Kelly Times Two

Kelly and I are so excited to go to the University of Texas Longhorns first football game of the season tonight! I love college football. We had a tough time finding tickets and our good friend, Jim, gave me a contact and we got two excellent seats on the 45-yard line about 37 rows up. We've been watching the Colorado Golden Buffs v. the Colorado State Rams at home on tv, getting pumped up for tonight's game. It's halftime and both offenses are doing great. For all you Longhorns fans, here's a little something for you, and I hope we get to hear a lot of tonight, after every UT touchdown! (to the tune of I've been working on the railroad...) The eyes of Texas are upon you, All the livelong day. The eyes of Texas are upon you, You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them, At night or early in the morn'. The eyes of Texas are upon you, Till Gabriel blows his horn! I'm crossing my fingers for a fantastic season watching Colt McCoy and the UT football t...

Yes! That's right. Today is the day we adopted our little baby girl, sixteen years ago when she was a month and two days old. We call this day, as the title says, Lindsey Appreciation Day. Lindsey is such a JOY and a blessing to our family! I plan to have Gabby take some professional photos of Lindsey sometime soon, but for now, these will have to do. What a beautiful girl Lindsey is. So many parents talk about how horrible the teenage years are and were for their kids, and I have never experienced that with my sweet Lindsey. She is such a "good girl" and has the best attitude of almost any teen I know. She always looks at things from a positive perspective, and is rarely critical of others. She sets a very good example to me in many ways. She is very fun to be around, and is very playful and sentimental. She loves music and has been in choir since the fourth grade. She is good at making little shrinky dink art pieces and is very tidy. Her bedroom is usually very well k...

Since I bake these cookies ALL the time, I decided to post them on my blog. Please enjoy this step-by-step view of my favorite cookies, starting with what the dough looks like after I mix everything together in my cherished Kitchen Aid Mixer, which I have had for 14 years. Love it. ( Edited on 15 October 2010: My old mixer died and I replaced it with this new one .) I used the small scoop this time. Sometimes I use my medium or large scoops too. Gee, my hands sure do look "veiny." This was a tricky shot, taking this photo myself with my left hand (as I'm right handed), while I posed with my right hand. This small batch makes exactly enough for two baking stones full of cookie dough, a total of forty delicious (if I say so myself) cookies. I used a well-loved rectangle stone and a newer, less seasoned one to show the difference of my two stones in this size. A cookie sheet will work also. I let the cookies rest for a few minutes on this raised cooling rack before...

Christopher started fourth grade today and Lindsey started tenth grade. This will be the first year that we've felt like Christopher is old enough to ride his bike to school. Kelly and I rode along with him today. Here's the smiling, eager student, with big hopes for another exciting school year with a new teacher. Since my foot is still recuperating, Kelly walked Christopher upstairs to his classroom and bid him adieu, while I stayed near the crosswalk with our bicycles. By the way, my foot is still swollen, and I wore my ugly boot for ten days straight. I'm thrilled that biking doesn't hurt my foot, and I plan to bike home with Christopher after school today too. The high school starts more than an hour later than the elementary school, so Lindsey left after her little brother. Here she is after getting all dolled up for day one of her sophomore year. She rides a bus to school and will start seminary next week, so she will get to sleep in late for one more week. La...

Twenty-one years ago, Kelly and I married each other for time and for all eternity in the beautiful Salt Lake Temple . Here's a picture of us, the newlyweds, on the evening of our wedding, where we had a gorgeous layered cake, garnished with fresh roses at our reception in Utah. Yes, we did get married in the eighties, as you could have easily guessed by my big permed hair, Kelly's gnarly mustache, and my swooping accessory on my veil, and the 1980's vintage wedding dress, which I purchased from the small inheritance money I had received from my granddad, who had been tragically hit by a semi truck and killed instantly while driving on a country road in Oklahoma in his compact car. Ironically, my granddad had worked as a truck driver his entire life. (Wow, that little side story makes for a sad introduction to a happy day! Sorry about that. I just was thinking about those details, remembering Granddad, as I was typing and reminiscing.) It was indeed a beautiful wedding and ...

Here you see me with all my siblings together two years ago at my brother's wedding, listed from left to right in our birth order. Tracy (first), Julie (fifth), Marc (second), Kelly (third), and Valerie (fourth). My sisters and I talk on the phone often, and we email each other frequently, but we don't get to see each other enough, as we're spread out in different states. The girls are always excited and surprised when Marc emails us or calls, and it's such a treat. Guys aren't as good at "shooting the breeze," as my dad says. I love each of you very much! (Tracy, aka Monalisa, wasn't crazy about this picture, but I still think she looks pretty with her ever so slight smile.) Congratulations to Marc and Penni, on your two-year anniversary. I bought this photo from the photographer, plus one of Marc and Penni, which is framed and I still need to scan it.

Now that my foot is supposed to be having a break (no pun intended), I am so glad that Lindsey is home and can help me. She's awesome. She painted my one wall in my office that I've been wanting to have repainted for seven years. She taped the trim off and painted everything neatly except for the very top, which she couldn't reach. Hopefully Kelly can do that for me tonight. I'm so sick of this faux finish and was thrilled to finally get the solid yellow on it. Good job, Lindsey.