3 weeks ago, I went to get my hair coloured and came out of there with short bangs that I don't want and didn't want in the first place but I was goaded into having. Why do I do that? 'Tis bizarro!

CONGRATULATIONS TO JORDAN FOR MAKING IT TO THE SEMI-FINALS FOR MOOT COURT COMPETITION!!

Only 4 out of 24 made it. What a huge accomplishment! We are rooting for him and his partner to argue their way to #1!! We are already PROUD. Yay! Jordan! (Jordan will finish his Juris Doctorate in May from George Washington University.

(L-R: Natascha, Jordan and Rose. Foreground: Hannah. Taken at the Bird Sanctuary in Las Vegas.)

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UPDATE:

Jordan and partner made it to the FINALS. So out of the 4, there are now TWO who will argue on January 19!! We hope you take the trophy!!!!

Yay Jordan!!!

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FURTHER UPDATE:

Jordan won BEST OVERALL COMPETITOR and two other awards! Check out his blog here. He will represent George Washington U Law School at the big competition in Boston, MA. AWESOME!!

Baking Frenzy

So now I have some leftover chocolate, cream and butter, I decided to experiment and make some more chocolate baked goods. These are made of chocolate wafer--flourless 'brownies' with just five ingredients: 9 egg yolks, 4 egg whites, sugar, semi-sweet chocolate and butter. The big challenge was getting these puppies out of the cookie sheets in one piece. I experimented with diamond shapes but oh well....that was a waste of good chocolate.

There are 3 layers here. One layer has raspberries and the second later, a liberal mound of Nutella. Hannah and Nate were here for the weekend and Nate preferred to have no raspberries so to distinguish between those, I sprinkled white chocolate chips on top.

I made semi-sweet ganache to pour on top. I just let the chocolate drip and ooze where it wanted to go. Ganache is so easy to make. It's just chocolates, heavy whipping cream and butter. Everything evil.

Here's all my little babies in a row.

Raspberries, chocolates and hazelnuts on left. Just chocolate and hazelnuts on the right. YUM!


Packaged and ready to go!

Bake Day!

I thought I'd bake a nice birthday cake for my friend's daughter's 18th birthday. It's a brownie cake with hazelnut chocolate filling and semi-sweet ganache on top--garnished with white chocolate bits. Indulgent?

HOLIDAY SHOTS

Smart and beautiful: Lucy, my grand-daughter. She thinks nothing about wearing a tutu or a Snow White ball gown everyday and everywhere! That's confidence.

The cutest boy: Jack, my grandson.

Jack the Destroyer! We love Jack so much. He's only 20 months old and he can talk, follow directions and....destroy! He has such a sunny, happy disposition. And he's a quarter Filipino! Heavenly boy!

Important note: BYU WON!!! Yahoooo!! Here's Nate and Hannah at the UNLV stadium. They didn't stay for the whole game--first because BYU was way ahead and second, it was so cooooold and windy!! But they looked warm and cute anyway.

Lucy and Jack LOVED to jump from the couch to the ottoman over and over. They got so many toys for Christmas but the best toy they got was a flashlight. Note to parents everywhere: wind-up flashlights and spinning lollipops. That's all they need!

It was amazing how from the time Jack and Lucy arrived, Jack always looked for his "Papi". He always found his way to his arms for a cuddle or reassurance. HE LOVES HIS PAPI!!

Here's a sweet photo of Jordan and Rose who flew all the way from Washington CD. How I LOVE having them around! They are so sweet together and it makes my heart flutter when I see that. Makes me very, very happy to see them be loving and kind to each other.

Ahhh.....yes! Christmas morning we had homemade waffles that Jordan made. They were DELISH!! My sons arrived on the 26th and 27th so we just moved Christmas morning on the 28th. So we counted down. That morning, Santa came as always and filled everybody's stockings. We opened presents and what a great Christmas morning it was!!!

I can't resist but include this beautiful picture of Hannah and Nate taken at the Salt Lake Temple before they came home for Christmas. They look so good together....and so happy whenever they're together. It just warms my heart to see them love each other. Handsome couple!

Here's Jack opening one of his MANY presents. He did so on his Papi's lap. These are the cutest boots from See Kai Run. He loved them!

This photo was taken on the 25th of December which happened to be my 54th birthday. The kids filled 3 bottles with little snippets of "memories with their mother". This HAS to be the BEST present I've ever received. I just cried and cried and couldn't even open the bottles. I just LOVE my kids! They are the BEST.

Yaaaaay!! I get to use this book to learn to draw!!

Since the boys weren't home yet, we had Christmas dinner at Terranova at the Green Valley Ranch Spa and Resort. Good thing we live in Vegas where you can get a nice meal on Christmas Day!! I had the Osso Bucco. The girls had lamb chops and Kurt had some kind of fish. Yum....AND I didn't have to cook or clean on Christmas Day which was also my birthday.
IT WAS THE BEST.

Here is my beautiful daughter, Natascha. I LOVE being with her. She is like a ray of sunshine. Always so fun, optimistic and fearless. How blessed would be the man who wins her heart!

Of course we encourage child labour! Hahaha!! Here's Lucy helping Jordan make tacos for dinner. Lucy has to be the SMARTEST 3 year old I've ever seen. (Other than my friend Corsee's daughter, Laura Sanders.)

Brothers! Here's Jordan getting attacked by his brother Leland! Some things never change. I just watched and laughed. I just LOVE having my kids and their families!! Can joy be defined any other way?

As always, brothers can be such pills!! Here's Leland doing what he does best....annoy his sisters. But they do love each other so wonderfully well.

Leland and Catherine with their two beautiful children playing some kind of elephant game. It was hilarious to watch them. My house is a MESS and a half. Small price to pay. When they leave, I will be crying and bawling and it will take me a week to have the gumption to pick up knowing that the house won't get messed up because they will have been gone. I shudder the thought for now. I just want them around ALL THE TIME.

Natascha showing off the bowl that she made at Colour Me Mine. The three of us had a fun time painting for over 3 hours at The District in the cold, cold winds. The bowls turned out nice. Hannah made a nice mug for Nate.

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Game Night: December 28, 2009

After a wonderful dinner at Texas de Brazil, we played games at home starting with...extreme Book of Mormon Jeopardy. Video below is the team that won that game. In order to get their prize, they had to do karaoke with each one singing solo at least for one line. They were very game and good sports. Great fun!

Playing Guesstures. Fun stuff. Lots of laugh. Being family.