Together Again!!!

Now it really feels like Christmas because we are all together! Greg arrived late Thursday night and Jessie Friday afternoon... just in time to drop by Dupont Circle for a Crepe and head to see the National Christmas tree where we had our photo taken with Santa. Here comes Christmas...

Count Down to Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is a favorite of mine... a sweet time of gathering, celebrating, eating, remembering and thanking... I love everything about it. This will be a tender year as we mark the year anniversary of my Dad's death. I am reminded of his great example and miss the details of being with him... extra thankful for the opportunity to be his daughter.

New York, New York!

My sister, Merry and her daughter Emily came for a whirlwind visit at the beginning of October... Meg and I accompanied them to New York for 3 amazing days packed with a delightful stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge, incredible thin crusted pizza from a coal fired oven, brunch at Sarabeth's, experiencing central park on a perfect autumn day, purse shopping in Chinatown, spying the statue of Liberty from Battery Park, the awe of ground zero, Chocolate treats at Max Brennan's and a quick tour of the Met, scouting out Tiffany's and other fine shopping on fifth avenue, a couple of very thrilling taxi rides, a quick look at Columbia University (Meg could count the trip as a college visit) and of course the Broadway shows... Meg and I saw West Side Story, Emily and Merry saw Wicked and Phantom and we all saw Momma Mia which was especially exciting to see with the real dancing queen herself, my own sister, Merry! We ate great food and nearly walked our feet off... the trip was a grand success.

We returned home to a quick tour of DC for Merry and Emily... we walked the monuments at night, saw the museum of American History, visited Arlington National Cemetery, and old towne Alexandria before sadly sending Merry and Emily off to their homes...

Hooray for sisters and daughters!

We're Back!

After neglecting the blog for way too long I am recommitted to start again... Look for updates!

Road Show...

This year our stake held a road show in 1 day event. The youth gathered Friday night and divided into 10 groups and enjoyed brownie sundaes (we had about 160 youth come). On Saturday they arrived at 1 to write the script... practice... eat dinner together and at 7 it was show time. Matthew made his road show debut starring as a Mormon boy (he said it was very hard to get into character). He did a great job and his skit was cute. Megan was an angelic narrator... I guess she too was cast as her own real life person. Her skit was also darling. She and a group of friends also performed a great dance to I'm the King of New York from Newsies as an in-between-the-skits show.

The grand finale nearly did me in. Our Stake Young Womens Presidency performed Dancing Queen from Momma Mia. I am not a dancer and have never worn high heels... so combining these two factors was no small task. Luckily Anita, Merilee and Lenora are amazing women and stole the show and I managed to stay on my feet! So for your amusement here is a video clip...I must say that I owe a debt of gratitude to Diane as my silver pants and Lenora's silver shirt are straight from her closet, although they now belong to Jessie who inherited them. Diane, we miss your style!

Matthew's Marble Mania!

Tonight Matthew and I had a great time building a marble contraption... We were hoping to knock down the king, but were pleased when the marble made contact with the king.

Valentine Fondu

Tonight Jay made a special valentine dinner for the two of us... beautiful salads with pears, candied walnuts and goat cheese along with amazing cheese fondu with apples and crusty bread for dipping. What a treat... I am grateful for my sweetheart!

Our boy is 22!

22 years ago our Gregory Scott was born! We love him... He will always be our special valentine. Happy Birthday Greg!!!

Friday night bowling with Emily...

Friday found everyone with plans but Em and I so she thought it would be fun to go bowling!

Emily gets glasses!

Emily had been complaining about headaches and so we went to the eye doctor and she is now the proud owner of new glasses!

Snow Days!

Max's 2nd Birthday!

We are grateful to live with a sweet creature named Max. January 27th we celebrated his 2nd birthday and he looks dashing in his new "tummy warmer". He loves the star shaped chicken liver cookies we made just for him!

IHOP Chocolate Chip Pancakes

A delightful childhood memory of mine is chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP. We recently discovered that Emily had somehow gotten through her 7 years and never had this experience... so she and I had a special date!

Jessie off to Spain!!!

You can follow Jessie's grand adventures in Spain on her blog at jessielivingston.blogspot.com

Off to College...

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Ice Skating...

Emily had dreamed of our whole family ice skating... so we had to squeeze it in before Greg and Jessie headed off...

The National Gallery of Art

Happy New Year!!!!

One of the perks of working with the young women of our stake is that I get to help plan and attend the New Years Dance! This year we had about 340 youth and I got to ring in the New Year with Megan...