our cousins from southern cali spent a few days with us earlier this month. we played blokus {our fave family board game!} + played rook + stayed up till the wee hours of the morning + engaged in soul-searching conversations + went skiing + visited the bean museum + stopped by the byu bookstore for candy + spent the afternoon at the provo beach resort + ate at malawi’s + ordered pizza + cheered for myla at futsol + made a big taco bar at home with our fave starter sauce + ordered in indian food + gained a few pounds in just a few days…

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flashback friday…

March 11, 2011

when husband and i were married on february 1, 1996,
we went on our winter honeymoon to tahoe.

south lake tahoe.

undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places in the world!

we spent our days skiing…at heavenly.


{not sad at all that those random red gloves went missing! in fact, thank the lawd all of that ski get-up is missing…oh. this picture cracks me up!}

i did not grow up snow skiing.

in fact, the first time i went skiing was on a date in high school.

then, when i was at college in southern utah, cedar city gets an insane amount of snow,

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sushi dinner party

March 3, 2011

our daughter’s party was saturday night & on sunday evening we hosted a dinner party sushi-style to celebrate danny’s big 4-0. needless to say, it was one big weekend full of party love!

who is danny? well, if you are new-er reader to this blog… he is “our” bff. quite often known as “the howell boys,” because he has three handsome sons. these three boys are like three marvelous big brothers to kj. the howell boys even have a label, over ‘on the blog’ list because they are a very frequent visitor in our life.

have you seen the movie ‘you, me, & dupree?” well. yeah. that sums it up.

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♥ a teen-y party ♥

March 2, 2011

ohhh, where to begin…

let me start a few months back. i had explained to kiana for months previous to her birthday, that we were simplifying everything this year – meaning: honey, you’re old enough that we can downsize with your birthday party. and, being the mature young woman that she is, she was totally content with that. she didn’t expect anything.

then, about a month ago, i told her:
ok, we will plan a fun afternoon with some of your besties. and that’s it.

and, she was ecstatic. couldn’t wait!

we made these invitations, she delivered them to eight friends &

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nycda – las vegas

February 21, 2011

earlier this month, we headed to vegas for a few days.

we had a great weekend mixed with dance & normal-vegas-visiting-events…

under blue warm skies,

we stayed at the vdara in the new city center.

it’s so nice, especially with kids. very central to the miracle mile shops, clean. new. contemporary. spacious. no casino {i like that when traveling as a family.} Even if we were disappointed that there weren’t any casinos near us, we could always just turn to online casinos instead. At least we’d still be together as a family. I have heard from my friends that some sites have a Welcome Offer when you join a new website,

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my valentine.

February 18, 2011

we kept things very low-key this year.

i’ve been recovering from a minor surgery that i’ve put off for years and finally took care of. so, i wasn’t looking to go grand-scale with plans.

my husband always comes through when it comes to gifts, flowers, and all the romantic stuff i could ever wish for.

he planned our dinner here with good friends, which is a fresh & swanky kind of joint.
i highly recommend the flank steak.

and, this + this appeared on my kitchen table with big bows around them…

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