02/25/12

1.  It was my dad's birthday on the 25th!  I'm a horrible daughter and didn't even call him, but I did email him a little note:
Hi Daddy,
I feel so bad that I didn't call you yesterday!  It was a crazy day and I was literally running from one place to the next from 9:00 AM until 10:30 PM.  I did think about you though, and I want to wish you a heartfelt Happy Birthday, as belated as it may be.
I'm so lucky that you are my father.  I'm so lucky that you are my boys' grandfather!  There's no gift I could ever give you that could possibly begin to repay the gift you gave me of a blessed childhood and a heritage of intellect and faith.
I like to brag about my dad who now at 63 is more active and in better shape than most men 20 years younger than himself!  :-)  I wish we lived closer so that my boys could go to your soccer games and you could take them on bike-rides.  Thank you for being an ideal example of the kind of man I hope each one of my boys will grow up to be.

Love,
Gabrielle

2.  Brigham went with me to Walmart after horseback riding lessons to help pick out a baby-shower present for my friend.  It was fun to shop with him.  He helped me pick out 6 classic Dr. Seuss books and a basket to put them in, which I thought was a great idea for a gift, even though it ended up that my friend already had them all.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  :-)  Thank goodness for gift receipts.

3.  Eating refreshments at baby showers is no fun when you don't eat meat or wheat or dairy.  Thank goodness for the obligatory fruit and vegetable platter.  Although, somehow celery sticks and grapes don't quite measure up to cheesecake, croissants, sugar cookies, and all the other delicious food that was there.  At least I didn't have to worry about eating too much!  :-)

4.  Ben's big ward activity was Saturday night.  It went well!  We had a 3 course potluck meal (salad, main dish, dessert), and played get-to-know you games.  I know Ben was feeling nervous when it was 5:00 (it supposedly started at 5:00), and the only people there were the people in his presidency who had to be there to set up.  But the Mormon-standard-time rule held up and by 5:30 almost everyone was there.  :-)

5.  I went to the grocery store after the ward activity.  I'm a total pro at loading those puny motorized grocery store carts.  I think I outdid myself on this shopping trip.  It was like the clowns coming out of the tiny little car!  The cashier was amazed, and the groceries I bought ended up filling one of those giant-sized grocery carts, once everything was bagged up.