ALWAYS on the go.......!!

This past weekend was jammed packed! We were so grateful to have an extra hand to help us be 3 places at once! Grandpa Buhrley was here and thanks to him, we made it! Also, thanks to grandpa, we got all of these great pictures. The only problem with Grandpa taking all the pictures.....he isn't in any of them!

Within minutes after getting here, he was off with Mitch to the Science fair, and then to the Blue and Gold Banquet!

Mandi had a soccer tournament at BSU on the Blue turf! With Mandi practicing indoors over the winter, she is excited to get outdoors again.....and we are excited to watch her!

Mitch made good use of his spare time between games!

I think these photos caught him dreaming of being a track star.

Which he really could be.......

WARNING, don't ever challenge Mitch to a race.

I've tried it.

Mac was also busy this weekend with the 5A District tournament. It was an exciting tournament......State, here we come!

Ahhhhhh..........Thank goodness for Sundays, and some much needed down time!

Lou also moved into his office last week.
(a good reminder that I don't ever want to move again!)
Here the boys are putting together the table for the staff kitchen.

Who needs Disney Land?

Somehow.......??
Grandpa still found time to play,
take great pictures, read lots of books,
and go on many walks!

My dear friend Meg, who is more like a sister, stayed with our kids while we were in Seattle. The best part about this?? ...... After we came home, she stayed and played with me for the rest of the week! Her darling friend Jen came up for the weekend. We loved having her! She and Meg spent an entire day taking care of my little ones while we were at Soccer and Wrestling....thank you! At the end of this busy weekend the girls enjoyed a very fun"Girls Night Out!" We were very sad to have everyone go! I always find myself a little "blue" after our vistiors leave. In this case.... I was a LOT blue.:)

I love, love, love having company!

18 Years.......!!!!!

The Buhrley's est. February 15th, 1991

This past weekend Lou and I celebrated our 18th Wedding Anniversary!
We weren't planning on going out of town....
but Lou planned a quick AND fun trip to Seattle.
My friend,(sister) Meg, came and stayed with the kids so we were worry free-and enjoyed every minute of our time together. The first night, Lou took me to the Lion King. If you ever get a chance to see this Broadway production, it is well worth it! It was a fun surprise,
(although, anyone who knows Lou.....knows he has a really hard time keeping a secret!....so I found out the surprise a little early, like before we left.:))

These pictures were taken while waiting for the production to start. If any of you have ever tried to take a picture of my husband.....you will know why I had to post these pictures. We did FINALLY get a picture with his eyes OPEN! Although ,we were laughing so hard I thought we might get kicked out of the theater. (and who knew you weren't suppose to be taking pictures?:))

It was a Beautiful Theater

This is where we stayed in downtown Seattle....another nice surprise!
AND,
it was actually a surprise!

It was wonderful to spend time with my brother Jer. We had great conversation and amazing hamburgers at a place Joel introduced us to. We were planning on taking Joel to lunch for his birthday...however, we ran out of cash...at a cash only restaurant !:)
Thanks for spotting us Joel!
We also spent the afternoon at Pikes Market.
The best place to people watch,
buy cinnamon almonds,
and have clam chowder-Lou's favorite.


I love this man.

He is my best friend. There is no one I would rather spend time with. I smile just thinking of him. He knows me, everything about me, AND he loves me. We can finish each other sentences, know what each other is thinking, and with a glance say everything. We have not lived a "Fairytale" marriage, it's been better, it's been something real.

"True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving.
It believes, hopes, and endures all things."
Joseph B Wirthilin

I have found my Prince Charming. I have found my True Love.
I have often heard the saying,
" I thought I knew what love was."
When I married, I thought I knew what love was.
However, I love my husband more today then I ever thought possible.
My heart starts beating a little faster just thinking of what I will feel in another 18 years.

It is not the amazing vacations or gifts that make a marriage. Those fun and romantic moments are.....fun and romantic, but not what make a "real" marriage, a marriage of real love and depth. It's everyday life, the ups and downs, the failures and success, the good days and not so good days. It's doing all of this together. It's growing together towards the same goal. Knowing we have complete faith in each other
and our ability to make it...together.

I am grateful to whom I am sharing this journey of life with.
I am grateful for the opportunity to fall in love over and over again,
always with the same person.

Now that's a Valentine Box!!!

Great minds think alike!

Mitch was given the assignment to create a unique

Valentine box out of household items. These two were up to the task!

It was really fun seeing Mitch and dad creating this masterpiece.

Have you ever

seen a Valentine Box like this one?

Mitch will keep his Valentine box

at school for the science fair at the end of the month.
Can't wait to see what they come up with next!

p.s. Birthday hugs!!

I came across these sweet b-day "love" pics...

I had to post, I couldn't reist!

My sweet, observant, and honest children....

GREAT Grandma "Pink"!!

(named after her favorite color!)

The other day Justin told me I looked like Grandma.

"Oh, I look like Grandma Whiting?"

( I've been told before that I look like my mom.)

"No! You look like Grandma Pink!"

Don't get me wrong, Great Grandma Whiting is beautiful!!

I would Love to be mistaken for this amazing women!!

Just not for a few years.

A few hours later.....

Gracie was tired and asked if she could lay on my tummy.

Saying so sweetly, " Your tummy is so, so ,

big and soft!".

It brought to mind a conversation I had with Mckay, a few years back.

He was 5 and I was pregnant with Mitch.

"Mom, babies are born in your tummy, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, then... ..why,

are your

legs and bum getting bigger?"

Sometimes,

teaching your kids to be honest,

can really backfire.

Girls ROAD TRIP!!!

This past weekend....Mandi and I headed to Minico!

Never heard of Minico?.... don't worry, neither had we!

That was a minor detail, we were ready for a girls trip!

We documented the trip, (every step of the way:))

starting with the drive down.

It is really too bad we don't have audio.....

Taylor Swift actually sounds even better,

with us singing along!

We hit ALL the hot spots in Minico....seriously, all of them!

(but hey, for Mandi and I- give us a book, and

a treat. .. we ARE on vacation.)

Who knew Walmart could be so much fun?!

I tried to get a picture of the nice Walmart employee that took our picture....

but Mandi chickened out(notice the picture of her hiding behind the cart.)

Sure- NOW she gets shy! I'm not sure why she was embarrassed, the worker said we definitely were NOT the weirdest customers they have ever had.

Mandi also introduced me to

"Flamin Hot" cheetos!

I know.... disgusting,but they ARE addicting!

Don't knock them till you try 'em.

Eat with caution.

They are not for the wimpy tongue.

They even had a Payless shoe store! What more does a girl need?

Our Hotel was super cute.

Now, the boys in our family have been teasing us about our many photos of what may seem like nothing.......Let's remember you have 2 girls-overdosed on Cheetos, in the middle of no where, at a wrestling tournament with a lot of time in between matches, and... they have a camera.

Can you actually get sore stomach muscles from laughing ?

Yes, I think the answer is YES!

In between our busy activities, we did happen to catch a few photo's of Mac's last match.(the championship match....i have to be careful, I've been told by ...??..that I post too much about his wrestling.)

It was a very exciting way to end our trip!

and yet.....it was not over! We still had the 2 1/2 our drive home! What trip would be complete without a little "detour"?!:) Notice the picture with me on the cell phone, that would be me talking to Lou trying to find out where I had gone wrong!?! The picture of the truck, would be what we drove SLOWLY behind for 20 minutes. The picture of the beautiful scenery....ha, that would be the view our little "detour" provided us. The Cheetos.....would be what stained my fingers red for 3 days, don't EVER let me eat those again! In the middle of all this-

Mandi, in true Mandi fashion, says,

"At least we're not walking!!"

That started the laughing all again.

A thought on LOVE......

I love the month of February....the "Love "month!

A friend sent this quote to me a few weeks ago

and I wanted to share -I absolutely love it.

(she thought it was said by Elder Maxwell.)

" Do things out of love rather than duty...

for duty makes you do things well,

but love makes you do them beautifully."

Happy Love month!

I love you!