Stick it to em!

 My sister is in nursing school, with that comes PHLEBOTOMY! I wasn't too fond of needles until I started doing the donations with our ward for Red Cross (out of guilt). I think The Lord wanted to teach me patience and strength giving me the worst experience of my life the first time I donated. I had a rookie that missed four times before hitting. I don't think getting stuck and bruising in all four places was ideal but from that point on I've learned to take it like a woMAN.

With that said; my sister asked me to come to class so she could practice. She was very manipulative when she asked by saying; "Laur, what are you and Ben doing Thursday night?" She is our most FAV and consistent company for sushi so she knew she had me fooled asking that question. I should have known with my parents being in Hawaii but the rest is history! SHE ROCKED IT! She didn't miss once and she poked me 10... YES TEN... times! Not only that she said I would probably bruise on my hands and I didn't bruise one bit! Lou-- YOU CAN BE MY NURSE ANY DAY! I never thought I would love you enough to be your pin cushion! BUT I absolutely DO!

OH AND Thanks for making up your manipulation tactics by accompanying us to sush! xoxo

Need vs. Want--

There is nothing quite like waking up to a soaking wet cabinet and kitchen floor! We (of course I mean Ben) has fixed it a few times with some new teflon but this time He was ready to stop with the band aids and amputate!! The funniest thing is what I heard in a soft sincere voice from the kitchen--- "Babe, would you like a new goose neck faucet for Valentines?" Ha Ha HAAAAA! What else would a girl want for Valentines Day-- right?! I mean the beautiful-- long stem-- red roses and card is completely over-rated! Right? I think not but off we went to Home Depot-- (Ben's Toy Store) to pick out a new faucet! I'm not going to lie this is one prized procession compared to the stubby jewel that came with our house. Not to mention it has to win the most random Valentines gift of the century! Thank goodness I married the right Mr. FIX-IT man of my dreams! After holding the flash light and watching my man go to work,  it was beautimous! AND after all-- I was blessed with both a need (Moen faucet) and a want (husb, card and flowers) for Love Day! Thank you Benj!

LoVe DAY--

First and foremost-- Happy Engagement Day to my husb!! It was a year ago today that I got engaged to my BFF! It has been such an incredible year of so much LAUGHTER, challenges, GROWTH, happiness, SeRvIcE and LOVE! I finally found my King and every day I seem to love him even more! Every one says that you will love your spouse more and more as you build a life and memories together. I can finally agree to this statement! I can't imagine and wait to share the love of my parents and grandparents relationships! It is no wonder our grandparents unconditionally love their spouse with depends, bed pans, curly grey bull cuts, amnesia, accidents, flabby skin, droopy boobs, yellow finger nails, sneaky farts, long curled toe nails and saggy butts! Life is so much better in LOVE!

 We enjoyed the best Valentines Day starting with some Bieb Feev! Yes-- WE! Ben and I joined Shanny, Matt, Robin, Jeff and Bridger at Never Say Never! You may be a hater until you see the Biebs in action! This motion pic has a fab message NOT TO MENTION-- USHER! He can always make a V day better with his white grill, crazy fresh moves and bangin' bod!

Then we hit up OUR FAV--

 

There is nothing quite like Filet Oscar (Steak, King Crab, Asparagus & a side of Bearnaise Sauce) let alone on V-DAY! It was a dream come true after our....

Round ONE: Bread & clam sauce, Meat Balls and Banana Juice

ROUND Two: Fresh baked rolls, Cream of Broccoli Soup (Mmmm Mmmm) & Fresh Pineapple

Round THREE: A good portion of crisp salad greens with the best ranch of your life

ROUND Four:  Bring on the Filet Oscar with a loaded baked potato

Round FIVE: Sour Cream Cheesecake with Raspberries & Chocolate-Amaretto Mousse

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST--THE FAREWELL Macaroon Cooks--

pure LOVE!

What an incredible day! Life doesn't get any better than sharing the best food with our very best friends!

Happy LoVe Day!!

THE large "BOWLS" of grub--

We MOST DEFINATELY
found our ETERNAL company for the Super Bowl! 

Never before in the history of Bowl Games has there been a spread like THIS-- 

 We had HOME MADE~ Quac, Nacho's, Salsa, Salad, Wings, Ribs, Cinnamon Rolls, Macaroons, Pizza, Wieners, Meat Balls, 7-Layer Dip, Cheese Cake, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Potato Salad, Chocolate Dipped Pretzels and Coconut Brownies... Bring on the L B's BABY! 

As good as the food was, we were most thrilled that our PACKS WON!  
GO GREEN BAY!!!

Discovery Gateway

On Wednesday we went to Discovery Gateway with my neices and Laddy. We had so much fun! If you haven't been it is a must see and do! It is an entire interactive world to explore on a kid-sized scale. They have a garden, story factory, barn, house, pond, grocery store and lake on the main floor. Upstairs is a world of scientists, artists, engineers, pilots and news anchors with its own KSL media center. The kids absolutely loved it and I'm not going to lie--
the adults loved it too! Love my girls and sure LOVE Laddalicious!!!

And so it begins---

It has recently come to my attention that facebook is not the "PLACE" for a paragraph and a large sum of pics. I have never needed a paragraph until I stopped scrapbooking and continued traveling. Therefor, this is the new (to me) and improved (I'm hoping) scrapbook for The Michels. I was honestly trying to talk myself out of blogging ATLEAST until our first child came around but lets be honest-- WHO KNOWS WHEN THAT IS EVER GOING TO HAPPEN so... LET IT BEGIN!

Christmas!

 We just arrived home on Thursday from Europe. We had such an incredible trip! The experience of being in Bethlehem, Gethsemane, The Garden Tomb and seeing Golgotha at this time of year will be unforgettable. This year more than ever has made me realize how truly blessed we are as a family and as a country. We have it all at our finger tips here in the United States. Since we made it back home it has been hard to get into the Christmas spirit. I put our tree up early this year (the day before Thanks) so we could enjoy the ambiance of the spirit of Christmas for at least a week before we flew out. We left knowing this Christmas would be small in the means of gifts but large in the way of travel which I'd rather do any day. So, with that said here's to a wonderful Christmas!

 A new retro helmet for the Harley! :)

Same Harley his Opa rode in the war!

Temple Bag for the whites!

Mediterranean Cruise-- Piraeus, Greece!

The historical attractions of Athens are world-renowned. The Acropolis, overlooking the city of Athens from the top of a rocky hillside is the dominant monument of ancient Greece, the first temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and the incredible Parthenon. We hopped on a bus that took us around the entire city. With the rain and our hot orange poncho's we had a blast truckin' the city! The monuments were magnificent!!! Along with the monuments, Athens has many markets, cafe's and shops lining the streets with the famous-- BAKLAVA! Mmmmm Mmmmm!

Who wouldn't want a keep sake of this--  for real?!

 Rain, Rain, Go away come again another day!

  

The Parthenon--

It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek

civilization and still remains its international symbol.

Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion. Southeast corner. View from the southeast.

Some one had a heart attack on our ship so we had to go back to the port 

so the ambulance could take them off.... sad day!!

  And back for the cruise din din...