Valentines Week 2019

We had a wonderful Valentine's week last week.  I started out at the beginning of the month setting out my Valentine decor.  I was sad to take down my winter/snowman stuff because it was simple and pretty but alas we are on to another holiday and so forward I went.  I have a lot of pink throughout the kitchen and dining area plus fresh flowers which always brightens up the house.

I bought this sign at Hobby Lobby.  I love it!  It says, 

"When you have more than you need

 build a longer table not a higher fence."  

This sign spoke to my heart when I first saw it.  This is how Rick and I try to live our lives.  I have learned a lot from Rick through the years because he is such a generous person.  I am learning to be this way too.  I want my whole life to embody what this sign represents.  

Always include. Always give. Always love.

My Valentine!

A couple of weeks ago I saw this shirt in an add from Penney's.  I loved it!  It is very different from what I would normally wear but this shirt said, "February" to me so I had to have it.  Luckily, I have all kinds of rewards and coupons for Penney's so it didn't cost much.  It's just what I needed to lift me up in this cold wet month we've been having:)

On Sunday, we invited our family over for a

  Valentine's dinner and family night.  

I had a fun time planning and decorating for the event.  The table looked really pretty. 

 Simple but elegant.

See's candy for our kids.

The grandkids' table.....

with some fun chocolates as well.

For our main course, Rick grilled up some steaks while I made some cornish hens .  I also made a spinach salad, asparagus and rolls.  

Sarah brought the cheese potatoes and Kendra brought a pudding for dessert.

We had a wonderful family night based on Elder Christofferson's talk from October 2011 called "The Gift of Repentance."  I had read this talk in conjunction with the Come Follow Me lesson from a few weeks prior and just really loved it so we incorporated that into our family night.  

Grandpa spending time with the kiddos!

The next morning I made ninety six cupcakes to pass around to our neighbors for a Valentine treat.  Four different flavors: Strawberry Lemonade, Oreo Cookie, Strawberry Vanilla, Peppermint Chocolate.  It took ALL DAY!  I wish I would have taken a picture of the finished products.  They looked so pretty and yummy!  I got done cleaning just as the littles showed up.

That evening we enjoyed a "little party" with our grandkids.  We dipped strawberries, ate pizza, had a treasure hunt, and played games (Mother May I,  Duck Duck Goose, Colored Eggs, and Hide and Seek).  It was a fun couple of hours with our little cuties!

Dippin' strawberries 

(I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Charlie!)

After the kids left we ended up delivering all of our cupcakes to nine families.

The kiddos also took some home to their families.

I was exhausted but what a wonderful day:)

Valentine Day Dinner

Valentine's night we went on a double date with Brach and Kendra.  We met at Fleming's Steakhouse at The Gateway and had a wonderful night of food and conversation.  We sure love these two and were so happy to spend some "adult" time with them:)

That evening Rick and I stayed in town at the AC Hotel.  It is a brand new Marriott Property and was very nice.  We were upgraded to a room with a view.  It was a corner room on the eighth floor with floor to ceiling windows.  We enjoyed our time there:)  The following morning we spent some time at the SL Temple doing some family names.  Then we enjoyed lunch at Zupas and then caught a movie. I love spending time with my sweetie!

That night we were privileged to tend the Phelps kids while Skylar and Sarah had a Valentine dinner at home.  (Kendra and her kids joined us as well, because Brach was off snow caving with his dad:)  

While I didn't get pictures of the boys I got a beautiful picture to show of of our sweet Daisy.  Isn't she precious?  How about those lucious baby lips??

It was a wonderful Valentine's week!  

I love the month of love!

Temple weekend in Southern Cal

At the beginning of the year, (2019) Rick and I decided that we would like to have the goal of getting to ten new temples again this year.  We had such a good time last year traveling to new places and getting to new temples that we thought we would try it again.

I knew that the Phelps sisters trip was planned for San Diego mid January so I talked to Rick about maybe meeting me there after the girls left and then he and I could spend the weekend in SoCal getting to a couple of new temples.  He was all for it:)

We have previously been to the LA, Newport Beach, and San Diego temples so we decided on this trip to we would go to the Tijuana and Redlands temples.

Rick arrived at our condo on Friday just as the girls were leaving.  After they left I gave a him a quick tour of the condo and then we headed up to Coronado.  I wanted him to see that fabulous hotel (Hotel Del Coronado) that we sisters had visited.  We got to the hotel (about a 15 minute drive from the condo) and suddenly I realized that I forgot my temple bag!!  Ugh!  We had to drive back to the condo to retrieve it.  Since we were so hungry we picked up a sandwich at Jersey Mike's and THEN made our way back to Coronado.

After showing Rick the neatness (is that a word?) of the hotel we knew we had better hurry to get back on the road to drive down to the border.

Coronado Beach

The drive to the border only took about forty five minutes.  There was a little traffic so it took a bit longer that we thought.  We found a parking space just this side of the border and made our way over.  It was very simple.  We walked through Mexican immigration, showed our passports and were on our way.  We had a little trouble with Rick's UBER app but a kind security officer helped us get an UBER and we were off.  

It was only a twenty minute drive to the temple and it was pleasant.  Before getting into Mexico Rick had prayed that he would be able to communicate well enough.  He said that he understood everything that was said the whole time we were in Mexico.  He felt that was a specific answer to his prayers:) 

 As we drove up to the temple I was in awe of it's beauty!  I had heard that this particular temple was gorgeous and it really was!  We got there at dusk and the lights were just coming on.  

What a beautiful sight to behold!  

It is built in the old mission style...inside and out!  

It has beautiful dark wood, stained glass, chandeliers, and paintings all throughout.

We were able to get into the six o'clock session and we both used translator headphones.  

They worked great!

Even the night view was spectacular!

This temple is a beacon in it's city!  

The UBER driver said, "Everyone knows about the Mormon Temple!"

I love that!

After the session the senior couple working inside the temple helped us arrange another UBER to get us back to the border.  He was there is FIVE minutes.  After the short ride back we got through customs and immigration without a hitch.  We found our car and of course had to get some dinner because it was late and we were hungry!  IHOP was right near parking so that worked out wonderfully.

We then drove to Chula Vista where we had a good night's rest in the Residence Inn.  The next morning we grabbed a couple of yogurts and fruit from the breakfast buffet and headed over to our second temple....Redlands.  It was a good two hour drive from Chula Vista.  We were able to get some family sealings done in this temple.  The Celestial Room was exquisite!

After our temple experience we stopped at Chic Fil A.  I love that place!  

Their chicken is so yummy!

We then drove on to Oceanside where we were going to spend the next two nights.  After getting situated in our rooms at the Marriott Courtyard (with ocean views I might add) Rick took a walk down the pier while I rested a bit.  (Still getting over that awful chest cold:(  

As soon as he got back we left for dinner.  

We ate at an Italian place called Veneto's.  

Here is Rick's with his Shrimp Alfredo.

How about that pepper grinder!  Gigantic!!

The next day was Sunday.  We got to attend the Oceanside Ward.  It's always nice to visit other wards and feel that same Spirit that we feel at home.  

We had leftover Italian food for lunch then had a nap:)

                   Just before dusk we took a nice stroll down the pier.  It was really fun!

               This is my favorite picture of the pier!  It was taken from the street just above the pier!

The next morning we headed off for a day of fun.  We first stopped at the Mission San Luis Rey.

We walked through the beautiful chapel there and enjoyed the landscaped grounds.

Rick had a little fun with the cactus tree!

Next we drove down to Old Town San Diego.  We started at the Mormon Battalion.  What a neat place!  It is a family friendly tour and we learned a lot about the pioneers who left their families behind in Council Bluffs,  Iowa to heed the call of President Polk to help with the Mexican American War.  Many of their wives and children were left behind to make the trek westward without their help.  Such difficult circumstances for the pioneers.

Rick panning for gold with the sister missionary.

He got a few nuggets (fools gold, of course) to bring back to our littles.

Official Mormon Battalion Photo

After our tour we were very hungry and Rick wanted Mexican food!  He really wanted some authentic Mexican while we were in Tijuana but that didn't happen.  

We did get some good grub at Casa De Reyes in Old Town.

Oh my gosh!!  So delish!

I had the taquitos....

                         ......and Rick had a combination dish!

We were so stuffed after this meal!  Luckily we got to do a little shopping around Old Town to walk off our fullness:)

Here are some cool shots in Old Town.

Our time in SoCal ended in Old Town.  We drove the short distance to the airport and got a direct flight home.  This was a fun way to start our 2019 goal of getting to new temples!

We're not sure which other temples we will be getting to this year but I think in July when the SL Temple is closed we will fly back east and catch a few back there.

Truth be told I would really LOVE to go to the Rome temple as well as a few other European Temples (Paris, The Hague, Preston, and London) in the fall.  

Not sure if that's gonna happen but a girl can dream!!