Friday Night Date Night

I know a lot of couples that try to have a date night every week. That's great, as long as you're not married to someone who owns their own restaurant and is never seen near home on a weekend night, or almost any other night for that matter. So, the kids and I had a brilliant idea last night. We'll have our own "Friday Night Date Night".

Sure, it might not be as romantic as a night out with Joseph, but you've got to make the best with what your dealt, right? It was fun. And, I created a new recipe on the fly that the kids ended up loving! Take a look:

Best Restaurant!

This week we attended a very fancy shmancy party thrown by Salt Lake Magazine. This was the Salt Lake Magazine 2009 Dining Awards. Pizzeria 712 was nominated as Best Restaurant, which is pretty exciting since we've only been open for one year.

We drove up to Salt Lake with Sarah & Brian and met Colton & Millie at Lone Star Taqueria for the most fabulous fish tacos ever.

Then we headed over to the Museum of Fine Arts on the Univ. of Utah campus for the awards. There was lots of fancy food and drink, but the highlight of the evening was the awards ceremony.

And the great news is, we won! It was so exciting. Just like our own academy awards. Joseph gave the acceptance speech, and Colton added a few comments. Unfortunately, my camera would not photograph them up on stage very well, but here are some photos of the evening:

Valentine Boxes

This year (like every year) the kids had to make their own valentine boxes to take to school. Emma came up with a really cute idea which I loved. Tie a basket to her favorite stuffed animal.

Then Sophie, much to Emma's dismay, came up with this original idea:

Jacob told me that this year he didn't want to do anything fancy. He wanted a generic white box that said "Valentine Box." Then, the night before his class party, he changed his mind and we ended up running to the craft store at 8:45 and were up half the night putting together his valentine box. It turned out really cool:




Hope you all had a fabulous valentine's day!

Our favorite race begins again.

We all watched The Amazing Race tonight up at grandma & grandpa's house. It was hilarious. We all agreed that the cheese hauling challenge was one of the funniest ever.

We can't wait until next Sunday night.

The Story of Dick the Rabbit.

Emma's latest short story is hilarious. Ah, the innocence of youth.

You know your life is about to change when...

...you find yourself googling the following phrase:

"tween mood swings"

Heaven help me.

Studio 550

Last Friday night we were so excited to attend the opening of Studio 550. Studio 550 is the beautiful art studio of our extremely talented artist friend, Casey Childs. Some of Casey's art can be seen at the pizzeria (in fact, more than a few people have tried to purchase his two pieces of art).

Casey & Amanda used to be our neighbors... the BEST neighbors ever! They had to move though so that Casey could find a house with enough property to build his dream studio. The studio is amazing. You have to see it to fully appreciate it.

When we first walked in, the kids started yelling "Daddy's here! Daddy's here!" This is a painting of Joseph that Casey has been working on for awhile. Casey actually visited Joseph at Sundance for a photo shoot. This picture is of Joseph in the Sundance kitchen.

Very ingenious.... movable partitions:

Stairs to the loft. The kids loved this.

The open house featured many local artists. Sophie is standing in front of one of my favorite pieces:

Jacob is trying to act like he is scared of heights:

Emma & Sophie were huge fans of the buffet. Amanda (& her sisters) really outdid themselves. The food was delicious.

Congratulations Casey & Amanda!

Notice anything new?

Sophie is in heaven. She finally got her ears pierced last week. She was very nervous and I gave her many opportunities to back out, but her mind was set. She did shed a few tears, but overall was remarkably composed.

You look faaaabulous Sophie!

'Tis the Season for Science Fairs

January was Science Fair season at Westridge. I crazily agreed to let all three children do a project this year. Though they do a lot of the work, it still is very much a "joint" project between mother and child.

The results were fantastic this year. Sophie chose to do her experiment on microwave popcorn and how the temperature it is stored at affects how many (or few) kernels will pop. Sophie won a 3rd place ribbon!

Emma chose to do her experiment on growing sugar crystals and how temperature affects the growth of crystals. She won a first place ribbon!

Jacob is in an accelerated science program and he is expected to do a very thorough experiment. We started growing mold in our home weeks and weeks ago. Gross. He did find out in what environment mold grows best, though. He was judged much differently than the girls. He won a 3rd place medal which is FABULOUS!

Great job kids! I mean, scientists.

Congratulations Emma!

Last month Emma entered an original story for a writing competition at Westridge. It was open to all 3rd & 4th graders, had to be at least 2 pages long and had to be a "fantasy" story. I didn't think much about it after she turned it in until...

...she came home today and announced she won the competition! Great job Emma! We are so proud of you.

Emma has always told everyone that when she grows up she wants to be a writer and live in San Diego. I guess she's on her way!

We hardly knew ya.

R.I.P our dear fish Phineas. Though we only had you for 9 short days, we really loved you. We tried to give you lots of love, food and attention. We're not sure what happened.



We know that this sweet kitty may have given you a scare a few times, but we would never let him get you. That's why we moved you high up onto Jacob's bookshelf.

Your replacement won't be near as fun (though he will live forever):