Friday, February 28, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had another fun filled Valentine's Day around here this year. As always, I planned a few special things to make the day memorable. 

We worked on Valentines for their classmates the weekend before. I pinned a bunch of different ideas on Pinterest and let the boys choose which ones they would like to make. Nolan actually came up with the idea to make sea creature Valentines so I had to search around to find a cute one to print. 
We found these fun sour gummy octopuses at Michaels. They were the perfect sweet treat to go with his cards, especially because he looooooves anything sour and gummy! Nolan helped count out and stuff a couple for each bag. 

Heath chose Lego Star Wars Valentines. 

They both did a great job signing each one. Nolan has 26 kiddos in his class. And Heath has 16. 

Then Nolan stuck a fun felt sticker on each one as well. I love being creative and crafty with my boys. 

Here are the finished products…


They turned out super cute! 

Oma & Opa gave the boys cards and treat bags earlier in the week. Brooks was uninterested in posing for this pic. 

Cohen gave the boys some yummy Muddy Buddy mix as well. 

And these two packages arrived on our doorstep for 3 very loved boys! 

The boys both celebrated Valentine's Day at school on the 13th because they didn't have school on the Friday, the 14th. 
Heath was beyond excited to share his pixy stix with his friends. 

I just love Nolan's natural smile. Perfection. 

We made these favorite Valentines for all of the boys teachers. Teachers love to be thought of on Valentine's Day! And to me, nothing is better than Starbucks! 

Brooks and I joined Heath for a quick party in his classroom at the end of his day. We frosted heart shaped cookies.

And decorated them with sprinkles. He like dipping his apple slices in the frosting too. :) 

Then we passed out his Valentines. 

He was so proud! 

Love this guy! 

He made this cute Valentine at school. 

They decorated their boxes at school as well…which this Mama loved- one less thing to have to take care of at home! 

Nolan's party was just for his class. 
Check out his Valentine bag…random. Not a single bit of pink or red on it. No hearts. Whatever. Gotta let things go sometimes. Ha! 

He had a fun party at KED the day before and in his Kindergarten class that day. So that's all that matters. And he had the BEST time opening all his Valentines and reading them. He was smiling ear to ear when reading the ones from Ella and Avery…he acted like he was so honored that they gave HIM a Valentine! So sweet. 

Auntie and Uncle Flobby were working at the florist Valentine's Week so they were unable to Skype while we opened their package. So we took some video instead. Here are some clips...

They got some candy and Kinex Mario guys and a Pete the Cat Valentine's Day book. 
They sure spoil the boys! And the boys LOVE it! We can't wait for them to have babies…well, in a year or so…so we can spoil them right back! 

A few Valentine treats for my sweet hearts to find on Valentine's Day morning! 
I made these glowstick Valentines for my Kindergartners and saved a few extras for the boys. They think glowsticks are so cool. And it was a nice alternative to a candy Valentine. 

They were super excited about the Grapevines. They haven't had them since the pool this summer. 

Smiling on Valentine's Day! 

All of our cards. I still really like to give and receive the perfect card. And I love a thoughtful, handwritten message inside. The boys ran into my bathroom to give me my card right when they woke up! 

We spent the morning being lazy at home together and then they went to Auntie Kim's for the afternoon while I went to school. 
Valentine's Week is one of my favorites with my Kindies. We made these super pretty Valentine Bags, passed out valentines, watched a Valentine movie, frosted cookies, and made a craft. I LOVE lovin' on my kiddos extra this week! 

After school we came home to Skype with Grandma & Grandpa and open up a package that they sent. 
The boys got the Frozen soundtrack, water color paint books, and a hot DOG slicer. Grandma knows her boys so well! 3 perfectly fun gifts! And we have been listening to the Frozen soundtrack non stop since. It is so fun to listen to the boys belt out all the tunes. They know every single word! 

After Skyping we had a fancy dinner of Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza in our dining room! The boys love eating in there! And they even got to drink out of wine glasses! 

After dinner we SURPRISED them and took them to see THE LEGO MOVIE! They were so excited! They had been waiting to see it! 

They always love these big signs in the lobby. 

We decided to try bringing Brooks to his first movie. We were hopeful he would watch more than he does at home because he would be so enthralled with the big screen. We knew he was a little young, but didn't have a babysitter, and were hopeful that if he wasn't interested in the movie that maybe he would fall asleep, or snack his way through it. 
He made it about half way and then got antsy. He started jabbering and wanting to run around. So Mark, very nicely, took him to the lobby to wait while the boys and I snuggled and finished the rest of the movie…which they thought was AWESOME! 

It was a simple and sweet day with my people and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! 

Mark and I got to go out on a Valentine's Day date on the 15th. Brad & Jayne watched the boys for us (thank you)! We had a gift card to Salt Grass Steakhouse so we went there. It wasn't the best meal ever. But we got seated at this table right in front of this fireplace. It was a nice spot even with this creepy bobcat breathing down our necks. We had a nice night together. 

And finally a few random gift shots...
The boys having fun with their NFL sticker book Valentine's Day present. This was a major score- I found it on clearance and bought a bunch of packs on sale too. I have some saved for their Easter baskets as well.  

Painting in their water color books that Grandma & Grandpa sent them. 

And here is their hotdog slicer! They think it's pretty funny! 

As you can see, we had a great week of celebration! We sure are LOVED! 

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

11

This year my Women's Group celebrated our eleventh anniversary! And we celebrated in style with another fun weekend away in Downtown Denver! This is becoming a favorite tradition of ours. No kids, no hubbies. Lots of talking, so much laughing, a few tears- of both the happy & sad varieties,  a little bit of wine, a bunch of Sarah's famous cookies, food, cute clothes, and happy hearts! That was our weekend in a nutshell.

We all met up and drove downtown together on Saturday afternoon. We never miss an opportunity to chat, so carpooling is a must. 
Ready to check in to our hotel. 

Check out the view from our room at our hotel. 

We've claimed this spot for our Happy Hour two years in a row now. It's perfect. We sat here and talked. A LOT! We're good at it. 

After Happy Hour we got all fancied up and headed out on the town…at 9 o'clock. 


9 O'CLOCK PEOPLE!!! Usually I'm already snuggly tucked into my bed watching reality t.v. at 9 o'clock at night. Not this night…I was walking down the 16th Street mall at 9 o'clock!

We headed to the Cheesecake Factory…another WG fav. We shared yummy bread and chicken and mashed potatoes and CHEESECAKE! We also celebrated this radiant girl's b-day. 

It was almost midnight before we made it back to the hotel. When we got back we changed into our comfies and talked some more and then rested peacefully. We slept in without being woken up by the sounds of wrestling or screaming or whining. We woke up and rolled back over and closed our eyes to doze off again. We laid in bed and chatted about Valentine's Day and Pinterest instead of Paw Patrol and boogers. 

Then I took an uninterrupted shower for as long as I wanted to shower for. No rushing to get the kids breakfast and no jumping out dripping wet to help a big noggin get through the head hole of a shirt. 

After getting ready we headed down for an awesome, complimentary breakfast. Omelets made to order, fresh fruit, hash browns, bacon, coffee…delicious! And once again, I'm sure you're getting the theme by now, we sat around the breakfast table for awhile, sharing our hearts, fears, frustrations, triumphs. 

I think we lingered around the breakfast table hoping to stretch out our last few moments of togetherness before we had to head back to the real world. Don't get me wrong, we love our husbands, we love our kids, we love our role in our homes as mom and wife, we love our careers that challenge us and give us purpose, but it sure is nice to escape reality every once in awhile. To be affirmed and supported. To be loved and encouraged. To be held accountable and motivated. These 24 hours were invaluable to us. 
(L to R: Natalie, Rachel, Jenn, Sarah, Heather, Abby, Kim) 
We are all so grateful for the friendships that exist in this group. Friendships that only God can orchestrate. We have been through a lot these past 11 years. We have weathered many storms and celebrated many exciting occasions. And for countless reasons, God has kept us together. He has purpose for this group. And he continues to bless us through it.