last weekend, tiff came up for a little r&r - friday night was spent at babies R us registering and then saturday we woke early to meet nicki for breakfast. while we scurried about from cafe to country villiage to pedicure to mall (more specifically 'motherhood' where she bought a maternity outfit ... size small - polar opposite of my pregnant size!) to restaurant, we had a fantastically relaxing time - a much needed break from the norm - as well as made plans to throw this girl a par-tay. you can't tell, but tiff is about 6 months pregnant! this girl deserves a party! she's finally getting a blue one and we need to celebrate it!! jenny's coming and we're gonna make a weekend of it!
dinner: Alfy's heart-shaped pizza!
dessert: homemade heart-shaped chocolate chip bread (made from a muffin mix)
after making a valentine haul at school we delivered the majority of our valentines to our church friends and teachers ... then met andy and ammon at Alfy's. grandma, grandpa and ann joined us and we had ourselves some yummy all-you-can-eat salad bar and heart-shaped pizza! it was time for bed when we got back home. survivor was good ... csi was a re-run (thank heaven the strike is almost over!)
survivor isn't andy's favorite ... so he opted to collect and take out the garbage - the garbage man comes to our neighborhood friday morning. while he was out there he decided to take down my lights - how proactive of him ... reason 15 that i love him: be it dishes, vacuuming, or taking down my lights ... when he sees a job that needs to be done - he does it (most of the time).
it has been tradition that i put them up - i take them down ... that includes all holiday decorations especially christmas! therefore he didn't know where to put them ... once he had removed them from the trees. he came in and said "em, can you come outside for a minute? i, um, took down the lights ... " "what?? - why?" "mostly because it's dry." we made quick work of the bush lights and i couldn't leave up the house lights ... so i donned my wellies and got the step ladder out and finished the job. thanks honey - you know how to jump start the christmas light removal!
i finished watching survivor at about 10:ish (dsl is sent from heaven) and since everything else besides the news is a rerun ... i turned off the tv and finally had a shower - while spending all day in my workout clothes is comfortable, it's not very 'valentine-y' of me. andy was working on his computer when i came back down (smelling MUCH better) he said that he was almost done so i chatted with alicia for a little bit and then andy closed his computer and went up to get ready for bed. i turned out the lights and grabbed the bottle of bubbly (martinelli's) and 2 glasses and headed up the stairs - mid-flight the doorbell rang and my cell started ringing almost in sync. i looked out the peep hole to see andy's dad and sister ... i grabbed my phone and told alicia to hang on. i opened the door to find out that his sister wanted to have some movies that she had accidentally left here a while back when she tended the kids. andy retrieved them from his car while i talked on the phone and then finally at 11:30ish we headed upstairs again. phew! kids tucked in and lights off ... the best part: there was no 'get back in your bed'!!
i got andy a deck of conversation cards and we played a little bit (they are cards that ask questions like: if you could be reincarnated as an animal - which would you be and why? and what is your favorite childhood memory?). it was fun and i anticipate learning a lot about him that i didn't know before. it's amazing - even after 8+ years of marriage there are still things that i don't know about him!
it was a great valentine's day and it's not over yet!
hope yours was romantic and fun!!
ps ... i forgot the best part of all - my gift from andrew ... I LOVE IT!!
his love for me. it's unwavering, unfaltering, unconditional. no matter that i'm fat (right now), cranky, slobby, and can't keep the house clean. he loves me thru it all and then some and he always make me feel beautiful. i love the way he loves me. 
his endurance - whether it's a bag of popcorn (or red vines) and a bottle of pop, or a job that he doesn't want to do, i know that he will stick it out and finish what he starts.
he is helpful - people know that they can count on him to help them move, fix their brakes, help in the nursery, or just about anything - he's 100% reliable.
(and he's teaching his boys to follow in his footsteps ... "i've been watchin' you dad, ain't that cool? i'm your buckaroo, i wanna be like you! and eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. we like fixin' things and holdin' momma's hand. we're just alike, hey, ain't we dad. i wanna do everything you do ... so i've been watchin' you!")
his testimony - i know that he has a strong testimony of our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ, he loves his family and knows that he can be with us for eternity, he served a faithful and honorable mission and learned many life lessons as well as the truths about the gospel that have lead him to this point in his life, he also knows that the blessings he has come from our Heavenly Father who loves him. i am so grateful that he honors his priesthood and leads our family so that we can return to our Heavenly Father one day.
as you probably know ... i love these 2! Fool's Gold FINALLY opened yesterday, and andy took me to see it! i have been waiting with impatient anticipation for this movie and i literally smiled the entire time. from the opening scene to the final kiss!! i will certainly add it to my collection when it comes out on DVD. matthew is handsome and kate is darling and they are SO cute together!
in the immortal words of michael mclean ...
we haven't changed much (we're older and wiser now ... riiight) just standing there with them took me back. it was hard to leave - not a big surprise ... if you know me well, you know that i'm always the last person to go to sleep at a slumber party and the last one to say goodbye cuz i don't want to miss anything! i know that we'll be friends forever and longer.
it's funny - the memorial was held in the building where we grew up attending church, early morning seminary and activities most of our wednesday nights as youth. one day we ALL need to get together and have a little walk down memory lane. we're all spread across the country right now ... chip, pj and i still live at 'homebase' so we need to coordinate and persuade the rest of you (liisa, heidi, tara, kathleen, angie and ben) to come for a visit all at the same time!
i love you all and count you as some of my greatest blessings!
he's handy - he fixes (and builds) things ... and if he doesn't know how, he does his best to learn - he's not afraid of reading the instructions! (or telling other people to read them to him!)
he's sensitive - it's not a weakness ... it's endearing, charming, cute even. i love that he tears up at just the right part when we watch sappy movies and that he is willing to watch chick flicks with me. some of our faveorites are '13 going on 30' 'how to lose a guy in 10 days' (it's a little embarrassing - she's SO embarrassing in some parts! and have you seen the previews for Fools Gold!? Matthew and Kate back together!!) 'alex and emma' 'hitch' and 'failure to launch'. i think the best part is that we really get into the movies - and that's a whole blog in itself ...
(while you might have suspected that i only love andrew for his body ... there are other things i love about him ... the rest of my list will not be associated with his fine and fabulous physique.)
second on my list: his eyes - not just the color of them ... the shape, his eyebrows, the puffy top of them ... (all our kids have the same eyes - see?) they're darling, endearing, even mesmerizing - don't stare too long or you'll be hooked!
