Friday Date Night

Friday was "Carnival Day!" At least according to my calendar.



So Jacob and I had a date night in. We played several carnival games that I found on the Internet and some that were a little 'old school.'

First up: Tic-Tac-Toss.


I lost 3 games out of four. But I still had a good time playing.

Next on the list was the classic donut on a string game. I guess I sort of lost that one too because Jacob finished his donut first. But he did have a head start since I was taking some photos first.



Then came a bean game. The object of this game was to move as many beans from one plate to the next using a straw and no hands. Basically that meant suctioning beans to the straw. And basically it resulted in a lot of lightheadedness.

We ended the evening with a classic cake walk. Jacob won again but I sort of think I was a winner because I still got a piece of cake.

It was a good time overall.

And for those who have been keeping track, yes, I have been a bit of a slacker this month on the calendar holidays. I missed a couple in Vegas but I'm not sure they were important ones, things like "love you pet day, and be humble day." I guess I've decided I'm okay with not being 100% in my celebrations.

Vegas Baby!

Jacob and I went to visit my sister MaryAnn and her family in Las Vegas this past weekend. We had a good time and loved getting to see and hold my new niece. She is adorable. So are Megan and Lauren. Lauren was killing me with how much she talks and how cute her little voice is. I had a difficult time understanding a lot of what she would say but I got the "don't look at me" and other such tantrum statements down. Megan is super funny too. Very imaginative and could play all day long. She wore me out for sure. And I'm positive I frustrated her on more than one occasion (getting kicked out of the girls club for talking to Jacob, not letting everyone finish candy land). I guess I'm a mean aunt.


Jacob and I also went to the strip one night because Jacob had never been. It was pretty much the strip, with a few more casinos than the last time I was there.


On our way back to MaryAnn's house we stopped at a Cafe Rio for dinner. I was so pleased to share a chicken salad with Jacob. Cafe Rio is the best!



And the baby, of course.

President's Day of Craftiness

I had today off.

I celebrated President's Day by finishing a few projects that were hanging around.

1. Finally hung the pretty sweet cork board I crafted with some fabric and mod podge (the idea was from this website.)

LOVE IT!

2. Finished the baby quilt for my new niece Emily. Now, I'm no professional quilter so this is not perfection. It was my first time machine quilting other than "stitch in the ditch" and I thank Lori for letting me use her nifty machine. It was pretty intense but I like the way it turned out. I wish I had done better figuring when doing the measurements for the quilt. It's a little smaller than I would have liked. But, overall I am pleased.




Mare, hope you don't mind seeing it online before you see it in person! :)

Be Mine

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

Our day began with a delicious french toast breakfast made by Sandy.

We then had dinner by candlelight. Lighting the candles proved to be a little tricky for Sandy.
Jacob did all the work for dinner. He picked out a recipe from our "Tillamook" cookbook we bought last year for our Valentines present while we were in Oregon. We cooked the meal together. It was a delicious chicken, pasta, and pepper casserole.

Jacob also made a delicious cheesecake for Dessert. He was full of surprises.

Not pictured: The awesome photo album Jacob made with all our wedding pictures printed out. The tasty chocolates Sandy bought. The Metropolis game we played because it was anther Valentines gift from last year. I think it's safe to say this was the best Valentine's Day ever!


We also passed out little treats to friends and neighbors the day before Valentines day. Cuz' we're cool like that.

Hope you all felt a little love yesterday too!

A Few of My Favorite Things

These three things are making me pretty happy today...in no particular order.

1. Flowers for an early Valentine's Day gift.

2. Antique 2 quart jars.

3. Hanging our flag for President's Day.

Passing Quickly By

The past two weeks have picked up a little at work. And I am grateful. It's good to be busy again.

But I find that it zaps my energy for some of the other things that I have enjoyed doing lately. So now I have half finished craft projects lying around my house (along with all the other clutter I can't seem to muster the energy to take care of), a pile of laundry that needs done (it will become desperate in a few days), and two days I should have celebrated but didn't.

Monday was Fly A Kite Day and I can assure you when I rolled into my garage at 8 pm, with snow covered ground, it was the last thing I wanted to think about or do. We barely managed to get a decent FHE in.

And today is Umbrella Day. I did try to find a little way to celebrate by buying those cute little umbrellas to put in our beverages for dinner (I also was going to make a slushy beverage), but again, I ran late at work and we were feeding the missionaries so I only had time to stop at one store and WalMart let me down. So no Umbrella celebrations will be had at our house.

I did manage to get some visiting teaching in last night. And it was good. I have a new companion and new ladies to visit and I am really enjoying getting to know them and learn from their life experiences. I like getting to know new people.

I'm also very much looking forward to next week with Presidents Day on Monday and a trip to Vegas coming up.

I just hope I can get everything on "my to do" list done! Especially the laundry. That could get awkward.

Questions Answered

Yes, we did just leave the chocolate and thank you note in our mailbox.

And, yes, the mail carrier did take it out of the box. I can't say what he or she did with it...but hopefully they enjoyed eating a sweet treat on the rest of their route.

Thank You

Today is...

THANK A MAIL MAN DAY!

So we did...

Kazoos and Puzzles

The random celebrations have continued for this Brunson family.

Thursday, January 28th, was National Kazoo Day and Friday, January 29th, was National Puzzle Day. So, on Thursday we made a little kazoo out of a toilet paper roll, rubber band, and wax paper. It was awesome. And Friday we began assembling a puzzle.

(Yes, my eyes look totally creepy in this photo.)

And no puzzle day would be complete without ice cream and brownies, right? Well, probably it would. But not for us!