DINNER FOR TWO

A few weeks ago I happily found a $50 Fleming's gift card in the mail. Wahoo! I thought that would buy me a real nice steak. So I told Brenty that I had made our anniversary plans. We went last night because the card expires before our actual anniversary. I can't believe it has been NINE years! I know I signed up for forever, but this time has really flown, even more so since we had Stella. 

Our dinner was amazing! One of the most loved tales from the Sallay archives is the story of when I took Brent to Fleming's for his birthday dinner years ago. His steak was huge and just as I was looking up to tell him he shouldn't eat the whole thing, I realized I was too late. He felt sick all of the sudden and went to the bathroom where he apparently briefly blacked out on the floor in a steak coma. I awkwardly sat at our table waiting for him and had to confirm to the waiter that he was fine (I thought), and that yes, he still wanted his complementary birthday crème brûlée. He finally returned to me looking a bit disoriented and I asked him if he still wanted dessert. YES, he told me, he still wanted it. I rolled my eyes, but let him continue to gorge himself on his birthday. As we left the restaurant I apologized for him getting sick and not having a great dinner, to which he said: "That was the best dinner of my life."

So THIS time Brent made sure to order the smallest steak and to leave room for the truly wonderful crème brûlée. He didn't pass out, but he did pretend to for a picture.

Be sure to check out my new Marc Jacobs shoes that I told him were his anniversary present to me. They are so comfy and make my feet very happy indeed.

IDAHO IS TOO FAR AWAY FOR STELLA'S TASTES

Stella and I were in Idaho last week. It was the week of taking Mayor's Scholarship pictures and also as an added bonus Mr. Catcher Gummow was baptized on Saturday. Taking the Mayor pictures was kind of crazy this year--we had the worst weather the first day, but in typical Idaho fashion...it passed, so we were still able to get nice outdoor pictures of the kids. 

On Friday while the boys were at school we took Wyn and Stella to a trampoline place. I should have brought my camera, because they were both so cute doing their jumping. Other than that we just hung out and prepared for the big baptism day.

Before the baptism, I took Catcher out to take a few pics of him in his suit. He looked adorable. 

 

His actual baptism was so lovely. Sometimes with important spiritual milestones, it is hard to tell if you are feeling the spirit or if you are just feeling a lot of love for the person experiencing the milestone. Because honestly, while he was getting baptized I just thought about how much I freaking love that kid. I remember holding him as a sweet newborn baby and now he is this sweet boy who is so thoughtful and wonderful to my daughter. He is such a good friend to everyone and I just love him. Stella didn't really remember Cy's baptism, so this was really fun for her because she didn't know what a baptism would entail. However, after seeing the dunking she said she wasn't so sure about the idea of doing it herself. Oh, and one cute thing she told everyone while we were waiting for Catcher's turn: "My daddy gave me a baptism when I was sick." She of course was thinking of a blessing but it was super cute.

After the baptism we headed over to the house for dinner and watched Catcher open gifts.

On Sunday, Stella got in a lot of pretend time with her Aunt Heidi and her boys: house, doctor, Scooby Doo, and legos were on the agenda, but the most special of all was tea party:

While playing house in the basement, Heidi found this hilarious '80s veil worn by her cousin in the late '90s. It looked super funny on Stella so I had to have a little bridal shoot. I made Catcher pose with Stella in his suit (he did not want to) for a little wedding portrait. This idea was not well received by everyone (especially Craig), but Heidi and I sure got a kick out of it.

Before we left on Monday, Heidi sent Stella off with some of her old Barbies that were still in the box. Stella cried about having to leave all the way until Pocatello, and soon after that my car hit 100,000 miles. Stella just kept complaining that Idaho is too far away from Utah. We were happy to be home, but had a great time as always in Idaho with the boys.

WELCOME HOME AUNT KATHY!

We had been counting down the sleeps, and finally the day came that woke Stella up at dawn: "Mommy, today is the best day ever, Kathy is coming home!" She cheered as she woke me from a dead sleep. I smiled at her and said: "Go back to bed baby..." and fell back asleep.

But of course, I was so excited too. We had all missed Aunt Kathy so much. Stella and I prepared for her arrival by making her a poster for which I, as her secretary, wrote the words exactly as Stella dictated them to me. She also picked out the balloons. 

Kathy was alive and looking good. We are so glad to have our little missionary back home with us.