The Ensign: Limited Edition

As I went to bed one evening this past week, here is what was staring back at me from the pages of the Ensign magazine...

 {page 81}

{page 27}

 {page 122} 

{page 57}

The Conference Ensign came out in May and somehow we snagged a limited edition.

I didn't clock it, but I'm guessing it took me about twenty minutes to collect myself enough to start breathing normally again.

Priceless.

Mother's Day 2012

Since moving to Ohio, I haven't done much with my floral design business - nothing actually.  Que triste.  However, when it came time to plan for Young Women activities for 2012 I offered to teach the girls how to make corsages for Mother's Day.  A fun skill to learn, and I got to get back into floral design on a small scale.

Here are a few of the many wonderful creations - I was impressed!

 Maddie

Anya 

Rachel 

Mine and Megan's - I made this quick demo as a template

It was fun to see the mothers wearing their corsages at church on Sunday.  What talented Young Women I get to work with!

{Corsage flowers: Roses, spray roses, button mums, bear grass, leatherleaf}

And speaking of Mother's Day - mine was lovely.  Being my first, Steve spoiled me from sun-up to sundown and it started with breakfast in bed.  From the looks of things, I'm guessing it had been a long night.  =)

Please notice the condiments.  Maple syrup (for the pancakes, of course) and chipotle tabasco sauce.  I know I'm weird, but my eggs cannot be consumed without the latter.  He even arranged some flowers for me!

 Bug was on her best behavior, which made for a very pleasant day.

And speaking of floral design stuff, I found these photos from my brother's wedding back in 2005 and jumped for joy.  I thought I had lost them.  This is one of my favorite weddings of all time since my brother trusted me completely with the flowers.  It was the first wedding I ever completed, and I had total control.  When I asked Scott for advice on what he and Natalia wanted, he basically said, "it's up to you - we trust you."

The results were phenomenal and it was entirely due to the flowers (an arrangement on every fence post & table): snapdragons, solidago (goldenrod), delphiniums, daisies, and stock.  The venue was perfect for this flower combination/color scheme, and it was a beautiful June day.  Fun memories!

   

Flowers make me oh so happy.

International Samplings

SPAIN

The Inamas invited us over to their place last Sunday to make sopapillas.  This delicious pastry is common in South America, but Matt served his mission in Spain and had them there too, so we decided to celebrate Spain and Cinco de Mayo a day late.  Here we have Brian Casaday and Matt Inama showing us how it's done.

 Our assignment was to bring a topping, so we provided blackberries to combine with fresh whipped cream (thanks, Casadays!).  Yum.

 There was plenty of nutella, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar too.

 The gang: Heather & Matt, Brian & Amy, Steve & wifey.

We have very cool neighbors.

 ITALY

Later that evening I was introduced to bocce ball.  I could be wrong, but it seems to be a combination of corn hole and croquet.  Meet Sparky, Jinx, and Smudge...

Mixing it up a bit - all bocce balls thrown at the same time.

I was particularly proud of this shot.

A picture of Bug just because we feel like it.

She is six weeks old today!

PERU

Steve and Ainsley are skyping with Steve's mom (living in Lima) in this picture.  This shot was taken about 10 seconds before Ainsley lost it.  It's rough being adorable and exhausted all at the same time.

And that's the sampling of Spain, Italy, and Peru  - not bad for a week's worth of travel - all within one city block.

Our passports feel abandoned.

Dapper

Who is this dapper fellow?

My awesome brother, Cullen, sporting the Irvine tartan for graduation from the U of U.

CONGRATS!