Today John turned 46. For his first birthday wish, he asked that Audrey help us make our salad instead of just John & I. It was pretty early in the morning, but we all got out of bed and started working on it together. Since the salad had three layers, each of us chose a layer. Audrey chose the pretzel layer and had a good time crushing the pretzels and then pressing the mixture into the baking dish.
Can you just feel her joy?!?
John mixed the cream cheese mixture while I worked on the jello & fruit mixture. I did help Audrey for a little while and broke John's favorite knife. He said I had to blog about how
"I broke a knife making jello".
Audrey needed 3/4 cup butter but we only had 1/2 cup in the fridge. The rest was still in the freezer. We pulled out more butter and she asked how we would be able to get the right amount, since it was frozen. I pulled out the knife and said "just like this!" as I sliced through the frozen butter. And then I saw the big junk of metal - whoops! We finished the jello salad without further incident and then made John open his presents. I kept taking his picture while he was trying to open presents. He was trying to keep his eyes open during this shot:
John got the new Glenn Beck book, a window scrapper, new running shoes, the 2008 Star Trek keepsake ornament and a new watch (with indi-glo light). The watch was a definite "need" as his other one had lost both the straps and you could not see the time anymore because of all the scratches. John wears the same watch all the time (no matter what he is doing) so the last watch really took a beating during the Lacey remodeling. We then read, relaxed and watched a Christmas cartoon before heading out to the Hartman's place on Twin Lakes for dinner. There was a TON of food - turkey & ham, potatoes, gravy, Judy's yams, green salad, our salad, steamed green beans, various appetizers, green bean casserole, a rice dish, Pam's rolls, and an incredible amount of desserts (6 pies, 2 cakes, baklava). Audrey's favorite part was the drumstick!
After dinner we had a fun time playing Family Feud "Wagner version". Marv had asked his primary class (5 & 6 year old's) to answer the questions. So instead of trying to figure out what 100-people-surveyed would say, we had to figure out what a few 5 & 6 year old's would say. It was really funny! Questions like "What about church are you most thankful for?" and answers included: Primary teacher, sacrament, music time leader, Primary pianist & Jesus. After some visiting and more games, we headed home. It had started to snow very lightly and was dark. I had gotten a few miles past Rathdrum when a deer ran into the road right in front of me.
I put on my brakes and headed toward the ditch as I did not want to veer into oncoming traffic and I knew there were cars behind me as well. I hit the deer!! I felt horrible! I pulled off the road and turned off my ignition. The car right behind me pulled over also. It was an Idaho State Trooper. John & Audrey got out of the car while I sat there for a few seconds. They talked to the trooper and I got out to check the damage. Then John, Audrey & the trooper came over. He said that the deer had run off and looked just fine - yeah! And then he asked how I was. And how was the car? It has absolutely NO damage. That to me was amazing (with my compact car & plastic-feeling bumper). We thanked the trooper for stopping and helping us and then got back into the car. Here is the conversation we had:
I am thankful that we are safe!
I am thankful that I did not kill a deer on John's birthday
I am blessed that the State Trooper was right behind me
I think it was a miracle that no damage to car, us or deer
And I am thankful and blessed to have the most wonderful family ever
It was just vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (tinted green), coconut (tinted green) and a red M&M in the center but it was a huge hit with the kids! 
This meant my Audrey-Elf had been busy decorating while we were away. What a wonderful surprise!! (I love decorations, I just don't particularly care to put them up OR take them down). Thanks Audrey!!
John mixed the cream cheese mixture while I worked on the jello & fruit mixture. I did help Audrey for a little while and broke John's favorite knife. He said I had to blog about how 
Audrey needed 3/4 cup butter but we only had 1/2 cup in the fridge. The rest was still in the freezer. We pulled out more butter and she asked how we would be able to get the right amount, since it was frozen. I pulled out the knife and said "just like this!" as I sliced through the frozen butter. And then I saw the big junk of metal - whoops! We finished the jello salad without further incident and then made John open his presents. I kept taking his picture while he was trying to open presents. He was trying to keep his eyes open during this shot:
John got the new Glenn Beck book, a window scrapper, new running shoes, the 2008 Star Trek keepsake ornament and a new watch (with indi-glo light). The watch was a definite "need" as his other one had lost both the straps and you could not see the time anymore because of all the scratches. John wears the same watch all the time (no matter what he is doing) so the last watch really took a beating during the Lacey remodeling. We then read, relaxed and watched a Christmas cartoon before heading out to the Hartman's place on Twin Lakes for dinner. There was a TON of food - turkey & ham, potatoes, gravy, Judy's yams, green salad, our salad, steamed green beans, various appetizers, green bean casserole, a rice dish, Pam's rolls, and an incredible amount of desserts (6 pies, 2 cakes, baklava). Audrey's favorite part was the drumstick!
After dinner we had a fun time playing Family Feud "Wagner version". Marv had asked his primary class (5 & 6 year old's) to answer the questions. So instead of trying to figure out what 100-people-surveyed would say, we had to figure out what a few 5 & 6 year old's would say. It was really funny! Questions like "What about church are you most thankful for?" and answers included: Primary teacher, sacrament, music time leader, Primary pianist & Jesus. After some visiting and more games, we headed home. It had started to snow very lightly and was dark. I had gotten a few miles past Rathdrum when a deer ran into the road right in front of me. 
I put on my brakes and headed toward the ditch as I did not want to veer into oncoming traffic and I knew there were cars behind me as well. I hit the deer!! I felt horrible! I pulled off the road and turned off my ignition. The car right behind me pulled over also. It was an Idaho State Trooper. John & Audrey got out of the car while I sat there for a few seconds. They talked to the trooper and I got out to check the damage. Then John, Audrey & the trooper came over. He said that the deer had run off and looked just fine - yeah! And then he asked how I was. And how was the car? It has absolutely NO damage. That to me was amazing (with my compact car & plastic-feeling bumper). We thanked the trooper for stopping and helping us and then got back into the car. Here is the conversation we had:
It truly does not feel like 20 years ago that we were married. We had a crazy courtship. I had moved to Provo to room with my sister, Kathy. John had been down there since January (because there was no one in Spokane to date...hmmm) John had attended a 17-Stake Fireside at the Marriott Center and saw Kathy there. So on the day I arrived in Provo from Spokane, there was a note on Kathy's apartment telling me she had to work, but "You could call John and he'll spend time with you". That was May 1988. We spent that summer together going to movies, the lake, the park and hanging out at each other's apartments. He actually even got me a job where he worked (Goldsmith Co. Jewelers). But then I got homesick! About the time I had talked Kathy Johnson (now Thompson) into moving down to Provo to room with Kathy (sis) and I (August 1988), I was ready to move home. She was kind of mad at me for awhile... I think she's over it now : ) I moved home and John moved to Seattle the next month. We had a long-distance courtship - lots of great letters and lengthy phone calls. In October when I came home from a Young Adult Fireside, John was waiting behind my garage to surprise me. He had moved back to Spokane without telling me. Though I thought we were pretty serious, John refused to say he loved me because he said he only wanted to say that when he knew for sure. So I was thoroughly surprised when on October 19th he looked me in the eye and said he loved me & wanted to marry me. I replied "really?" and then did say yes : ) We went to my parents where John asked my dad for my hand. John says he is still not sure he ever said yes, but he gave him some great advice. And made sure he was registered to vote! We were married 5 & 1/2 weeks later on 11/25/1988. We honeymooned in Hawaii and then moved into a little apartment on the northside of town. 6 months later we bought the house we still live in today. It has been a wonderful ride!! I am thoroughly blessed to be married to my best friend. Love you John!! 
Then we headed to the main level of Riverpark Square and went to Sawtooth Grill. The birthday boy had the Club Combo with Chili,
Audrey had a Bison Burger 
and I had a Turkey Melt with Cranberry Chutney. We did get into a discussion about "what is chutney"? For those wondering is it a sweet and spicy relish made from fruit, spices, sugar, and vinegar. My chutney had cranberries and red onion as the main ingredients. It was an awesome sandwich. We had a great time celebrating John's birthday today, but he would not let us give him his presents until his actual birthday - so will post about that later.
There was a Cultural Enrichment Night at church and Becki Stevens did an awesome job of gathering lots of talent into an evening of sharing and fun. There were some fabulous displays showcasing pretty much any talent out there (quilting, sewing, painting, poetry, scrapbooking, photography, home improvement, crochet, etc). After everyone got an opportunity to have a snack from the massive dessert table and spend time viewing the displays, we all sat down to some entertainment. A guitar/vocal solo; a fiddle & violin number; a vocal solo; some poetry reading and a Piano Duet. That part was Becki and I. We played a tune called Witches' Flight by HM Russell (revised by Josef Frantz) and had a really good time. It was funny because the end of each movement basically ended right before a page turn, so we kept the audience guessing on when we were actually done as we had a slight pause (because of the end of the movement) as well as the actual page turning. It was a fun number!! Glad she asked me to participate with her.
