Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Valentine's Day

My Valentine's Day went something like this:







[1] Going out for ice cream sundaes with the 6th graders.

[2] & [3] Exchanging valentines in creative boxes - remember doing that in elementary?!

[4] My husband sending me flowers at work (a.k.a. the sweetest thing ever).

[5] Eating even more sugary treats.

[6] Coming home to find a little blue box on my laptop with a note from Daniel. That little blue box happened to contain the Tiffany & Co. earrings I had been coveting for years!!

Best Valentine's Day ever? I think so.

Best husband in the world? Most definitely.

Love you, D!



Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Fish & Chips

On our Monday off, Daniel and I went on a little lunch date to Summerhays' Fish and Chips. It's a cute little restaurant in Holladay near our apartment. When I was growing up, it was called Neil's Fish and Chips. It's one of my dad's favorite places, and he used to suggest it all the time when we were kids. It's only now that I'm an adult that I appreciate my dad's fabulous taste in restaurants. We both ordered the halibut and chips, and I have to say, it really hit the spot. The fun atmosphere made it feel like we were on vacation, even though we were only five minutes from home.

What are your favorite places to go on dates? We love suggestions!


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Happy Birthday to D!

February 5, 2012

Dear Daniel,

Happy 25th birthday, sweetheart! Can you believe you're already 25? This age is a milestone for a few reasons: 1. You can now officially rent a car (without all those crazy fees), 2. Your car insurance rates go down (yay!), and 3. You're a quarter of a century old! Yipes. I've had a great time celebrating your special day with you all weekend. Being with you makes me happier than anything else. Thanks for all the little things you do that make me smile every day. Thank you for making me laugh, for working so hard, and for helping me to be a better person. You've always been my better half. Happy birthday Daniel! I love you so much. I'm so very glad you were born :)

Love always,

Mandy

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

elk adventure.


Here are some photos from our little elk adventure to Hardware Ranch with Daniel's family this past month, if you'd like to see!










And now for some elk trivia!
  1. Elk, along with moose and caribou, are members of the deer family.
  2. An adult make elk is called a bull, an adult female is called a cow, a baby is called a calf, and a yearling bull is called a spike because his antlers are spiky.
  3. Only male elk have antlers, but both male and female caribou (a.k.a. reindeer) have antlers!
  4. The elk's antlers (along with antlers of all other animals who have them) are made of bone! They fall off and re-grow each year. 
  5. Horns are a different story. Horns are never shed, and they are made of the same stuff that our fingernails are made of.
  6. New antlers are covered with a fuzzy skin called velvet. It has a lot of blood vessels running through it. Because antlers are made of bone, they need to have blood flow in order to grow! 
  7. The elk's canine teeth are made of ivory.
  8. Cows, calves, and yearlings live in herds for most of the year while bulls live alone. This means that a cow is usually the leader of the herd! Of course, this changes during the mating season.
  9. If an elk feels threatened, they make a barking sound.
  10. The elk's coat makes them essentially waterproof. 
And that is the end of my elk facts for the day. If you want to see one of these guys up close, I suggest you visit Hardware Ranch! We had a blast!