Sweetheart Cafe VIII

When I was growing up, there was a woman in our ward- Wendy- who had started a tradition on her first Valentine's Day with her husband. They didn't have a lot of money so she made a big sparkly heart sign that said "Sweetheart's Cafe" and she made a nice romantic dinner for two. They have done it every year since. I'm not sure how long ago that was but I know it was more than 25 years ago. Every year she makes it bigger and better and opens her house for people to come and see all her crazy decorations and the fancy family table. Just to be clear, I love her. When Adam and I got married, I thought it would be cool to do this too, so we have. Every year. It is never as cool or fancy or amazing as Wendy's but it's still fun and something we look forward to.Sunday morning for breakfast Adam made pink heart pancakes that were a big hit.
This year was the first time that we invited our kids for dinner. In the past, we have put them to bed and then had a late dinner together so that we could actually enjoy it without getting anger indigestion (see here) and last year, our rad friends the Winns had a babysitting night and offered to take our kids so we could enjoy our dinner. Since our boys are older and like fun things, we decided it was time to let them join us. Adam and I talked about it beforehand and decided that we weren't going to worry about them eating their food like every other night- we would just have fun and enjoy it.Our grill broke a while ago and we've missed all of our barbeque recipes so for Valentine's Day, Adam and I got each other a new grill (although we still couldn't bring ourselves to buy anything but the cheapest one we could find). To celebrate, our menu consisted of Honey Garlic BBQ chicken, twice-baked potatoes, corn on the cob and then heart brownies and ice cream for dessert. Oh- and Raspberry Pomegranate Italian soda with red heart ice for the drink.
Brody ate every bite of dinner and then ate so much dessert that Adam had to carry him to bed because he was so full. Bridger politely declined the potatoes and corn but he ate all his chicken and, of course, all his dessert. It was pleasant and fun and I'm so excited to do it again next year.

The First Lindquist Snowman

Last week it snowed here in Augusta more than it's snowed here in 37 years. In fact, in the last 50 years, it has snowed more than 2 inches on only 6 occasions. We got about 6 inches. Pictures will do the scene justice more than my words can so....

I took this picture of Bridger thinking, "I'd better get a picture of him in the snow before it stops!" Little did I know....

It had no plans of stopping.This is the first snowman for Adam and for the boys (Adam was born and raised in Las Vegas- not a lot of snowman opportunities). Kind of strange that their first snowman was built in Georgia.Redneck sledding (in a laundry basket). By the way, in case you're wondering, I stayed at the back door taking pictures while staying warm. I'm not into freezing.
Bridger ready for a snowball fight.

And then it got really interesting...

I'm still not really sure what Adam was thinking when he stripped down and had a swimsuit under his pants, but to each their own, right?

In the morning, our yard was beautifully white and even more fun to play in with a little sun shining. We had snow on the ground for 3 days. See you again in 37 years!

Backtracking: I'm Older Now

Last week was my 27th birthday. In the past, I have been slightly demanding as far as how I thought my birthday should go. I always thought it should be made special, even if you have to force people to make it special. Yeah- I know. I'm a piece of work.

This year felt completely different. I didn't much care to have it be different than any other day. Birthdays just don't seem to mean much anymore. I woke up expecting it to be like any other- Brody went to school, I started the laundry, and hung out with my gal pal Leslie (who was in town for a few days). My friend Sarah called and offered to take me out to lunch for my birthday. It was really fun to go out and do something a little different. When I got home from lunch, the house was spotless and there were flowers, a card, and chocolate on the table. I thought, "Wow. Leslie really went a little crazy." Actually, Adam had rushed home during work, cleaned like a crazy man and left me those delightful surprises. I know...hot right?I had a few friends drop off yummy birthday treats and got a lot of well wishes via phone and internet. Then for dinner, we went and checked out the new restaurant Cheddar's and loved it. When we got home, Leslie was back from her outing and she had brought home CINNAMON ROLLS! They were from a little bakery here in town and they were so good! She and Adam both knew that I'm not a big fan of cake so they came up with the cinnamon roll idea...because they're GENIUSES. I'm not sure why I have no pictures of Adam or Leslie but I promise they were there.I decided that every year from now on, I'm going to just consider my birthday just like any other day. That way, the little surprises and kind acts of service that come will make the day surprisingly special, just like they did this year.

This has nothing to do with my birthday, but I love this picture of the boys snuggled up together on the couch watching tv in the morning. They can be so cute...

Showered with Love (and Pink)

My two sweet friends Kelly and Leslie got together and planned a girly girl baby shower for me and yesterday I saw the fruits of their labor. Leslie used to be my across-the-street neighbor (in our old neighborhood). She now lives in Alabama while her husband is deployed for a year. She and her baby Jack have been staying with us this week while she took care of some stuff here. Kelly is my new neighbor and in our ward. They are both so sweet and generous and apparently amazing at putting social events together.The shower started out a little stressful because Adam was at work so I had to get a babysitter to watch the boys while I went to Kelly's house for the shower. She forgot. I could see all the cars driving up to Kelly's house and I was sitting at home with my sleeping boys waiting for the babysitter. Once she was called and reminded she came over and I was on my way...sweating up a storm from the 10 minutes of stress the lateness caused me.

Once I was there, I was so relaxed. They had a soft throne of sorts that I sat in, which was so comfortable, but ridiculously embarrassing to try to get out of in my condition.This is me and my little buddy Ali, who I would love to clone for my little girl to look like.

There was so much good food and even better conversation. It was fun to sit around and talk with other moms, which is something I don't get to do as often as I'd like.

We played a game with ultrasound pictures. We had to name the body part on each one and considering I can't tell what's what in my own babies' ultrasounds when the technician is pointing them out, I knew I wouldn't fare too well. I was right. It was hard. I still don't know how Rachel and Jen got 100%.Everyone was so generous and little female got some serious pink gear. It was like everyone reached into my brain, saw what style I love, and gifted accordingly. She'll be looking pretty swank the first year of her life.Kelly, Amy, Denise, Chrysta, Leslie, Stephanie, Nicole, Jen, me, Emilie, Sarah, Rachel, Shari, Megan.

My friend April was nice enough to take a lot of the pictures before she had to leave and so now she's not in any of them. She's a great photographer as well as an amazing friend.