February

Here I am, writing my family letter on the last day of the month, just like Mom asked. I'm such a good girl! We hope you all had a pleasant February. We had a fair amount of snow, but nothing like the Virginia Browns, so we won't complain. I'm getting excited for spring though! Anyone interested in going in on seeds with me? I'm planning to start my flowers/veggies indoors this year. I've never done that before, but I think our basement gets enough sun that it would work out. We'll see. I'm also hoping to get the boys involved in the garden planning.

Speaking of the boys, they are doing well. Noah had his annual field trip to "Pump it Up," a fun play-place with bouncy houses and slides. It's probably his second favorite place in the world (the first being Disney World). Noah is continuing to do well in school. Right now they are studying animals. I was asking Noah if Walruses lived in cold or warm areas, and he said, "cold, in the polar region." Wow! Noah had a great Valentine's party with the kids in his class, and brought home lots of treats that he generously shared. It's so great that he doesn't have a sweet tooth!

This past weekend Ethan went on a winter campout with Scott. I'm afraid that neither one is an avid camper, especially in the snow. They had to fill the whole car (SUV) with supplies, just for one night. I felt sorry for Scott until I realized, at an inopportune moment, that he had taken the toilet paper from the bathroom with him and hadn't replaced it. When I mentioned this to him he said that I should be glad I didn't have to put on boots and go outside to go potty. I guess he had a point. Anyway they came home the next morning, exhausted and reeking of smoke. Wow did I have a lot of laundry to do! But Ethan did have fun playing in the snow with his buddies.

A couple of weeks ago I hosted a baby shower for a friend in the ward (I visit teach her). It's her 7th baby, so she deserved a little party! It was fun, and everything looked so nice. I had yellow tulips and branches with little yellow flowers as decoration, and wonderful food: hummus, shrimp salad, crab dip, various crackers, cheese, veggies, fresh pineapple, grapes, chocolate cookies, and phyllo dough cookies. I wasn't sure how many people would come, so I overdid the food a little and we had a lot of leftovers, but that was nice too!

Right after the party I started feeling yucky - - I had gotten the flu. I was only sick for about 4 days, but it wasn't much fun, and even worse, Meredith got it too. She had a terrible cough and had to have antibiotics. My poor baby! She is much better now, thank goodness. I would much rather be sick myself than have sick kids. Thank heavens Scott was around most of the time and could take over. He has been traveling a ton lately.

Meredith is almost 8 months old now, hard to believe how fast the time has gone! She is very tall for her age, and I think I may have an athlete on my hands (I'm not quite sure how to handle that!) She is sitting up very well and is getting ready to start creeping. She is also babbling a lot, and it is so much fun to hear the sweet little noises she makes! She's doing great eating "people food" and loves crackers. Wow, I had forgotten how incredibly messy babies are when they start eating solids. I do a lot of mopping up.

So we're all doing well and hope you are too. Our flight benefits run out in April, but we do have a trip to Idaho planned for this summer. And of course you're all welcome to come here for a visit!

Art

I've become addicted to freerice.com - - they now have several kinds of quizzes, including art. It reminded me of one of my favorite paintings, "The Good Mother," by Fragonard. Isn't it sweet?

The Many Faces of Meredith

Stuff

Last night I hosted a Young Women sleepover at my house. We had about 25 girls/women. It was an estrogen-fest. Ethan hid up in his room almost the whole time. I don't blame him. This was the second annual YW conference (the first was held at my house too). And it was a great success. I love the girls in our ward, and the way they love eachother and look out for eachother. One of the girls made big decorated posterboard hearts for everyone with their names on the front and a little pocket in the back with more hearts and sweet attributes that those girls have. Everyone brought snacks and sleeping bags. We decorated fabric hearts, and then the girls and leaders took a quick trip to another friend's house and sang happy birthday to her (I think it made her day). After they all came back we had nice spiritual talks from 2 girls and 2 leaders, and then just hung out and talked and snacked. I went to bed around 1:30. There was a little noise from the basement, but it died down around 2. Last year people stayed up all night. This was better. In the morning I got up and took a shower. When I got out I discovered that Noah had woken up and gone downstairs. He was in "his" tv room, very upset with the 4 girls in sleeping bags on the floor. He calmed down after a bit and started watching "Polar Express." We had yummy tater tot casserole and fruit and OJ for breakfast. The girls looked cute and fresh, the leaders not so much. I still look older and tireder! But it was an awesome event, so glad we did it, and I think everyone had a good time. Seriously wonderful young women with beautiful personalities. I love working with them. And the leaders I work with constantly amaze me with their dedication.

Scott took Meredith to Idaho Friday afternoon. Our friends Fred and Emy lost one of their little girls (5 of their 6 children have a progressive degenerative illness for which there is no cure. 2 of them passed away a few years ago. Their story is tragic, but they are a constant inspiration to me.) I miss my baby and my hubby! Scott called this morning and said that several people were stunned to see a dad flying alone with a baby. He got all sorts of advice and help. I wasn't a bit worried, he's a wonderful father to Meredith and I know she's in good hands. I'm glad they'll both have a chance to see Grandma and Grandpa Garner and some of the cousins. Wish I could have been 2 places at once!