Finally, the Tree

We finally got our Christmas Tree! It was planned for last weekend, but Ben dislocated his shoulder. Soooo, no matter what, we were getting a tree on Saturday. The girls were sidetracked by the playground and Santa. This was Eden's second time meeting Santa. It went much better and she was able to tell him "Candy Bar" when asked what she wanted for Christmas.

"The lipstick so tasty, Mom."

When the Cat's Away. . .

Avery and Téa head off to school, and Eden heads off to their stuff.

She is all business with that horse.

She is in heaven, and so am I.

Sometimes "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" is a good thing.

Eden Lederhosen

Currently being buried under feet of snow, it is nice to remember how the backyard was just a few weeks ago.

I bought these lederhosen for my "future" little girls 14 years ago in Germany. They stayed safely packed away waiting for the day. . .

Well, 3 little girls later, Ben found them - still safely packaged - and put them on Eden.

I couldn't help but snap some shots of her little cute self keeping busy while we raked leaves.

Halloween 2010

We love Eden as much as the others. She was the cutest giraffe you've ever seen . . . and the fastest. She was a block away before I got out the door. Megan got a shot of her. Photo of Edie to follow. . .

Harvest

Every year we head up to Ben's family farm for Potato Harvest. Even before I met Ben and was a student up there, I loved to be around during that time of year. Now, I love it just the same ... maybe even more.

The girls got to spend the day with their dad.

And Ben got to spend the day with his dad.

I love that.

Eden was terrified of the potatoes. ("Tatoes Scary") So so funny.

Deer Creek Reservoir

We headed up to Deer Creek for the day with our friends, the Lawrences. Their two daughters have all but raised my kids - babysitting Tay and Aves since they were babies. They are like family to us. We spent the day on the lake where they introduced us to wakesurfing (I think Ben's hooked).

We went on the last possible day before it got too cold. I am already missing the summer!

State Fair

Our annual trip to the state fair! I have only missed it once - and that was because I was in the hospital after having Téa. I would have gone if the doctors let me.

Ben had his annual stint as Templeton, eating his way through the fair. I had my annual stint of going on as many rides with the girls as I can. . .until I'm sick.

We shut the place down! It was close to 11pm and we were going strong. Even Eden was still hyper.

Seriously. . .one of my very favorite traditions.

Deja Vu all Over Again

Téa and Avery 2003

Eden and Toren 2010

New Digs

It's official. The Mandate is on the move again. In our five years since inception, we've moved 6 times - each time to a little larger space. I have a feeling this building will fit everything just fine - at least for awhile.

My grandma, Bobbi, passed away yesterday. I cannot tell you how much I am going to miss her. She was such a huge part of my life. The thing about her is that all of her grandchildren feel the same way. We all feel like we are her favorite. Because we are.

She would always want to know the latest in our lives. Always make sure we were keeping in contact with our cousins. She was always armed with a stack of pictures to fill us in on everyone's lives. You could tell she was genuinely proud of each one of us.

She was famous for her arm-scratching. We would fight to sit next to her at church so that we could be "scratched" and play with her sequins purse. (I am realizing how strange this sounds if you are not one of her grandkids, but it was so normal for us.)

Every birthday we would get to go on Bobbi's Special Day. She would come pick us up at the house, feel our arm and say, "Hmmm, what do you feel like?" The rules were that we had to eat somewhere we'd never been before. We'd see a movie (the last one I remember seeing with her was Stand and Deliver), and pick out a birthday present. I would look forward to that every year. She would call me and say "Palos Verdes calling!" and talk about "My two oceans" (they lived on a peninsula). I am going to miss her voice.

She and Chief were married for 67 years and loved each other to the end. They are such a great example to me.

I love my Bobbi and am comforted knowing that she and Chief will be together again some day.

Mandate Pit Stop

I accidentally drove past our shop because I was gawking at all the motorcycles lining the business park. I was driving super slow trying to get a look into a doorway jammed with Harley riders.

It wasn't until I turned around that I realized they were in our shop. What?!

My head hurt trying to figure out what they were doing there.

I walked in and Jeannie was giving an overview on letterpress and a tour of our shop.

Turns out - a Harley group tours the valley visiting all things print related. Our shop was the last stop on the tour. Ben was still at the U teaching class and missed the entire thing, but I'm glad I caught the tail end, even if it was by accident.

To Tonga! (literally)

We dropped my mom off at the MTC Monday morning. She is a nurse and will be living in Tonga for the 18 months as a medical missionary. We are so proud and excited for her.

Ben still had four years of school left when we got married. Every year I would make him cupcakes on his first day of school. Now that he teaches up at the University, he still gets his cupcakes, only these are made by 8 hands instead of just 2. That's Toren back there singing Ben's praises.