My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and despite the morning being a little hectic had a wonderful day. Linda and Mardene took me to lunch and then we had chocolate cake and ice-cream at work. I received many greetings for the day and to top it off the family went to Ruby River Steakhouse. We enjoyed a marvelous dinner although I had to laugh a little. Here were most of the adults ordering the 6 oz. steak (which I can barely eat) and the kids order the steak and ribs dinner. Samantha and Amy shared one but still....Scott wanted the pasta and told the waitress he would try the white sauce (Alfredo). Luckily he enjoyed it and managed to eat most of it after filling up on peanuts. We then all shared the Mud Pie they brought for my birthday. It was a huge serving and perfect for everyone at the end of the meal. I received some wonderful gifts. Tyler brought me some roses and I got a kiss. After dinner we had 15 minutes before the mall closed so we rushed over and got Tyler some shoes. We are holding another celebration on Sunday where we are going to do a Disney party.

PF Chang's

Michael, Tyler, and I went to PF Chang's Saturday night and then were planning on heading down to Penney's to get Tyler some new athletic shoes for his mission. When we got there we were told @ 20-25 minutes but then began seeing a lot of kids in tuxes and formal dresses. Timpanogos was having their Prom so it soon became packed. We had to wait about an hour but we figured we were getting dinner and a show. It was fun to see all the different dresses and tuxes - some odd - but on the whole they looked very nice. Dinner was a lot of fun and we had a great meal. It was Michael & Tyler's first time eating there so of course we had to have the lettuce wraps and the bananas in spring rolls with coconut ice-cream for dessert. Because dinner took so long we were not able to make it to the mall.

Michelle Said Yes

After keeping him waiting for weeks Michelle responded that she would got to Prom with Tyler. Trish arranged to meet Michael to give him the reply supplies to trash Tyler's room but Michael forgot so he and Tyler drove down to Provo Towne Mall but Trish wouldn't give it to him since Tyler was with him. They then arranged to meet on Saturday and once we saw what it was it all made sense. He is really excited. I'm glad the Linds let Michael trash his room as we were able to contain it to his bed and not have a huge mess to clean up.

Special Fast

As you know we have been working on Tyler's mission papers and were able to get everything completed within one week other than the medical exam. Tyler had his exam on the 12th which showed a high amount of protein in his urine. The doctor wanted a 24 hour sample taken which we sent in on the 19th but the doctor and his nurse took a week off for vacation so we just got the results today. The 24 hour test also showed a high level of protein and they want him to see a specialist to ensure that he does not have kidney failure. We are confident that he is in good health but it is frustrating for him to have to wait to submit his papers. We are holding a special fast for him tomorrow and would ask all our friends and family to keep him in their prayers. Thank you-

Smores, Whiskers, & Feeding the Birds

Whiskers ventered outside for just a few minutes. She is really old and rarely goes outdoors anymore. Mutti put her bird feeders up and we had a few visitors. At first only one bird at a time would go up to feed and the others would stand around waiting for the one to leave. Two went up but they began fighting. It took them all a minute to figure out there was room for all.

Happy Birthday Mutter!

Yesterday we celebrated Mutti's birthday with an ice-cream cake, candles, and a birthday song. We always celebrate birthdays on Sundays as it is an easier time for us to get together. Although my birthday is coming up and we are going to do it on a Saturday so we can do a Disney theme. Mutter had forgotten about a cake and was surprised when Tyler brought it out. We enjoyed the beautiful weather outdoors and grilled hamburgers and made smores. She tried to blow out one candle at a time to make multiple wishes but the wind did not cooperate so she was only able to make around four wishes.

Spring Rolls

I found a recipe for Spring Rolls by Tyler Florence and decided to try them. I couldn't find the wrappers anywhere and then remembered there is a Chinese store across the street from my office. Despite knowing little about Chinese cuisine I ventured in and looked at all the shelves. They have a lot of interesting items and I want to go again another time and look more closely. I found two types of spring rolls, frozen and dry. I asked the owner which were better and she got a Thai restaurant owner, who was in the store involved, and finally decided on the frozen ones as they are better for frying. I made them Friday night and they turned out really good. They are not difficult to make just a little time consuming. I will have to try them again sometime.

Happy Birthday Mutti!

Yesterday was Mutter's birthday. She had a great day receiving many birthday wishes from family and friends. I didn't think we would have a chance to stop by but city council meeting got out early and we stopped by Smith's so Tyler could get Oma some flowers. I didn't get a chance to take a picture because my camera was in my other purse. We are going to celebrate on Sunday, as per family tradition, with a family dinner.

Community Service

Saturday I had the opportunity to do some community service with Kiwanis. Kiwanis recently asked me to be on the board and has proven to be a great opportunity for me. I woke Tyler up and asked if he wanted to go with me. He of course said no and when I asked what his plans were he said nothing. I told him to come and do service with me and he could do nothing later. He was really good about going. We helped clean up the campground at the Utah Lake State Park with Recreation & Habilitation. He did his Eagle project with them. They fed us lunch afterwards and we headed home to relax.

Shopping for Ty's Mission

We made a dent in buying Tyler's clothes for his mission on Friday. When he found out I was going shopping with Michael for his mission he wanted to come along. Normally, he has never cared but it was good he was there to try on things he liked. He has good taste in clothes and does have an opinion about what he likes and doesn't. He got two pairs of shoes, a new suit, 4 shirts, 4 belts, wallet, 4 ties, 2 tie clips. We are finishing up his papers so will finish the shopping once we know where he is going.

I had my list Reading is Fundamental distribution last week. My regular reader couldn't come so I did the reading in the morning and Mardene did it in the afternoon. She did a fantastic job. There was one boy who looked so traumatized and wouldn't look at you or talk. She had a book on the Wizard of Oz that allowed the kids to touch and feel, which was perfect for this child because he actually participated. It is so sad to see what some children endure.

Easter

We had a nice Easter yesterday with family. David decided he wanted to do spare ribs as he know Tyler loves them so we had that instead of the traditional Easter dinner. Saturday I had gone over to my parents and made Barefoot Contessa's lentil soup with Kielbasa. He is a great soup and very healthy. It took me a few hours to get everything cut up and cooked. It made a lot of soup so still enjoying it for lunch this week. After cooking all day on Saturday I had to be over at my parents again on Sunday to make the Easter dinner. I made two different kinds of ribs. One slab I grilled for 3 hours and made the Neeley's Peach BBQ sauce. Tyler loves peaches and we saw them make it last week on TV so thought to give it a try. Really easy to make and only takes @ 45 minutes. It is a good sauce and would be good on chicken as well. It was a little peachy because I did not have enough ketchup. I had purchased two bottles of ketchup but needed four for all my recipes. The other ribs I cooked for four hours in a roaster. They were good too but I think next time I will cook them without the sauce and cook it on the stove at the end and dump it over them. It really got watered down in the cooking process.

Tyler's Mission

We almost have Tyler's mission papers completed. The only thing left is his physical which is set for this Friday and Monday. Everything is done on the computer now and you just scan or upload copies of things. We had to upload a photo of Tyler and I took a few to choose from.