Celebrating Friendships

I decided Valentines Day would be a perfect opportunity to plan a little party with Dalanie to celebrate friendships.  We talked a little bit about what makes a good friend and how to be one.

And since they are little girls, we had to make things!  First we had them fold cootie catchers.  Most had never seen them before.

It was so fun to watch them play with each other and concentrate on moving their fingers back and forth.

Presley's nearly got her.

I was a little nervous because in the past, Dalanie usually has her melt down of the century when friends are over.  Surprisingly, she was amazing!  That in and of itself made the entire party worth it.

After a little youtube clip on being kind, Dalanie taught them how to make jelly-fish friendship bracelets.

They stuck with it for quite awhile.  No one finished theirs, but they kept working even on the way home.

We had crepes for a treat.  They loved choosing their toppings,

And of course, there had to be a little bit of outside time.

Hudson is such a good sport and spun them around and around.  After awhile their high-pitched screaming got to all of us.

Since we had so much fun with Dalanie's party, Ruby was insistent on her own friend party.  We squeezed it in right after a little Valentine's Day party at the church.  Her guest list was mostly her JoySchool Friends.  I think it was just as much fun for me to have them over.  I hold a special place in my heart for JoySchool students.  We had a little photo shoot.

They each took a turn.  They absolutely beamed in the attention and girly-ness of it all.

And since the weather was so favorable, we went outside for rest of the activities.  They painted with q-tips.

Delsie didn't miss a beat keeping up with the big girls.  She managed to yell at Trigger to "UP!" every time he started barking.

And since it was 65 degrees, we broke out the popsicles and let them swing and play in the sandbox.

Talk about low key and a lot of fun.  I hope that my girls will grow up being kind and good friends.

Love You

The girls eat Valentines Day up.  Any excuse to cut, glue, glitter, and gift their special masterpieces is a pretty big deal to them.  They had extensive lists of the people they wanted to hand deliver and mail valentines too.

And although I enjoy making Valentines, I think I enjoy making sugar cookies for this holiday.  They are bright and cheerful.  Because I am a bit of a control freak, all the cookies are circles and we have one color of frosting to choose from.  On the flip side, there are always plenty of sprinkles and candies to go around.

Ruby made several "Will you be my VALENTINE?" hearts, signed Ruby Valentine.  She had been learning that song at Let's Play Music.  They turned out so sweet.  I love her sweet printing.

Some moms put together a fun party down at the church for all the preschool and under kids.

We are lucky to have a large group of good kids for our kids to grow up with.

In a panic, Hudson reminded me that his party was TODAY!  "What about the chocolate covered strawberries?"  So while the kids ate breakfast, I dipped like crazy and we had them done in nearly 10 minutes.  You can't make cookies that fast!  And since it was so memorable, we repeated and expedited a batch for Dalanie the next morning.

I decided it was high time that I experiment with a heart bokeh.  As with most tutorials, it sounded so simple.  And while I could get hearts to appear, I never could get the subject to focus very well.  

So off with the filter for some fun pictures of the girls.

A little heart hair to finish saying I LOVE YOU to all my peeps.

Duet Recital

Since completing Let's Play Music, Hudson has been lucky enough to take private piano lessons from Valerie Lance in Rose.  She is an amazing teacher that has really motivated Hudson to practice.  He was her first studio in a long time to complete the 100 day challenge.  Since then, three more students have earned the award.  She recognized all of them at the recital.  We carpool with Abby Schiess to lessons on Fridays.  I love to sit through their lessons and watch Hudson learn from Valerie.  She is such a fun teacher and he has grown to love playing the piano.

Hudson played a duet with Trent Telford,  Wild Horse Roundup.  All three of them played Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro.  They had practiced and nearly perfected their pieces.  Of course, nerves can get the better of you when you're performing but they all did well.

A group shot of VLPS students.

Hudson had a lot of support from Grandparents.

 I was grateful that my parents would make the drive.

It has been so fun for me to watch Hudson grow and progress.  There are times that I watch him play and my heart nearly bursts with pride.  He has invested a lot of time and effort, so it is fun to watch him reap the rewards.

Let's Get Together

Emily gave me a heads up that they would be coming this way for a nieces baptism.  I couldn't pass up the chance to meet up with them.  Originally the plan was for them to come by the house on their way back though.  But because of a scheduling conflict with Hudson's piano recital, we met them at the visitor's center.  I got to meet baby Amelia.  It was great to see her again.  I cherish reunion's like those.  Although we weren't together real long, it was great to catch up and be together.  It seems like raising our families and different schedules doesn't allow talking on the phone too often.

The girls were mostly happy and cooperative to pose for some pictures for us.

Dalanie's Store

After gathering goods one evening, her store was open for business.  Hudson was her first customer.  He took advantage of her low priced candy, pencil sharpeners, and pencils.

Her best seller was the back rub punch card.  You had to pay attention to each certificate because they varied slightly and some were a better deal than others.

She was excited to hand over the piece of paper and collect the money.  Making good on her promise has been another lesson in and of itself, but she is pretty good about keeping up her end of the deal.

If there was an audit, I'm sure Delsie ate any of Dalanie's profits- quite literally.  That girl can sniff out a piece of candy tucked in the dark recesses of Dalanie's purse.  And when it's in open sight, a full-fledged feeding frenzy insues.

Overall, I think it was a pretty lucrative evening in business.  She brought in nearly $10.

It ignited a little flame within Dalanie that has been burning ever since.  She was the top seller in her class for a fundraiser.  She sold eight discount cards, helping her class win a trip to the movies.  She had developed quite a little sales pitch.  Several people commented on how cute and effective she was as a saleswoman.  She scoured the ward directory and had lists of names from her brain storming sessions.  I can't help but think that she would be an amazing missionary if she decides to do that.

She is always dreaming up business ideas and ways to make money.  It sure does make her tick.

Data, Drones, and You!

We knew that it was going to be a little crazy once we got back to Mexico, considering our annual planter clinic was in 10 days.  Our invites were supposed to go out while we were gone, but many people hadn't seen them yet.  It was a lot of time emailing and calling people.  Despite the craziness, the kids were as eager as ever to get out of school and contribute to the cause.

They were responsible for setting out pens, folders, and tootsie rolls before the meeting got underway.  During morning break, they passed out peanuts and granola bars.

The advantage of putting on your own meeting is that no one can tell you what you can or can't do.  At the beginning of the meeting, Brent had the kids come up.  He recognized them for their help and paid a tribute to them and the future of agriculture.  It was surprising how emotional he got over it.  Also, Brent has taken it upon himself to offer a blessing on the food before lunch.  The first year he did this, he was a bit apprehensive.  But now he does it regardless.  Although a majority of growers there are probably members, it's an opportunity for us to demonstrate our devotion to our Heavenly Father and religion.

We were a bit worried about the numbers since several other grower meetings were going on.  That morning we committed to 100 plates for lunch.  And they served exactly that!  During lunch I was grateful I wasn't the one over the food.  They serve lasagna, salad, and cheese toast.  

Hudson was upfront and in the thick of things all day.  He was Brent's right hand man.

A new and exciting part of the planter clinic was a drone demonstration.  We had Bret Chilcott with us from AgEagle.  He spent several days with us, training and troubleshooting.  He is a great guy and it was great to have his expertise.

Wiggle Car Fun

Sometimes you just have to create an excuse to get together with friends.  When the shop was cleaned up, we decided to have a few families over to play.  We had quite a posse of wiggle cars.  The kids loved racing and playing tag on the cars.  We also pulled out our jump ropes.

 Dalanie pulled out her snow cone maker and treated everyone to a sweet treat.