Our New Niece!!!

Felicity Ruth Jackson arrived on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 2:50 p.m. She weighed in at a healthy 6 pounds, 15 ounces and is 19 and a half inches long. She is beautiful.

Things We've Done (separately or together)

...Things We've done and Places We've Been (in bold)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (I wish...)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (tried)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse (I think...)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (trick question)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (Mary whimpering....)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check(s)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar or Escargot

72. Pieced a quilt (it only says pieced, not finished!)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (& Book of Mormon)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

365 Wonderful Days

~March 8, 2010~

For the past several weeks, Paul and I have been reminding each other that March 8th was coming up.... as if either of us could forget. March 8th, 2009 was the day that Paul and I first met at a dinner date hosted at Sam Menasco's apartment in Provo, UT. We celebrated it like a miniature anniversary. I am still learning (quite pleasantly) what a romantic man I call my husband! Though I knew we would be making a special dinner that night, I was elated to come home from school to find a vase of beautiful flowers on the table, a special gift and a homemade card (designed and created by Paul himself). What a special surprise! Not only was it sweet that he got me flowers, they were daisies, which was the main flower at our wedding.

My beautiful daisies.

The figurine was especially meaningful, one reason being that I collect Willow Tree (especially the young family themes) but mostly that it represents what Paul and I look forward so much to having, our own family. I was so touched by all of it and feel so lucky to be married to this wonderful man!

The rest of the evening followed nicely as well. We prepared the same dinner we ate that night- Parmesan Chicken, peas and mashed potatoes (which I made characteristically late) and enjoyed a quiet movie together at home. We are happy to have known each other for over a year now and to be happily married for seven months!!

Recipe for Parmesan Chicken

Compliments of Michelle Shade

1 bottle Italian Dressing

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Large Ziplock bag

4-6 chicken breasts

Pour dressing into bag. Add parmesan cheese and squish bag to mix.

Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Place marinated chicken in a baking dish or pan.

Add remaining marinade (pour some over chicken).

Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

*Special Note: Best served with garlic mashed potatoes and peas.

St. George Getaway!!

Mary and I took a much needed getaway to St. George at the end of February. We didn't really have any plans we just found a place to go and started the drive down. We ended up staying at a historic Bed and Breakfast called the Seven Wives Inn. You can go here to learn about the history of the place.

We stayed in the Harriet-Quaint room on the second floor. We had our own balcony, which was sweet, and our own bathroom. The staff there was great. They weren't "in your face" like I've heard can be the case at bed and breakfasts. I'm not really a breakfast person, but the food was good.

When we finally decided to get out of bed the first morning, we went to do some shopping at the outlets. We didn't buy anything though. I was always under the impression that outlets were the place to get good deals. It seemed everything was just as expensive if not worse than shopping anywhere else. Whatever. We did hit up a really old antique shop. It was packed with so much stuff that you could barely walk from room to room without knocking things over. We found some treasures there.

On Sunday we went to the St. George Temple and took some pictures. We walked around for a bit and then went to the Tabernacle. We toured it against our will. We heard there was an art gallery there depicting the ministry of Jesus Christ. We went to see that cause we toured it back in August when Sam and Amber got hitched. But as soon as we got there, they took us right in and started the tour without asking any questions. I can't fault 'em though. They just seemed really excited. It was a good refresher course. We did get to see the paintings in the basement afterwards. It was a really neat experience. After that we went to the St. George 13th Ward. It reminded me a lot of the Smyrna Ward back home. Enough said. But it was good.

On our way out of town we stopped at Silver Reef. It used to be a silver mining community but is now a ghost town. We didn't see any ghosts... or silver for that matter, but we got some sweet pics, so it was a fair trade.