Goin' Huntin'

Homecoming 2010 Eric Style

So these two fine looking young men decided to do it up big for homecoming this year.

This was Eric's first big event/date to plan, and it definitely took some effort.  Especially because he was looking for alternatives to actually going to the dance.  He said  the school dances are crummy.  But, first and most important, I reminded him, is getting a date!  Plans and no date is no good!

So he came up with a creative way to invite Gigi, and got Dallin in on the plan so he could invite Hannah.

They left 1/2 an hour early for seminary on Monday morning, drove to Haggen and bought single roses, put notes in a balloon that said "Homecoming" on it and had the girls pop the balloons.  Originally the plan was to use the rose thorns to do the popping, but sadly, the roses at the store have had the thorns removed.  This was the note Eric stuffed into the balloon:

Well, Gigi and Hannah got their nifty invites just after seminary, and they were a success!  The next day Eric got a giant cookie with YES written in frosting across it!  After much planning and last minute shopping for the appropriate attire, the big day arrived.  Notice that Eric is sporting a great pocketwatch for the occasion.  He happened to mention that one of his teachers at school had a cool pocketwatch and he would love to wear one.  I said, well your dad has one, why don't you ask him about it?  Eric was totally surprised to find that his dad had one hidden away.  It was a bit tarnished but polished up really nice.  It's got an elk on the front and some hunting dogs on the back.  Side story:  When Keith and I had been dating for about 4 months, I had the difficult task of coming up with a Christmas gift for him that was personal, but not too forward.  I bought him a new chain for his pocketwatch, I think his had broken.  There were a few other gifts as well, including a snazzy pen. So, back to Homecoming.  We found the vest at Goodwill and finally decided on a yellow shirt, which we found at Van Heusen as well as the cool tie. Oh, the pants are new too, since the only dress pants Eric had were gray. 

The date itself began by the guys picking up the girls.  Dallin came here and after carefully drilling them once again about manners and handing them the basket of snacks they wanted to take along so they wouldn't get too hungry before dinner, which included water bottles with fancy homecoming labels,

designed by moi,  they were on their way.  Eric had arranged for Gigi's aunt Genevieve to take the official photos of the evening.  They turned out super cute, and apparently were a whole lot of fun to boot.

I think they matched well.

Notice the cute shoes Gigi is wearing and the height of those heels. Nice!

Yes, it was rainy and windy, so the plans of going to a beautiful waterfront location were scrapped.  Umbrellas were the order of the night.

Off to dinner at Sakura's.  That was the main event, and a big success.  The next plan was bowling, which got scrapped because the wait for a lane was an hour and a half.  So, they came to our house for the "fancy" dessert.  Luckily Katie posted this just the day before, and I was so enamoured with their beauty I chose to be experimental and try them for myself. 

Katie gave me a few pointers, and VOILA!  My very first cake bites.  They taste yummy too!

I tried to get fancy and use dry ice in the punch bowl below the cake plate to create a nice white fog, but it was pretty short lived.  Still, it was fun momentarily.

Next came a few rounds of Mario Party and Dance Dance revolution. 

Hopefully we'll get more pictures from the photo shoot, and then I can post those too!

Book Recommendations

I've read a few books now that I really enjoyed and would definitely recommend. At the top of the list is "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy. One of my all time favorites, along with "The Scarlet Letter". I just finished "A Room With a View" by E.M. Forster. It was along the lines of Jane Austin novel.

Relief Society Presidency

I love my Relief Society Presidency! Our once a week presidency meetings are always fun and uplifting. I have awesome counselors, Victoria Yeates and Jennifer Wixom, and a wonderful secretary, Peggy Ashcraft. Each one of these gals is extremely capable and talented. I love input from each of them. We are different in many ways, but our styles of discussion and decision making blend easily. In fact the three of them are so good, I feel they have carried me on their backs during our 2 years as a presidency. It is truly a joy to work with them!

Here we are just getting ready to serve lunch to about 50 hungry missionaries at a zone conference. We've done weddings and funerals, service projects and activities. Let's just say, we know how to get things done in the kitchen! One of the best things about serving in the church is becoming good friends with your presidency.

Tennis Update

Eric has done well in tennis this year. He started off by not quite making the varsity team, he was going to play as the top JV singles guy, but the coaches wanted him to practice with varsity. Then he was the 3rd doubles varsity with Jansen, his partner from last year. Then they put him with a new partner, the two of them did well. This week they've moved him up to 2nd doubles with Jeremy, and they are also a winning team. He got a few lessons from the Skagit Valley College tennis coach, and she taught him some great fundamentals. As he applies those, he's becoming more consistent. Now we'll just have to see what the rest of the season brings!

Vistors from Austria!

If you asked my kids who have been their favorite missionaries, they will all say, no question, Elder's Husz and Sitauti.  They were a very unique combination of missionaries for little old Burlington about 14 years ago.  Elder Husz was from Austria and Elder Sitauti was from Tonga.  There was even an article in our paper about the two of them. They were just alot of fun.  Well, here is Elder Georg Husz, many years later, with his wife Barbara.  They've been married about a year, and are here visiting friends from the mission field.  Then they will be off to Salt Lake City and New York City.  It was sure fun to catch up with them at the Grimnes' home.

I really enjoyed meeting Barbara.  The two of them seem like a perfect couple!  They've known each other most of their lives, but didn't really get together until a couple years ago.  I asked Georg what took him so long, and he said "Do you want to know the truth?  She always had another boyfriend!" 

Barbara served a mission in Germany.  Georg now works as an accountant for Austrian Airlines.  So he can travel for cheap, but can't seem to take the time off to do it!  Notice the wedding ring on Barbara's right hand.  That's how they are worn in Europe.  Ring on the left hand for engaged, right hand for married.

Georg has been in the Stake High Council for a few years, and Barbara just got called to be a counselor in the Primary.

 Here's the gang at the  Grimnes home, including the Richesons and Thurmonds.