Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Valentine's Day 2012

We had a fun Valentine's Day as a family.  I started off the morning by making a yummy breakfast, including bacon (for Loren) and pink pancakes (for Sophie).  Sophie and I had set out Loren's present (new gym shorts, so exciting!) the night before, along with our cards for him and a big Reese's peanut butter heart.  Sophie got some green dress-up gloves and a Tiana purse, from The Princess and the Frog, and some heart-shaped chocolates.

 These pictures aren't from Valentine's Day, but I thought I'd throw them in to show Sophie's typical cooking style, aka messy and/or naked.

 She's wearing an apron my mom made her for Christmas

My present came later in the day.  Sophie and I came home after running some errands to find that Loren had left for class, plus these beautiful flowers.  Sophie firmly believes that Daddy got them for her and whenever I said something about "my" flowers, she immediately replied, "No, those are MY flowers!"


Anyway, next to the flowers was a note which was the first clue in a scavenger hunt!  For your enjoyment, and to show how clever and thoughtful my husband is, I'll share the clues and where they led, if it's not obvious.

#1  Look round the house, my dear, to see / What clues and gifts I've left for thee / The flowers tell you next to look / Inside my Second Nephi Book
#2  When cleaning up my daily scruff / This reflects my good-looking stuff  (behind his shower mirror)
#3  Contains odor-fighting "atomic robots" that "shoot lasers" at your "Stench Monsters" and replaces them with clean masculine "scent elves"  (on his deodorant)
#4  On the telly/boob-tube you will find / The next clue -- Look behind!  (behind the tv, where there was a card)
#5  "A card, a card!" says I, the bard / To remember one was not so hard! / But the game to play! The trail, don't drop! / You might have to settle at the next stop  (inside Settler's of Catan)
#6  Some puzzle for me to daily today to do / What is it called? Ken, times two  (on his page-a-day Ken-Ken calendar)
#7  Orange, round, with a toothy grin / October candy is stored within  (inside the Jack-o-Lantern treat bucket in Sophie's room; there were earrings inside!)
#8  Earrings, yes! But something more / Hides by an electric potential store  (on our scooter battery, which is charging above the kitchen cabinets)
#9  A golden creature whose legs are three / Hides the next clue, page seventy  (this one stumped me for a few minutes, then I found the clue inside Brisingr, which has a picture of a golden dragon, Glaedr, on the cover) (yes, we're a little nerdy)
#10  "Go left," "Bear right," and "Turn around" / Tap it twice to be homeward bound  (on the GPS in the car)
#11  The final item which you lack / Is stashed inside a red backpack / You see now that you took the bait! / For your last surprise, you must wait!

When he got back from class, I found a beautiful silver and blue necklace in his backpack.  Loren did such a good job planning this for me and Sophie thought the whole thing was very exciting.  I made Red Velvet cake in honor of the occasion and Loren and I went to dinner later in the week.  I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!  I love you Loren!

Monday, February 20, 2012

My Two Loves

In honor of Valentine's Day and as a tribute to our friends, Josh, Terese and family, who moved to Utah a few weeks ago, I wanted to post a sampling of our family pictures that Terese took last fall. Some of these were on our Christmas cards, but most of you reading this didn't get one (what can I say, Loren has a big family!) so here you go - some beautiful pictures of the two people I love most.

This one is my favorite! Who do you think Sophie looks like now?

We took these by Leverett, Loren's house (kind of like a dorm) at Harvard, by the Charles River and at the Harvard Business School - hence Loren and Sophie's school spirit