The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden...

So that's what we'll do! There is a wonderful family in our Stake that offered one of their farm fields to be used by families to plant gardens. They will water the ground and each family is responsible to plant seeds and weed their 20x20 plot once a week.
We felt like industrious little pioneers out there with our fellow Ward and Stake members. It was neat to see the variety of plants and seeds other families were planting. Darren picked out our seeds {cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots & radishes (?)} We're so excited and grateful for this opportunity. I'll keep you posted...

Awww...

Darren forbade me from entering my scrap room the night before my birthday. He was being so mysterious, it piqued my curiosity. The next morning, he surprised me with these. Long stemmed roses with money sewn {yes, sewn} in! How sweet it that?


Courtney and Alexander gave me the new album by Pink {which I LOVE} and a pink LA Dodgers hat. Thanks for the great birthday, family! You're too good to me:)

Spring {Training} Fever!

Saturday they held a mock opening day for the Glendale Spring Training facility Darren's been working on. They had the families of the workers come and test everything out {parking, food, seating, facilities, etc.} The kids and Darren had so much fun! {I had already committed to help with a bridal shower}

This is a dream come true for Alexander. He just wishes Manny would hurry up and sign with the Dodgers again!Dodgers players, doing a little batting practice.
Drinks from QT-- our favorite! Thanks for the great day, Dad!

Freakout!!!

The other day I was doing my hair, and discovered something hideous. I thought it was a piece of white embroidery floss. When I took a closer look, I realized it was MY HAIR!!! I quickly yanked it out-- yes, it was this completely bright white, coarse strand of hair on top of my head.

Then the freakout began. People my age are still having babies {whick makes me feel old, because I can't} and now THIS. I cried and had to call my Mom & Sister. Courtney told me, "Don't worry Mom, you're not THAT old, and you still have lots of dark dair." {pointing to my roots}

Hobby Lobby, How I Love Thee!

I ran into my friend Tara last Saturday, and we were both out shopping for felt! Go figure. She mentioned she had found some at Hobby Lobby. I pictured this little hole-in-the-wall Ma & Pa shop. Um, no! I have found my new favorite store in the world. I thought since moving away from Christmas Tree Shops in New England that my home decorating days were over. There is hope! Things were very inexpensive and SOOOO cute!OK, so I went intending just to get felt... textured flourishes, polka dots, and Courtney's favorite--giraffe print!
And found this divine crown hook for $2.50 {I need to hang it up}
And THIS! I have been wanting a shabby wrought iron mannequin to display tutus at boutiques. They had one! It is darling and only cost $25. Did I tell you how fabulous this store is?!?! We girls finished off the afternoon at Cafe Rio. It doesn't get much better than that;)

Making Music

Both my babies have been fascinated with the piano. It is so fun to see them stretch way up on their tiptoes and make beautiful sounds with their deliciously chubby little hands! I was practicing for a performance and Courtney was, of course, making it a duet. Darren captured the moment. I wanted the page to be vintage yet simple to match our old 1907 piano.

I Can!

My parents gave us some $ for food storage as part of our Christmas. I was brave and signed up to can today. I was so scared that it would be way intimidating and difficult.

I was WRONG! It was actually a fun experience and it was so neat and gratifying to work shoulder to shoulder with people with a common goal. I am amazed at all the good the Church does for the world--giving service, aid, food and kindness to those in need. If people only knew how magnificent it is to be a member of the Church! How sexy am I in a hairnet? I was trying to take this picture inconspicuously with my phone:) All in all, a great way to spend and hour and a half. We're 26 cans more prepared!

More Felt, Please!

Creating tonight while watching old Alfred Hitchcock episodes online... {random, I know} Clippies

HeadbandsMy favorite so far--so pink & shabby:)

Courtney loves reading this Fancy Nancy "Fancy Words" book. She told Alexander the other morning, "Xander, you look very dapper today." When he asked what she was talking about, she said, "That means fancy--for a man."

Courtney's Getting Married!

Not my Courtney. One of my favorite Young Women went off to BYU-Idaho last year, and lo and behold--she's engaged! She's super darling, fun, and I couldn't be happier for her. Here are some ideas for shower invites I made to be voted on. The white dress invite won! I'm off to cut out, glitter and sash 50 little white dresses! {Well, actually, the Silhouette will do the cutting, thank goodness.}

Pajama Day

No school! Courtney begged for today to be "Jammie Day." Little projects Grandma Kathie sent for Valentine's Day.

The cowboy & the princess

They're called "Pot Pals." Only in Idaho could you get away with calling a child's craft that.
I can't believe my children play chess for entertainment. Just happy that they're getting along:)

Compromise is a {Halfway} Decent Thing

The story of the purple couch will live on in Roos Folklore for generations to come. It is similar to the infamous lamp in "A Christmas Story."

We got this ugly purple couch at a yard sale in Maine years back. It served its purpose, but was the first thing I wanted to get rid of when we were moving. A lady said she wanted the couch, and went home to get a bigger vehicle to transport it. Well, while she was gone, it was mysteriously placed in the back of the moving truck, blockaded by furniture and boxes, making it impossible to get out. {Did I mention that Darren loves this heap of nastiness? He says it's SO comfortable, and falls asleep on it nearly every night.}

When we moved into our brand new house, I knew that the couch HAD to go. One of the original cigarette burns in it ripped open, and I knew the end was coming soon. Darren insisted that I "just sew it up." When I refused, he did it himself! He got out my sewing kit and Dr. Frankenstein stitched it.

Ugh. We were having a Youth Fireside here on Sunday, and I was freaking out that anyone would have to sit on our ultra ghetto couch {which has swallowed countless remotes, trapped a lizard, and might have enough loose change in it to fund a 3rd world country child's education}. I was wicked sick with bronchitis & a sinus infection, but ran all over town to find a slipcover for it. Here it is. It'll have to do until my husband can give it up for some stiff, sleek, beautiful leather couches.

LOVE

Awww. Thanks, babe. I love the flowers. Happy Valentine's Day!

There are some skeptics out there-- but I LOVE this holiday! There are so many, many things I love in my life.

I LOVE my husband. This guy can do literally anything and everything.

I LOVE my children. They are the light, entertainment & joy of my life.

I LOVE my Faith. The peace, hope & happiness the Savior & His teachings give me.

I LOVE the beauty of the earth. The seasons, blossoms, the ocean, rain & blue skies.

I LOVE the Arts. Music, dance, art, and all things embellished & fluffy.

I LOVE my friends & family. You bring a smile to my face!

I LOVE my life. The good, the bad, and the otherwise.

My heart is overflowing!

It's hard to do heart hair before 7:00 in the morning:)The kiddos' Valentine receptacles. Courtney had to make one at home, whereas Alexander's was a sack he made at school. I love that it asks "Please only cards & candy"-- like what else would people put in there? Their laundry? Hehe.

NBA All Star Game

Phoenix is hosting the NBA All Star game this weekend. The boys went with some friends to the Jam Session festivities today. The place looked amazing, all decked out with these banners, play areas, music, slam dunk contests & games.

Alexander is on the Celtics city league this season. Needless to say, he's a huge fan. He still remembers going to a Celtics game in Boston years ago. R2D2, just flown in from Tatooine. {it's so sad that I know that}
Paul Pierce's hand-- keep eating those veggies, Xander Man! You'll get there.
These are our boys. We love the Suns!

He's Gone Green!

Everyone knows that "going green" is a huge deal these days. The construction industry is no exception, and there is actually an exam you can take to become LEED certified. The test is super difficult, and almost everyone has to take it multiple times before they pass it.In the week prior to taking this test, Darren turned our bedroom into his "War Room." He had charts posted on the wall, binders, a work station, audio devices, printouts-- it was a little crazy! He took the test today and... PASSED on his 1st try! Horray! I'm so glad to have my husband {and bedroom} back! He's an official LEED A.P. (and no, this does not mean that he will be trading in his gas guzzling Jeep for a Prius hybrid)

Retired

Today Miss Courtney retired her 1st "real" ballet slippers and upgraded to a bigger size. Can you tell I opened our photo editing software for the first time today? It was fun playing around with the color/contrast/text buttons:)She LOVES ballet right now. Watching her in this new studio takes me back to my dancing days. Yes, I was a ballerina once, too. Dance was my first love. It's so fun to have a daughter that enjoys it as much as I do. {Even though "tutus are REALLY itchy!!"}

Why? Because I FELT Like It!

I'm all about the hair. In another life, I want to be a cosmetologist. For those of you who know my daughter, she is never seen without a hair accessory. She has pretty much always kept them in, and her toothbrushing obsession is the perfect time for me to do her hair.Will someone please stop me? I made this bow holder a year ago, thinking I'd never fill it...
Bows for her school uniforms...
And now this! I've been drooling over these flowers my friend Natalie Wright makes out of felt & tulle. Mine aren't at all as fabulous as hers are. I need to attach them to a headband or clip.

Gee thanks.

I totally scraplifted this from the cover of a Papercrafts magazine. Wait a sec-- it's not a scrapbook page, so I guess I "card"lifted it?

{For those of you not in on the scrap lingo," scraplifting" is copying something scrapbooky}

I know, scrapbookers are so cool/rebellious/freakishly creative:)

The Grand Tour

Darren's company is building the spring training complex for the Dodgers & White Sox. The Trimmers are bigtime baseball fanatics like us, so Darren took them on a tour of the {almost} finished facility. He'll have to blog the rest. I would just comment on their fancy safety attire:)

Dodgers Hydrotherapy room

View from Joe Torre's balcony

Main Stadium

Dodgers and White Sox owners' suites

Darren and Alexander in the team dugout

Nick on the dugout phone making a call to the bullpen

Crazy Kids!

Our friends, the Dunns, have a sweet little addition to their family-- baby #3! My kids were thrilled to have a "little brother and big sister" come over for a fun visit while Mom & Dad were at the hospital. They wore themselves out playing at the park & having a picnic. The kids made some yummy Valentine cookies-- they were darling and a good time was had by all. Congratulations, Dunn family!

Happy 100th Day of School!

Nice hat.