Riley's preschool Valentine's Day...

Today was Riley's preschool Valentine's Day celebration. I was fortunate enough to be the parent helper, so I got to be with her for the entire class. We had a great time, and Riley was so excited to have me there with her...it makes me sad to think that one of these days, she probably won't want me anywhere near her. So for the time being, I am so thankful to have a daughter that gets excited to have mom around! What a wonderful morning we had together!

The kids made Valentine's cards for their parents, out of a tracing of their hands.On the inside, the hands are placed into the sign language form of "I Love You" It was so cute!

These are the bags the kids made to put their Valentine's into from each other. They each made their bags into African animals...Riley's is supposed to be a giraffe!

Valentine Cookie Necklaces..

So yesterday, I decided that Riley & I should do a project while Sydney was taking her afternoon nap. I went online and found this fabulous recipe for homemade sugar cookies, with homemade frosting. I thought it would be the perfect thing to make together. Little did I know how time consuming the project actually was! But the necklaces turned out great really, although if you ever decide to try it, I might suggest using string for the necklace instead of licorice. The licorice didn't hold very well after the knots were tied. Anyway, it was a cute idea instead of cards for
Valentine's....the first picture is a little blurry, but the idea is to use a drinking straw to cut out the hole for the licorice to go through. I'll post the recipe at the bottom of this blog.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
3 drops red food coloring
2 1/4 ounces colored candy sprinkles
60 long red vine licorice
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DIRECTIONS
Cream 1 cup butter or margarine and 3/4 cup white sugar together. Blend in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and grated lemon peel. Sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Cover and refrigerate dough for approximately 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a floured heart shaped 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter and cut dough into heart shapes. Place the cut-out hearts on greased cookie sheets.
Using the drinking straw, make a hole at the top center of each heart before baking. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until very lightly browned. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
To Make Butter Frosting: Mix 3 cups confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup butter together. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat until smooth making sure frosting is of spreading consistency. Stir in food coloring to create a pink or red colored frosting, if desired.
After cookies have cooled, frost and decorate them with nonpareils, sprinkles, dragees, or colored sugar. Use a toothpick to dislodge the hole, if necessary. Let the frosting dry.
To make a necklace, tie the ends off of two pieces of red colored licorice with a knot. Thread it through the hole at the top center of the cookie. Tie the other ends off with another knot to create a "chain." Makes approximately 30 heart necklaces

So Happy Together!

Marriage Sacrament

On February 7, 2009, we had our marriage recognized by the Catholic Church. When we got married almost 6 years ago, it was on Carter Mountain by a friend of the family who is a J.P. We have been doing classes for about 6 months now with our priest in preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage. So although we are already legally married, we are happy to say that we did it again! Armand was a little concerned when we were saying our vows again, that people who didn't know us may think that we were just now finally getting married, after already having two kids together! It was a great experience though, and I'm glad that we did it. Armand said "You are the only girl I would choose to marry twice"...and that sums it up for me too! Its funny to think that we really did get married...twice!

Our marriage mentors, Pat & George Morris...fabulous people!

Our family, with our priest, Father Clark

Another Weekend With Buster!

It was Riley's turn to have the preschool mascot, Buster again this weekend. She was SO SO SO excited to have him. We did many fun things with him, and here are some pictures to demonstrate. She made Grandpa rollerskate with her & Buster, and as you can tell, Grandpa was enjoying himself thoroughly!

Giddyup Cowgirl!