Boys will be boys.

These two crack me up.  The little boys are really gonna miss Jared.  He is always such a fun playmate.

Spring Break Outing

...to the beach, of course!

 Today wasn't the best of photography days.  Maybe I wasn't really trying hard enough, who knows.  I probably got 1 or 2 half-way decent photos out of the day.  But we sure did have a good day.

I'm a College Girl Now!

I have been wanting to go back to school for at least 15 years, but every time I looked into it the timing just wasn't right.  I actually was about 2 and 1/2 years into a Family Science Degree at BYU when I decided that I just really didn't enjoy what I was doing.  I left BYU and went to Utah Valley State College to get a technical certificate.  I loved the small atmosphere, but doing technical/office type work wasn't what I really wanted to do either.  Over the Spring and Summer in 2015 I was given the opportunity to help design a restaurant and a medical clinic.  I LOVED it!  I thought, maybe it is time I go back to school and get that design degree.  I looked to see what colleges had 4-year design programs nearby that wouldn't cost $13,000 per semester like WSU.  I narrowed down where I wanted to go, applied, and got accepted.  The timing was perfect.  And I know Heavenly Father was helping me through the whole process of trying to figure out the logistics of mommy going back to school, paying for it, taking on a third Montessori campus, and being called back into the primary as the chorister all at the same time (all I can say is being organized has saved me so much stress).  I am now going to school at Bellevue College's Interior Design program.  I seriously love going to school again.  I love what I am learning.  And I am absolutely determined to get that Bachelor's degree!!  I am basically starting all over.  I do have several credits that will transfer over from my previous college years, thank goodness!  Here's a little secret:  I have always been afraid that I would discover that I really didn't have what it took to be a designer.  I once had a friend try to go through an Interior Design program (and she was really creative) but she was told by a professor to quit because she would never make it as a designer.  That always scared me that I would be crushed like that.  But I was recently given the biggest compliment EVER!  A professor told me that they could tell I was designer material!  That made me beyond happy to hear that kind of confirmation.  So onward and upward.  Here, here to new adventures for Weller Town!

A New Journey

In less than one week my baby girl will begin her journey down a new road with her new little family.  Right now the road is an adorable main street full of treasure and possibility, and sometimes surprise.  It is sweet and charming and full of life.  Nothing but endless bliss.  I'm sure that over the years they will make left turns, and right turns, and sometimes even wrong turns.  But they both have a good sense of direction and know where they are going.  They both endeavor to end up in the same place, so I doubt there will be any navigational error too far off the beaten path.  All I can say is that where ever they end up, it will be in a very good place.  And now, for a little while, her road and my road will separate, yet remain parallel, until the end of our journeys.  Oh, how I will miss my companion, my best friend, my travel partner as I hand her over to this young man who loves her with all his heart.  It is a bitter sweet thing to leave a place that is so lovely, so peaceful, so safe and hope that her travels will be smooth and enriching.  Take care of her, Addison.  I, too, love her with all my heart!

Gift From a Colleague

A friend and colleague tagged Dave with this meme on his Face Book page.  Too funny not to share.  Ya, I can see Dave trying to do this while teaching to concept of 'conservation of energy/momentum'.  LOL!!

A Week in the Life!

Isn't she lovely?

This week Dave and Matthew are off on Trek.  The house has been really quiet.  Shaney, Ryan and I have done some fun things this week.  We've been to the pool several times, went to Farmer's Market and got some fresh ingredients for a pasta dinner plus a gorgeous bouquet of crisp, white sweet peas mixed with a few stems of loose strife, spent part of the day at the river, and did some shopping on First Street.  I even got to read THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS in my Toujours Provence book by Peter Mayle!  Super funny read BTW.  (The first one is called A Year in Provence and I highly recommend it.)  I just love times like these when Summer can actually feel like Summer.  Good food, good books, good company, and good places.  Here's to Summer!

A day at the river with my darlings = perfection!

Catching minnows

Finding treasures on 1st Street

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

We found Shaney's cake!  It is so perfect, so lovely, so Shaney, and SOOO delicious!!!  We got to go to the sweetest bakery in town called Simply Sweet Cupcakes.  Emily, our cake-baker is ADORABLE!  We clicked with her instantly.  We got to do a cake tasting of all of her cake flavors and frosting flavors.  There were 12 adorable mini cupcakes for us to sample.  We were treated like royalty.  We ended up choosing a white cake with butter-cream frosting.  And Shaney got to design her own cake exactly the way she wants it.    Shaney's cake will look somewhat like this; full of ruffles with 3 tiers.  But, you didn't think I was gonna show you the whole thing, did you?  Just know that it will be absolutely GORGEOUS!  It will even have sparkles on it!!!  You couldn't get much closer to Shaney's personality if you tried.  Emily even gave us a cupcake with blue frosting to take home to Addison!  What a sweetheart.

*I forgot my big camera so I used my cell phone instead.  

Not the best pictures, but they're still cute.

Sneak Peak

I know, ya'll thought I was gonna show you the whole dress.  You will just have to wait until the wedding day to see this gown.  It was the first one she tried on.  She tried on about 4 or 5 after that and came back to this one.  She twirled around in it, and peaked at herself from behind in the 360 degree mirrors, and even giggled.  It was so cute!  When the veil and tiara went on she said, "Mom, I think this is the dress", with the most adorable smile on her face.  All I can say is that it is a ballroom gown, of course!  Would you expect anything less for a princess?  Shaney is so tiny that they had to special order her a petite size 4.  It is being cut and made just for her right now!  It is a sweat heart neck line with tulip sleeves.  The waist is satin and ruched (pronounced rooshed) and it will have crystals sewn on it from front to back.  Crystals will also be sewn along the organza skirt,  as well as on the lacing at the bottom.  The train is not very long, but long enough that it will have to be bustled so Shaney can walk around and dance.  It is NOT a white dress.  It is Ivory and the satin color is called Romantique.  It is quite a stunning gown and Shaney truly looks like a princess going to a ball in it.  She is absolutely going to be the most beautiful bride I have ever seen!

My beautiful princess in her wedding gown

And the Story Begins

Once upon a time, not long ago, there was a beautiful princess who dreamed of having a ballroom to dance in on her wedding day.  The queen loved this little princess so much that she would do anything for her, even spare no expense and search high and low, throughout the entire kingdom, for a ballroom for her fair daughter.

One day, while the king and queen were surveying their kingdom, they chanced upon a building in the most charming and bustling part of town.  It was called the Feather Ballroom.  But alas, the doors were locked and even the king and queen could not gain access.  It was a very old building that had recently and lovingly been restored to its former glory by the most skilled of craftsmen.  It even boasted the first true floating dance floor in the entire west.  

Years later, upon the forthcoming of their princess's wedding, the royal family toured this beautiful establishment.  They were absolutely awestruck by its beauty and elegance.  The ceilings were coffered with chandeliers, the settees were well placed and comfortable for a private tete-a-tete, the wainscoting was original oak, and even the bathrooms were elegant and of the finest materials.  They determined that this would be the place where their daughter would dance on her wedding day.  But no good and worthy thing comes without a challenge, for this was a desirable place to many, and many a fair maiden in the land were getting married on the same day.  With the competition fierce, the queen was able to charm the owner of the establishment into allowing the princess access to this ballroom for her special, royal ball.

...to be continued

And There You Have It...

...The Princess and Prince Charming are FINALLY engaged!  This story has been three years into the making.  It started out when Prince Charming, Addison Dickson, and his family moved into our ward.  These two went out on their first date the summer of 2012 and were 'starstruck' with each other.  But it was the end of the summer and Shaney still had BYU and Addison still had his mission.  So they parted ways, but wrote to each other for his entire mission.  Last February, Addison completed his mission and came home.  While Shaney was still at BYU, he and Shaney spent the next 8 weeks talking, skyping, and texting EVERY DAY!  Two weeks before Shaney flew home she informed me that there was probably going to be a wedding in August.  I already knew it was coming.  She was home only 2 weeks before Prince Charming proposed to her.  It is the most romantic, adorable story EVER!  But, I'll save that post for another day.  Until then, save the date!

 The Royal Wedding will be 

Friday, August 14, 2015 

in the 

Seattle Temple 

For Time and All Eternity

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 

Tragedy, Heartbreak, and Mercy.

This is Emily and her daughter, Kaitlyn.  Emily and I became fast friends almost 30 years ago when my oldest brother, David, married her oldest sister, Andrea, way back in 1988.  Andrea's siblings were all right around the same ages as all the Mortenson kids, and we all became fast and life-long friends with them.  Emily and I were both about the same age and both a little rebellious and even more unconventional, and I loved that I could always be myself with her.  She was always someone I could very easily and comfortably talk to.  She's always been vibrant and really fun to be around.

Today I got word that Em's only daughter was killed in a car accident last night.  I've cried much of the day and my heart is broken for my dear childhood friend.  Our family has always thought of my brother David's in-law family as our own, even though we weren't technically related.  Who cares, they ARE family!  And my heart is breaking for my nieces and nephews, because Kaitlyn is their cousin.  Those kids have lost two uncles on the Mortenson side and now a cousin on the Clayson side.  How much more can these kids take?  My heart goes out to them as well.  Today I am reminded how merciful the plan of salvation is and that families can be together forever.  I have a family here on earth, but I also have family in heaven!  

New Adventures for the Music Teacher

I LOVE teaching music to children.  They are so much fun.  And I love the freedom that comes when I can get on their level.  I often say that I am just a 10 year old kid in a grown up body!  I also marvel that they pay me just to sing and dance and play with kids all day long.  And I truly miss all 150+ of my kids during holiday and summer breaks, and I crave to get back to them just like a mother would.  I really love all those kids!  And, although I come home exhausted after singing for 4 hours almost daily, I still get that rush from doing something that I absolutely love.

Well, Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me.  I have never really enjoyed staying at home during the day, especially alone.  Next year I was anticipating spending some time at home alone, while Ryan was at school (he enters 7th grade next year).  I was not looking forward to it.  In fact, I was dreading it.  I was thinking that maybe I would put the word out that I was looking for more hours of teaching.  And wouldn't you know it, before I could say anything, the principal at a Seattle Montessori asked me to teach at her campus.  I don't know how this keeps happening, but this is my 5th offer in 4 years.  Heavenly Father truly hears my heart, knows my desires, and blesses me way more than I think I deserve!  Here's to new adventures for the music teacher.

Comin' Along ...

The restaurant is looking awesome!  

Floors are down, paint is up, trim is done.  

Next up, refurbishing some tables with glass pebbles, buying chairs, 

and placing decor pieces for the walls and mantle.

A couple of hanging lanterns will do that fireplace justice.

And just a touch of red in the space as well.  

Here are some snaps of the progress.  

Those Venezuelans sure like bright colors, 

but they love the color choices and I do too!

I can't wait for the wood mantle to be put in!

Back door

Aren't those floors GORGEOUS?!

I've Gone Pro!

 I have officially entered the professional world of interior design.  Several months ago I was approached to do a design job for a client.  I have no idea who told her I was a designer, but she said she heard it through some grapevine.  She was opening up a restaurant in the University District in Seattle.  The restaurant will be called Arepa (Venezuelan food).  I jumped at the chance and spent the next couple months waiting for permits to go through.  Today I finally got to meet at the site with all of my clients and the carpenters/painters to talk business.  There was no electricity and it was freezing inside, but I had a total blast!  We talked for 2 hours about colors, lighting, flooring, furniture, design elements, buffering noise, etc.  It was so funny, because the client that approached me is American and her husband is Venezuelan, as well as all the partners and workmen.  I would tell her some things, and then she would translate it into Spanish for them.  Then the other clients and workmen would say something and she would translate in English for me.  back and forth.  They seemed to really like all my ideas and seemed to 'eat up' everything I said.  Yes, the pun was intended.  :D  I was a little worried that I might not enjoy designing professionally and working with clients, but I LOVED IT!!!  I want to do this EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!  Here are some pictures of the inside.  Man, do I have my work cut out for me.  I'll post more pictures as the work moves along.

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!

(In case you were wondering, that is a song by the Pointer Sisters)

Okay, this picture isn't very good,
but these doors are AWESOME!
They open into a movie theatre.
The theatre apparently shares the restrooms with the restaurant.
Talk about advertising and positioning!
Dinner and a movie.

Throw-Back-Thursday

Once upon a time ...

There were three very cute little boys.

If I can just remember that when the days get rough, I'll be okay!

Some days I miss Jared so much my heart aches!