Muckender

This is the first company that Alloy Partners has launched that is a product instead of SaaS. These are heavy duty wipes for cleaning up big messes - that are also safe to use on your skin. I ordered a couple of packs and am excited to try them. Greg is going to take a pack into work and let the shop guys try them too. Hopefully they are great, and hopefully the company does great too. 

Bringing back a classic

Costco has a cranberry walnut bread for the holidays and when I saw it, it reminded me of a sandwich that we used to get from The New Scenic Cafe in Duluth. I had to call my friend and have her give me the recipe for the sauce that is on it. 

Grilled chicken, asparagus, brie, and a pesto lemon aioli on toasted cranberry walnut bread. Sometimes things are classic for a reason!

The moon in the sunset

 Beautiful. 

No regret bangs

Connie and I were talking about cutting bangs (not in a real way), but after she left I got out the bangs I wore for my 50th birthday celebration and sent her this picture pretending I had cut my hair. She was awesome and told me they were cute...and then I sent her the bangs alone. This is definitely the no regrets way to have bangs!

Pictures from the kids

Zach sent this one with his friends at a sneak preview of Wicked. 

Ava sent these two after doing baptisms at the temple. 

Zach got together with mission friends. 

And Andrew and Kayleigh went to Columbus, Ohio on their way to Indiana so they could visit great friends from their BYU days and go to the BYU game. 

As a mom, when your kids are happy, you feel happy. These pictures make me happy!

Adventures with Connie

I was working during the day, but Connie and I got to do some really fun things either during lunch or at night. 

We went to Ivy Lane Bakery the last time she was in town and she wanted to go back. We had quiche and cookies. Yum! 

One evening we went to Hobby Lobby to find everything we needed to decorate for Ginny's wedding. I only took this picture of us trying to drape tuille, but it was a fun trip for sure. We ended finding some things we were really excited about and then we sent Ginny all of the information so she could just buy it at the Hobby Lobby there. It was nice to get that checked off of the wedding to-do list. 

One of the nights we went out to dinner with my friend Jenni and another night Alyssa came over to visit and chat. Connie was scheduled to go home on Thursday, but ended up moving her flight to Saturday instead. This meant the next two nights she was with me - doing what was already on my calendar. So, she came with me to see Andrew Short in The Lightning Thief at ISU. Here I am with his mom and my good friend, Lori. 

They did a great job with the show. 

Pictures with Andrew and his family after the show. 

One night we also went and volunteered at The Festival of Trees. It is a volunteering gig that I really enjoy and it was extra fun with Connie there. We took a little break for a Santa visit. She made me laugh really hard when she told him, "I want it all - I want one of everything". He let out a big, "Ho Ho Ho". 

It's always fun to see the gingerbread houses too.

It's really fun to see all of the decorated trees too. 

Greg got back into town on Friday night and picked us up right after Festival of Trees. We went to a nice dinner at Biaggi's and then had one last night to stay up late and talk. We realized Connie's ticket was actually for the wrong day (luckily we figured that out), so she had to change it again and it meant she was leaving on Saturday at 10 am instead of 5 pm. 

The next morning, she was all packed and Greg clicked her zippers into the little locks, only to find out that Connie didn't know the combination because the suitcase had been Grace's first and she set the lock combination. Grace wasn't answering because it was pretty early, so Greg got out a saw and sawed through the end of the zipper pulls. Crazy. 

It was a really fun week with Connie and I'm so glad she came to visit. It's a rare thing to have a friend for 38 years and I feel lucky and grateful for her. 

Charcuterie boards for Ginny and Steve

Connie and I are going to help with Ginny and Steve's wedding in a few weeks and I showed Connie the charcuterie boards I have made in the past and wondered if we should make some for the reception. We settled on this design and ended up making 3 boards. I think Ginny will really love them and I think they will add a special personalized touch to the reception. 

Fun with Connie (Wicked style)

Connie flew in for a visit and was already at the house before we got back from the football game. We went to the RS activity together where she met a bunch of my friends, and then I swear that we talked for 15 hours on Sunday. Greg left for Denmark on Sunday too, so it was just Connie and me for the week. I worked each day and Connie worked on little projects and relaxed. We had plans for most nights though. On Monday, we had sneak preview tickets to see Wicked with a group of my friends. 

A little nod to Wicked...time to break out the fun socks!

The movie was great and the company was fantastic too!

It's so wonderful to have Connie in town. We have been the best of friends since we were 13...that's a very long time! What a great way to start our week of fun. 

At the game

The kids sent me these pictures. Sam Thalgott (from our ward) was out at BYU touring, and he went to the game with Ava, Zach, and Ryan. That's a great way to feel the school spirit first hand and in the most extreme way!  

I sure love this trio and I really love that they enjoy each other. My mama heart is full. 

Wabash / DePauw Game

Greg and I went to Wabash College to see the Wabash / DePauw game. I had no idea how big of a deal it was until I was at work a few days before and casually mentioned it and people got excited. Turns out we were at the 131st annual Monon Bell Classic. We just knew we were going to the one game this year where Solomon Massela played Brandon Adams. 

Wabash is a small school - only about 900 students - but we were surprised at how big the campus seemed and how nice the grounds and campus were. 

This was the path leading from the edge of campus and to the stadium. 

The leaves that had fallen from this tree were so bright and pretty. 

Here we are at the stadium. Greg and I sat on the DePauw side for the first half and the Wabash side for the second half. Lindsay and some other friends were there for DePauw, and Bindi, Susie, and other family members were there for Wabash. 

DePauw won the bell the year before and they really showed it off by ringing it the entire game. The entire game. Wow. 

With Sammy and Lindsay...rooting on DePauw!

Brandon (number 33) catching the ball on warm ups.

And here is Solomon (number 99) across the field. 

The Stocks and JD Williams came to the game too.

We made eye contact with Brandon!

We got some great action shots of Solomon during the game too. 

Wabash is an all boy's school, so they don't have typical cheerleaders. They have these hype guys in overalls. They do push ups when their team scores...they also do a lot of yelling and crowd rallying. 

With Bindi and Susie!

The crowd was pretty rowdy at times...like this guy standing on the rails behind us. So funny!

More action shots from the game...

This player got injured during the game and the team really rallied around him. I am guessing he is a senior, based on everything that was happening. It was a tender moment to watch as he was very emotional and the team was very supportive. 

DePauw ended up winning the game - so they got to keep the bell. Everyone was allowed onto the field 10 minutes after the game ended, so we got to get lots of pictures. 

We walked back through campus after the game. It really is a pretty campus.

Then we were treated to an amazing sunset on our drive home. What a great way to end a drive back to Illinois.