Albert Einstein

Miss Mac chose Albert Einstein for her person to study and present for the wax museum!

I tried really hard to make her look great.  I initially thought I should put her in a lab coat, but then I realized, he wasn't that kind of scientist!  He was a physicist, and therefore wore ties and suits!

That hair, though!  I ratted it up with tons of product, and used white hair spray paint to grey it up a bit.  I bought a black mustache and painted it white to give a grey effect.  I found the sweater, shirt, and tie at goodwill.  Overall, I think she looks awesome!  Much more authentic than I had even hoped!

She was ready with her poster and memorized facts, and presented to all who came around.

This girl cracks me up!

In other news, it's numbers time at the shop, and this year, because literally thousands have to be cut out, I decided to try using my Silhouette to help out.  It only kind of made things easier...it was just as tedious, and had to be fiddled with virtually every number to get a good cut, but we press on.  Here we are at 12, goes to 999.  Yikes!  This is going to take a while!

These asparagus, man!  They are growing leggy as can be!  Too tall to keep the lid on the tray anymore!  Hopefully we have further success.  Most of the other seeds haven't sprouted yet.

Cello

I have loved the sound of the cello for my whole life, and finally decided, why not learn it??  I headed to Summerhays Music this afternoon and signed a rental contract for my very own cello!  I'm very excited, and have a friend that posts free cello lessons on his YouTube channel, so I'm thrilled to not have to find a teacher.  We are about to find out how hard it is to read in a different clef than I've ever read in!

Etsy Work

The woman who was asking about calligraphy on marble decided to hire me to do some work for her wedding.  Started on that, today, with her list of names and little hexagonal marble tiles.  It's going to be beautiful!  And the super bonus??  I can make each one as perfect as I want, because until the calligragphy ink is sealed with clear acrylic, it can be wiped off with a wet towel and redone!

Red Butte

The girls are with their dad, so Jon and I spent the rainy day up at Red Butte Gardens.  We were initially drawn there because they had a bonsai exhibit, and there were some really cool little trees.  Then we decided we were there anyway, so we wandered around in the rain.  It was actually really fun and romantic.

The plants are all starting to grow, and my favorites are the magnolia trees.  I WILL have one in my yard someday!  These were the color I like, but their leaves are more oblong than the saucer magnolias I really like.

SO beautiful.

As we wandered through the gardens, we came upon a spot that looked like it had been staged with extra flowers in pots, and some cookies...we determined that it was likely a spot designated for someone to propose!  We quickly moved away, and as we walked down the path, there came a couple, hand in hand.  He looked super nervous and she looked oblivious!  Jon and I smiled at each other and silently wished them the best of luck!

Seed Planting

It's planting day!  Seeds, that is!

We were SO excited to plant seeds today!  We bought the trays I always buy, and we also got a warming pad that will help them sprout more quickly.  Jon loves plants, so I can only hope we get a more successful crop of plants this year!

We planted all sorts...asparagus, romanesco broccoli, peppers, lettuce, and more!

I went with Tara and Alicia to the temple this morning, and then we went to get lunch.  I'm trying to stick to diet, so I got this delicious salad!

I continued with the good choices by going to the gym this afternoon!

Jon made some questionable choices this afternoon when he got to our house...but won Mac over in the process!  (Which was his intent in the first place!)  He let her paint his toenails...and not just any color, but GREEN!  Green is his favorite color, and we just passed up St. Patrick's, so it was perfect.

It's not flip flop season, so he might actually let them stay green for a while!

And then bless him, he went outside and mowed down my huge grasses in the front yard.  The green shoots are coming out, and it's time to get the old dry stuff out of the way.

Master Thomas is definitely the CUTEST little man I've ever met!!!  He's my Monday buddy, and because it's Monday, we almost always take a trip to the grocery store, where he is helpful and cute to the passersby!

Primary

Sweet little Meemer was asked last minute (by that I mean there in the primary room once she got there after sacrament meeting!) to give a talk from the Friend.  She got up there and read the story no problem!  I thought to video it.

Then she got to participate with a vacuum(!) during Sharing Time!

Singing Time was a pretty big hit.  We played March Madness, in which we basically voted our favorite ways of singing in each bracket, narrowing it down to our very favorite by the end.  The kids had a great time, and it's a fun way to sing A LOT.

The Zoo and Jonathan Catapult

I had a customer on Etsy ask if I'm able to calligraphy on marble tile...so we headed to Home Depot to buy a slab and find out!  Turns out it works really well, surprisingly enough, and I was able to send her this example.  The watercolor alone would smear if gotten wet, but we also found some clear spray that seals art...works like a charm.  With it the lettering is impervious to liquid.  We will see what she decides.

We headed to the zoo, today.  Gotta use that year pass while we still have it!

All the classic zoo pics...Mac getting eaten by the iconic (as far as I'm concerned!) lion drinking fountain.

Sitting on the gorilla's shoulders

Jon and I seeing how we measure up!

We were able to get pretty close to some of the large cats, which always makes for a more exciting zoo trip!

And then of course the obligatory picture on the giant elephant's trunk!

It was a really fun family outing.

Jon is SO good with the girls.  He talks to them, does activities with them, teaches them, and rough houses with them!  Tonight he introduced them to Jonathan Catapult, which is frankly hilarious!

Even I took a turn, although it's much harder to get my body up in the air like the girls, it's still pretty funny!

I attempted to give Jon a chance to fly, but it did not go so well!

The girls were hysterical, and it really is funny to watch.

St. Patrick's Day!

Well, good news!  Mac was pleased with her shirt, and wore it with excitement! 

When Mimi and Mac came home, a little leprechaun had left them a scavenger hunt to a rainbow and gold treat!

Because Mac and Mimi were out of school early for Friday, Leiden got to do the scavenger hunt when she got home a couple hours later, but I completely forgot to take pictures of her!

May you all be as lucky as I am!

St. Patrick's Eve or Happy Birthday Mom!

Still heading to the gym three or so times a week.  Squats, pull ups, bench press, rows, and shrugs.  I'm still trying to get used to the change.

Today is Mom's birthday!  She requested flourless chocolate cake, which Leiden made for her!  So first we feasted on corned beef and cabbage, then on cake!  We tried the two different cooking methods, and I think I preferred the crockpot method.  It produces a more pull apart fall apart kind of meat, and the pressure cooker produced more a roast and needs to be sliced kind of meat.  They both tasted good, just differences in texture.

I SWEAR Mac has a St. Patrick's shirt somewhere, but of course it is nowhere to be found.  And of course St. Patrick's is tomorrow.  And of course no stores still have green shirts.  So I settled for white, and embarked on a shamrock painting journey after the girls went to bed.

It turned out pretty cute, I just wish it were more GREEN.  I also really hope Mac doesn't mind it.