12 on the 12th | September

This isn't so much a 12 on the 12th as 12 photos taken recently. That's just how it's been.

1. Playing Telestrations with Marc's family. Much hilarity ensued.
2. Our shower head has had a leak for some time now. Marc asked a friendly neighbor if he had any plumbing experience, and he ended up spending most of the day helping Marc to replace the fixtures (our plumbing was old and they couldn't find replacement parts!).
3. Two of our light bulbs in the bathroom were burnt out and very difficult to replace, so I had gradually gotten used to it being very dim. Marc was able to replace one of them, and I finally unscrewed the fixture and replaced the other. Now it is almost unbearably bright! It's weird what you get used to.
4. Marc gave Max and Lucas a tutorial on using his weight bench. Lucas has made it part of his routine.
5. Last Saturday, I went to a costuming workshop for Lucas's current school musical, Beauty & the Beast. This bejeweled, beribboned mask with sequins and feathers is the boy's version!
6. The whole school cafeteria was filled with women working on costume projects, and extension cords dangerously crisscrossed the room.
7. The lovely boutonniere I made for Lucas to wear with his tux in, I assume, the finale.
8. Once again, my studio has become simply a repository for bags and boxes that have nowhere else to go. I had to excavate my desk so that I could access my sewing machine to work on — you guessed it, costuming.
9. This is not the first picture I've taken of Max doing homework at the computer in an origami-like post, but it never fails to amaze me.
10. Eva had a powerful hankering to make cupcakes on Sunday. (Lucas was lobbying for chocolate/peanut butter, which led Eva to divulge that she is not such a fan of peanut butter, which led us to question her true identity as an Olivier.) We settled on chocolate chip cookie dough, and Marc declared them to be the best cupcakes he had ever eaten. They were pretty fabulous. (I eliminated the cookie dough filling and mini cookie garnishes to save time.)
11. Jill invited us to Landon's big night football game on Tuesday. It was so much fun! I hadn't been to a football game in years, and I always enjoy an outing with Lucas. Also, Jill brought movie theater popcorn and m&ms in bags specially decorated by Whitney.
12. Although I know he was distressed by their defeat, we hoped that he still appreciated all of his fans being there. I love that Landon and Lucas are such good friends.

Another costume workshop is on deck for tomorrow!

12 on the 12th | August

This month, I only did 9 on the 12th! I was so busy with sharing time at church and Lucas's family birthday celebration that I didn't take enough pictures. Argh.

1. Lucas requested oatmeal rolls, corn on the cob, watermelon, and peanut butter chocolate cake for his birthday dinner. I was unsure how to supplement these requests for the rest of us, who actually enjoy protein and vegetables, so I looked on my blog for his birthday dinner last year. He made the same requests! So I went with last year's menu and made pulled pork and green green salad to round it all out. I put the pork in the crockpot the night before, to ensure that it would have enough time to fully cook and be soft and shreddable. (I actually hate doing that, because the smell of the meat cooking woke me up at 5am.)
2. After church. I was trying to get a picture of Lucas hanging out, checking Facebook, and he was not having it. This is his, "Are you serious?! no more pictures!" face. (His hand is wrapped due to an injury he sustained playing football with Landon.)
3. I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen. This is me wearing my Grandma's darling yellow apron.
4. Marc and Eva were sorting through things in her room to donate! Hallelujah!
5. Michelle brought watermelon. Lucas prefers it in wedges. (Not me, I like it cubed.)
6. By the time everyone was here and we were eating dinner, Lucas was in a much better mood. (Sundays are rough for him. He always gets headaches for some reason.)
7. Bob and Mim provided the corn on the cob. Delicious.
8. Lucas blowing out his 13 candles. It cracks me up that it looks like Kristen is helping him blow.
9. Even after loading and running the dishwasher, there were still a plethora of goblets and plates to wash. Parties generate so many dishes!

12 on the 12th | July

Less than two weeks after Marc's surgery, we went on a road trip to California. We were worried he wouldn't be up to it, but his doctor just told him to stop every hour and walk around a bit to prevent blood clots. And not to lift anything over 15 pounds.

It was incredibly frustrating to him to not be able to carry suitcases or pack up the car. No problem though, we have 3 other able-bodied people who can do it! He did amazingly well on the drive — I think he drove the entire way to California! (Max and I both offered to take turns, but he gets carsick if he's not in the driver's seat.)

This grid actually contains photos from both the 12th and the 13th.

1. Eva right before her last swim lesson at the Scera pool. She has totally taken off with swimming this summer and can't get enough!

2. I was reading Vaclav & Lena during her lesson, and later, in the car. I'm so happy that I can read in the car without getting carsick! (Not so at all when I was young.)

3.  We passed this awesome sign during one of our stops for Marc to walk. There is no motel there any longer, just the sign.

4. Would you believe that Marc's parents and his sister Michelle both had tires blow on our first day of travel? What are the odds? We were nervous that it would happen to us as well, but we got lucky. I always hate seeing those tire remnants on the side of the road.

5. One of many interesting wire sculptures in the yard of a very populated home on the way to the resort where we stayed for a night in St. George.

6. It's so nice to be able to take the kids to the pool to blow off some steam after being in the car all day! It was 107 degrees in St. George — not fit for human life, I tell you!

7. The next day, I was on a new book: Tender at the Bone.

8. We drove through a scary storm. The rain was coming down in sheets, creating little rivers where there had only been dry land. We could barely see a thing, yet there was nowhere to stop and wait it out. Then it started to hail so hard I was afraid it would break the windshield! We were so relieved when it stopped.

9. Max had a catnap.

10. We listened to Marc's sister Lisa's new cd.

11. I love clouds like this!

12. Eva watching a movie on the portable dvd player with her new fancy headphones (thank you, Target).

12 on the 12th | May

1. Eva's breakfast. She loves it when I fill up the compartments on these lunchroom-style trays. Sometimes it's a challenge, but it usually means that she eats more, so it's worth it.
2. Eva working on one of her creative projects. I think in this case it was worksheets for playing school. Marc is in Paris, Max was in Salt Lake at a rehearsal for most of the day, and Lucas was at Lagoon, so it was an Eva & Mom kind of day. (Not sure what this outfit was about.)
3. We went to Petco to watch the hamster races. Only 4 contestants showed up, and one had never been in a hamster ball before. One kept rolling away from the finish. It was hilarious.
4. It was also a pet adoption day, so there were many cats and dogs in kennels, most of them whining to get out. It was a sad sight, and Eva said more than once, "It's too bad we already have a dog!" We saw one really cute pup get adopted, so she was greatly relieved about that one.
5. We went shopping at Target so that Eva could spend her birthday money from grandparents. She chose a 2-wheel scooter (because the one she had before with 3 wheels is "so babyish"), and an Our Generation doll (American Girl knock-off) and 2 additional outfits. I was really surprised, because she has never really played with dolls, but Sandie is getting a lot of attention, as well as her own bed and her own school and Primary lessons.
6. On the way home, we went to a drive-through pharmacy to pick up a refill on my antidepressant meds. Eva was most curious about why I was getting medicine when I wasn't sick. I tried to explain to her why I take this particular drug. I had never had to explain that to a young child before, nor even thought about doing so, and it was a bit of a challenge.
7. Flowers in our yard with just the right light.
8. Assembling the scooter.
9. Max was home for an hour, then changed and went to a formal dance with a friend at the Springville Art Museum!
10. Preparing my sharing time for Primary.
11. We finished Harry Potter #2.
12. Lucas came home very late from Lagoon. He shocked us all by going on all the rides! (He had never been on any rides before, unless you count Disneyland Paris when he was 2 1/2. I don't, because I had to get off the Haunted House ride with him because he was freaking out so much.) This is his new hipster look. He hates it when I call it that. He has a black pair of glasses, and an orange pair and a green pair that he painted, it's kind of his new signature look.

12 on the 12th | April

1. I finally mailed off Eva's ponytail to Locks of Love! No more hair on the counter to creep anyone out.
2. I am enjoying Scramble With Friends. (and still playing Words With Friends)
3. I mixed up some salted caramel butter bars for book club. Holy moly, a pound of butter!
4. It was a rainy day and I was loving it. The blossoms have almost all dropped from our plum trees, but the lilacs are now in bloom!
5. The kids and I went to Movies8 to see Hugo. We all really liked it! I love it when movies are set in Paris. (We forgot to take a self-portrait at the theater, so we did it when we got home.)
6. Lucas got a refill on the popcorn towards the end of the movie and we had a lot to bring home. Ah, movie popcorn.
7. I spray-painted my piano lamp this week. It was dry, so I put it in its place. I love it so much more than the old shiny brass!
8. Eva spent a lot of time at the table, making presents to take to her teacher when school resumes next week.
9. Max spent a lot of time playing the piano. He decided to blow off the piles of homework his sadistic teachers gave him during Spring break and he has just been relaxing and enjoying himself! I never thought I would support one of my children in ignoring homework, but he definitely deserves a break.
10. Book club was at my house because Marc is at a conference in Boston. (My boys originally had Thursday night plans, but they were canceled last-minute.) Before I Go to Sleep was our book for April. I think the consensus was that it was a fun page-turner.
11. Max was putting Eva to bed. I heard lots of giggling, so I peeked in to see what they were doing. They were playing guessing games instead of reading. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my children have fun together!
12. I couldn't seem to get a shot of everyone in the room, but this is Jenn and Jana (Jill and Collette were on the couch, Amy was out of town). Jill didn't have work the next day, so she was able to stay late and chat!

12 on the 12th | March

1. Daylight Savings did a number on us all. No one could wake up, and I had to drive both boys to school. (Max usually takes the bus and Lucas walks.)
2. A slice of homemade multigrain bread with smashed avocado and salt. One of my favorite things.
3. By the time all of my kids are finally off to school, I'm exhausted and need to recover for awhile. What's up with that?
4. I put the finishing touches on my weekend painting project!
5. It was an amazingly beautiful day—sunny and 65 degrees.
6. I wanted to go for a walk, but had to wear my cyborg knee brace because the last time I went for a walk my knee hurt so much I had to come home. (It was better, but I'm going back to the pain clinic.)
7. Polly Pocket carnage. Or, as Marc and Eva dubbed them, "Creepy Pockets."
8. Leftover cake is my favorite kind of leftovers. In this case, toffee bundt cake with caramel topping.
9. Jill came over for Creative Friday and we ended up working on our assignment for book club (reading and journaling about chapter 1 of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life). And talking a lot. Duh.
10. Lucas and Landon finally had some time together now that Lucas's play is finished!
11. Marc gets a great reception when he gets home (not pictured: Jack cavorting at his feet).
12. I finished my study at night.

12 on the 12th | February

1. I had a delicious chocolate peanut butter swirl muffin for breakfast (recipe forthcoming on the recipe blog).
2. We actually got some snow! It sounded like it was raining all night long, then it turned to snow in the morning. Even though it snowed lightly all day, there wasn't much accumulation because it was too warm. I can't believe we haven't had to shovel snow once this winter.
3. Lucas with his first talk, delivered in sacrament meeting.
4. After church, I helped Eva with her valentines.
5. Marc and Max, returning from home teaching (they have been companions for almost 3 years).
6. I checked my phone for messages, only to discover that Jill had reminded me about 12 on the 12th in the morning. Good thing I remembered on my own!
7. I retired to the cozy to read and nap, a favorite Sunday afternoon activity.
8. I actually thought to include a self-portrait! (reclining, in this case)
9. I don't nap every Sunday, but when I do, it seems I always naturally wake up around 4:30.
10. I wrote thank you notes to all of the people who helped when I was sick. I was so proud of myself, as I rarely write notes outside of Creative Friday.
11. Marc reading to Eva before bed. They are making their way through the Series of Unfortunate Events.
12. I tried the multi-grain Miracle bread variation, per Jane's instructions, and took a loaf to a sick neighbor. I love it and Max loves it, but I doubt my other kids will be big fans.

12 on the 12th | January

1. I brewed a pot of tea for Max and I to enjoy before he left for school. (We brought up the Mrs. Tea that had been relegated to the garage when we got fancy teas from Teavana.)
2. Working on a little scripture study with the tools that Jill gave me for Christmas!
3. It seemed noteworthy that I had to write a check. I never write checks anymore, and it has been many years since I ordered any!
4. I was pleased that, even though I was feeling sick, I mustered the energy to package up some Amazon returns and other mail, and sent it off!
5. Max, doing tons and tons of homework, as usual.
6. I spent much of my day reading our book club book for next week.
7. I had my usual Thursday afternoon piano lessons.
8. Eva has dance on Thursday evenings. I just love seeing her in her dance clothes and ballet shoes.
9. I wasn't up to making dinner, so I got Little Caesar's on the way home from dance.
10. Checking to see if I had any moves to make on Words With Friends (always disappointing when I don't.)
11. Lucas had his first dance class! He seems to surprise me at every turn. I've never seen sporty jazz shoes like these, I thought they were all like the old Capezio leather ones.
12. Max thought he'd quickly register to take the ACT before we watched Modern Family. Little did we know it would take half an hour or more! It's hard to believe I have a junior who is taking the college entrance exams...

12 on the 12th | December

1. The morning vitamins I put out for me and the kids.
2. A paper I pulled out of Eva's backpack — I love that she made up how to write her name in cursive (and then wrote an alternate version).
3. Catching up on my Words With Friends games.
4. Relaxing in front of the Christmas tree led to admiring the glittered stars I made out of cereal boxes. (Don't look at the backs!) I scored and bent them to make them 3D, and applied a combo of silver and gold glitter for more of a vintage look. I liked them so much, I made a bunch more for the rest of the tree.
5. An example of the literary ornaments I made from a cheap paperback of Sense and Sensibility from D.I. These make me happy.
6. This pile of books by the couch indicates that Max is home from school.
7. And then he can be found working on his homework for pretty much the rest of the day. He has a huge backlog of TV shows to watch during Christmas vacation!
8. Checking out a new recipe for pizza dough on one of the cooking blogs that I enjoy.
9. Jack, in a rare moment of holding still. Check out all that gray in his fur!
10. Max's tie, cast aside before dinner. (He likes to wear ties on Mondays.)
11. Potato, red onion, and goat cheese pizza. It was delicious.
12. Emily brought her serious boyfriend over for dinner, because "Olivier approval is crucial." Big thumbs up!

12 on the 12th | October

1. Eva playing games on nickjr.com before getting ready for school.
2. I got to pull off the tape from the first section of cupboards. Such a satisfying moment. (So very much more to go on that project.)
3. I decided to cook myself something good for breakfast (scrambled eggs with mushrooms, green onions, and fresh parmesan).
4. A picture at Eva's school that is made of the students' school pictures.
5. Eva's "All About Me" report hanging in the school hallway.
6. It was my first day of teaching art to Eva's class and this is the darling book I read to the kids. I highly recommend it.
7. Some of the kids working on their project (making a picture with only dots).
8. Eva sitting at her desk. She was positively preening to have me there (these are the days that end all too soon).
9. I love these fall sunsets where the mountains are pink.
10. I snapped this picture while Max was driving us to mutual.
11. I tried a new recipe to take to mutual (peanut butter pretzel bars). It didn't work out very well—way too crumbly—but it still tasted good.
12. One of our Laurels showed us a slide show of her trip to Europe.

12 on the 12th | September

Oh joy, another sick day on the 12th!

1. Making lunches for the boys was just about the only productive thing I did all day!
2. The flag in our yard, viewed from the window.
3. Feverish Eva, with a cold compress—Saltines and Gatorade at the ready.
4. And a bowl, just in case.
5. Dinosaurs keeping watch.
6. Not a good time to run out of children's Tylenol.
7. We watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua, one of Eva's favorites.
8. Zinc drops for me.
9. I read Sunday's paper, which had some great stories about 9/11, then and now.
10. I took Nyquil before going to bed.
11. There were 11 medicine cups in the dishwasher.
12. I settled into bed with tissues, cough drops, and a great book.

12 on the 12th | August

1. Jack watching my dad work in the yard (from the deck). I have to wonder what he thinks of the drastic reduction of his jungle.
2. Marc helping Max work on an essay for AP Lit. He has to have it done by the time school starts. (The poor guy has been doing schoolwork all summer long.)
3. Picking out paint colors with my mom. I was so gratified that she confirmed my choices! She's the color master.
4. Mom always wears cute shoes, (almost never flats).
5. I love it when Lucas and Eva play together.
6. Eva practicing piano and working on her theory. She just started learning about the white keys.
7. Loading up our neighbor's trailer with all of Dad's cuttings. It was a whole family project!
8. Marc took Lucas shopping to get his main birthday gift: a punching bag and boxing gloves.
9. We took Eva to her school to see the class lists. Grandma let her use some of her grown-up lipgloss.
10. We don't know much about Eva's teacher. She was disappointed that her best friend is not in her class (nor the boy that she has a crush on), but at least she has one good friend in there. I told her she will meet lots of new friends!
11. I made invitations for Lucas's birthday party and we went around to deliver them. (Not one of his friends was home, so we are just hoping that they all got the invites!)
12. Dropping off Lucas to Landon's birthday party. Night games was a brilliant idea.

12 on the 12th | July

1. Lucas, all set to go to Scout Camp.
2. a big pile of camping gear
3. pack goats!! (14 of them)
4. I came home and read for awhile, then fell asleep. Eva played Polly Pockets.
5. Vanilla cream pie for Jill (we were celebrating her birthday a few days late).
6. Jill and I walked in during the previews and it was really dark. We climbed over the people on the end, only to discover that there were no seats in between! What the?
7. We saw Jane Eyre and both liked it. It's a better story than I remembered, and strangely, both of us had forgotten the ending!
8. Because of the timing, we ended up eating lunch/dinner at 5:00, after the movie. (It was an early bird kind of day.) I hadn't eaten all day and was famished. We went to Cheesecake Factory for some carb heaven.
9. Our desserts, which we ate some of and then had to bring home. We were both overly full when we left.
10. Jill's gifts.
11. I had originally planned on giving her finery for her 40th, but then she told me awhile ago she was giving up on finery, so I resorted to postage and envelopes (a safe bet).
12. I started reading Little House on the Prairie with Eva!

12 on the 12th | June

We were in Snowbird for the 12th!

1. Grandma and Grandpa brought this Costco-size box of individual cereals.
2., 3. The Snowbird Center provides a room for sacrament meeting services. When we first started going to Snowbird, we were sometimes one of two families at church. Now there is a big room with more like 80 people!
I love the "come as you are" part of the sign. There was a man there in his ski boots. He said he has skied 203 days in a row so far. Apparently he's the only regular at church.
4. Eva pointing out wildlife to Grandma. G & G took her on two nature walks, to her delight.
5. Potgut. There is a sign explaining some of the local wildlife, and it specifically says "potgut." I did a search for that word to find out more about it, and it is not in the dictionary! Or Wikipedia. But I did find a site that says, "potgut is a nickname here in Utah for the Uintah Ground Squirrel. This slang term is usually only recognized and used by Utah natives." Well, that explains it.
6. Max looking up guitar songs online and trying them out. Grandpa, Max, and Kristen accompanied us on their guitars for our family home evening singing.
7. This lovely painting was hanging in our room. G & G had raccoons. Usually the wall decor is limited to flowers and mountainscapes.
8. We tried to avert our eyes and look out the windows instead. There is still so much snow this year!
9. We don't usually have a reason to take an elevator on Sundays.
10. Eva volunteered to give the lesson for family home evening. She wrote a brief lesson about service and being like the Savior, and then had us all draw a picture of some kind of service we could perform. She cut them all out and taped them together. Hers was to give Mom hugs & kisses – hot dog!
11. Six of us played a rousing game of cards. Kristen taught us how to play speed/nuts/nertz/multiple-hand solitaire in teams. We were on a team together and we came in dead last. But it was still fun! I love playing cards.
12. One of the cookies I baked and brought up for our Snowbird enjoyment. Because I so love homemade cookies. A sweet end to any day.

12 on the 12th | May

1. I woke up with a sore knee (my good one!).
2. I put my knee braces on. I have got to get back to wearing them daily.
3. Skype with Marc
4. Eva drawing an original fairy tale with her friend, Ava.
5. Lucas was home sick, parked on the couch. (It is seriously disturbing how many of my 12ths feature a sick child.)
6. My purple tulips finally bloomed!
7. It was such a beautiful day – I had to get out and fertilize the lawn.
8. Reading Cutting For Stone for book club while eating my new favorite low-carb lunch (curried chicken with cauliflower).
9. I tried all of the new skin care items Kristi brought during Women's Conference weekend! (thumbs up)
10. Watching Survivor with the boys after Eva was in bed. ahhhhhh.
11. At one point I looked over and saw Eva's "pet" lizard Gabriella on the arm of my chair.
12. Working on the sweater for Eva that I haven't had time for lately. By the time it's finished, it will be too hot to wear it...

12 on the 12th | March

1. Medicines. Sickness, again. An unfortunate theme.
2. Snuggling with Eva and trying to bring her fever down.
3. Many episodes of SpongeBob.
4. Listlessness.
5. I escaped the den of sickness to go celebrate my birthday with Jill!
6. I was in the mood for a steak, so we went to Outback (my first time).
7. Browsing Barnes & Noble is one of our traditional birthday activities. This photo shows some favorites we have already read and some that we are planning to read – so happy.
8. We went to see Unknown. It was probably an unwise choice to see an action thriller with Jill's racing heartbeat, but it was fun.
9. The weather took a turn back to winter (not lasting, thank goodness).
10. My birthday gift! How I love polka dots.
11. Jill gave me a tiny fleur de lys charm for my necklace, two adorably tiny chartreuse baking dishes, and a gift certificate for a massage! I'm going to have to overcome my body-consciousness, because she says it will be worth it.
12. Max made Denver sheet cake on Friday for Andrew's birthday, and I enjoyed a piece of it with a little ice cream. Oh, baby.

12 on the 12th | February

1. Me wearing my wrist splint (I have to wear it to bed to even hope to get any sleep these days).
2. Sour cream banana bars with brown butter frosting for breakfast (recipe from Melanie) – I find these to be dangerously delicious.
3. I attended the worldwide leadership meeting from 9-11.
4. valentines in the mailbox
5. Eva finishing up her school valentines
6. Jill came for Creative Friday and brought Café Rio for lunch!
7. an array of glorious photos that she packaged up for birthday gifts
8. Jill writing cards and the last of the Christmas Cadbury chocolates
9. Max made ranger cookies and added toasted hazelnuts just to make them totally over the top amazing.
10. Max doing chemistry homework
11. a birthday card for a party Lucas attended
12. Marc and I had Chinese take-out for dinner (green bean chicken and sweet & sour pork).

What can I say? It was a great day for food.

The day ended on a sour note, however, as Lucas was late getting home from the party and just as Marc was going to find him, he walked into the house in tears. Apparently the boys were doing things that made him feel uncomfortable (e.g., making crank phone calls) and he wanted to leave. No one would let him borrow a cell phone to call, and he couldn't find the host parents (!). So he finally just walked home (in the dark and cold). He felt sick to his stomach – from anxiety, I'm sure. Marc drove right over and confronted the parents and the kids that were still there. I hope Lucas doesn't suffer too many repercussions at school tomorrow...

Sometimes it's just so hard to be a parent. I can't protect my children from disappointment, frustration, betrayal, hurt feelings, or sadness. But I often wish I could.

12 on the 12th | January

1. leftover pizza for breakfast
2. coloring with Eva
3. FINALLY taking down the lights and the tree! The last step of putting away Christmas.
4. Eva doing homework
5. kindergarten drop-off
6. cute favor Amy made for book club (chocolate cinnamon bears)
7. first day of new knee therapy!
8. second stage of seed culture for bread baking
9. Target run during Max's cello lesson
10. Max finishing his lesson
11. sautéeing leeks for quiche (I love leeks!)
12. brrrr!

12 on the 12th | December

1. There is lots of snow on the mountains, but none down here in the valley. And it has been in the 40s!
2. Sunday finery – I had morning meetings, and we had tithing settlement at 10:00.
3. Little Christmas trees make me happy, and Marc and I share an affinity for the off-white ones.
4. a bowl of clementines on the table
5. Lucas was sick in bed all day with a fever. (It's sad how many of my 12ths included sickness!)
6. The last cookie from a new recipe I tried. If you are a fan of salty & sweet, you have to try these! The pretzels are a genius addition.
7. I wanted to get a picture of Eva in her new fancy outfit, but she changed so fast after church that I missed my opportunity. (She was happy to pose in her casual clothes.)
8. Max playing Christmas carols from A Classical Christmas, a cool book that sets carols in classical pieces. (I realized that a lot of my 12ths have piano photos, as well.)
9. the scripture advent calendar from The Friend (thanks, Jess!)
10. the remains of the newspapers after I culled the coupons
11. #12 of the stocking advent, a highly anticipated part of the day.
12. I finished my book club book! sniff.

It was thoroughly enjoyable participating in 12 on the 12th all year. As I looked back over my collages for the year, I noticed some trends: sickness, piano, nature, recipes, books. Well, 4 out of 5 are some of my favorite things...

12 on the 12th | November

My day was filled with caring for a sick Eva, making a guest book for my friend Julia's wedding, and helping with the wedding reception.

1. leftover poppy seed cake from YW in Excellence (a.k.a. breakfast)
2. mucho laundry
3. supplies gathered to make guest book
4. Eva, home sick, watching DVDs in bed with her pal Red Eye
5. quality reading time with Eva (one of my favorite books as a child)
6. the reading lulled her into a much-needed nap
7. "no wasps allowed" sign Eva made for her room (we have been having tons in the house lately!)
8. completed guest book, finally
9. wedding decor
10. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apples
11. donuts in wedding colors
12. exhausted and reading in bed!