PS - I would have taken these pictures whether or not David was here :) It just so happened he was gone so it makes for a good title.
This is a face only a mother could love. Poor Kobe (as in Kobe Bryant). I hope this picture makes it to Cute Overload some day.
This doggie's my favorite. Such a poof ball. Nicky as in... Nicky...
This is the newest addition - Magic, as in Magic Johnson.
Attack of the wittle doggies!
Dancin'!
This photo reminds me of a joke. Knock knock. Who's there? Harry, Butch, Jimmy and Joe. Harry, Butch, Jimmy and Joe who? Harry up and Butch your arms around me and Jimmy a kiss before you Joe home! (It's a Tedderism).
I just wanna take Nicky home with me. That's Art's sister Wendy sneaking in the photo. I guess she's known for doing that :)
Art has a lot of people in his immediate family. This isn't even half of them.
Funny story - we told one of Art's nieces that Chris' name was Christmas and she kept calling him that all night. Everybody loves Christmas!
Happy birthday Art!
This year, we went to an illuminated manuscript workshop first and I learned how to gild and add gold foil to hand painted letters, among other things. After lunch we went to a workshop focused on recognizing when a book has been altered/repaired/changed. Sometimes book collectors buy supposedly 100% authentic, un-repaired books for a lot of dough, when in actuality things have been done to them that significantly decrease their value. It's a very interesting and ethical debate that I don't know too much about, but I'd like to. For the last half of the workshop, old books were passed around and we were supposed to identify repairs, if any, that had been done to them. When this book made its way into our hands, there didn't seem to be anything special about it. Just an old book, right?
When we opened it, we realized it was a copy of the Evening and Morning Star.
The Evening and Morning Star was the first periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, first published starting in June 1832 in Independence, Missouri, until a mob destroyed the printing press, and then it was continued again in Kirtland, Ohio, until September 1834. Each issue consisted of 8 pages and it was published once a month.
Can't really see it? Here's a zoomed in shot:
Still can't see it because my photo is blurry? It says 100,000 - meaning $100,000. I don't know about everybody else in the room, but I was about to make a run for it, book in hand, cuz I could sure use $100,000! It's hard to believe they were just passin' this book around, letting people handle it with their greasy and unwashed fingers. But it's cool to say that I've held a book worth $100,000. And that's my story. And I'm stickin' to it. And the end.
She says of her blog: "I will write about growing up in the south, some family background with an attempt to make it interesting and amusing. Stories of my marriage and child rearing years and profiles of our three daughters will be separate from my professional experiences of forty one years in education. Many of my experiences are unique, and I hope they will be interesting to read."
And here's the lady's tattoo:
Do I detect a part time job in the making for Richard?
Marlene made the biggest salad I've ever seen. It's "vegetarian!"
Katie's sister Kendra made a fabulous cake like the cover of the Twilight book.
Katie made "irritable grizzly bear" sugar cookies.
Another play off the book cover. I love me some apples dipped in caramel.
And Emily made these crazy cool wolf cupcakes.
The living room was decked out in red and black. Marlene even brought out her red paintings from her wedding to decorate the walls.
Nothing but the best for us to watch :)
This is the fun group of ladies who came. Props to the gals who went all out dressed up like a character. And I know that my eyes are closed, but what can you do. Not my fiercest moment :)
Next Katie passed out Twilight awards which she made up herself. I was given the Jacob Black award: "You are a very loyal friend. You always have a smile on your face and you are very likeable. You like to tinker with your bikes and cars (scrapbooking and photography). You consider your family like a pack and nothing can break that bond. You love a challenge and you never back down. Your heart belongs to a certain someone...you would do anything for that person."
And these are the fantastic necklaces that accompanied the awards.
That's hot.
Then we played "Pin the Kiss on Edward."
Lots of spinning was involved and since I don't like taking pictures with the flash, I got a bunch of blurry action shots. Here's Marlene being spun.
And here she is approaching the poster to plant a kiss on Edward.
Close, but no cigar.
Katie being spun.
Close, but no cigar.
Kendra and Alisha pretty much put their kisses on the same spot so they had a "kiss off. "
Alisha won and got a poster of Edward. It's already hanging on her ceiling so she can stare at it 24/7 :)
Then we watched the movie and ate treats. Afterwards we watched some bonus features and chatted 'til way past my bedtime.
