Day of Love

 This year I really wanted to make Valentine's Day special.  I thought a lot about what I wanted to do and I feel like it turned out great.  I had spent an entire afternoon the Monday before cutting out hearts for a YW activity and I didn't want them to go to waste.  I used all those hearts to make a table runner.  I thought it was festive.

 For dinner we had the Papa Murphy's heart-shaped pizzas.  The kids love them and think it is so cool that a pizza could be shaped like a heart!  While we waited for them to cook, Porter had to do another selfie.

 Brinnley needed in on the action too.  Funny kids!

 Once we were all gathered round I lit up a bunch of tea lights I've had forever.  I think they thought eating by candlelight was so awesome.  We've never done that before.

 Once we were done eating and cleared the table off, I gave each child a huge paper heart.  We took turns writing messages on each other's hearts.  They made me cry when I was reading through them.  Everyone made sure to think about the things they wrote and truly say things they loved about that person.  It was so sweet!

 The last thing was a special treat.  We had Love Floats or vanilla ice cream and Cherry 7-Up with licorice straws.  I thing it was a very wonderful evening.  I'm glad I took the time to make it more special for everyone.

I am so thankful for my Valentine.  I couldn't imagine my life without this amazing man in it!  He means the world to me!

33

 This year my birthday fell on Friday the 13th.  Yay!  I kinda love Friday the 13th.  Anyway, the kids had their Valentine's parties at school that day.  So a few nights before we spent the evening writing everyone's names on their Valentines.  It was a process deciding which Valentine to give to which classmate.  At our old school we had to make boxes or bags or whatever at home, but here they do it at school.  Poor Brinn didn't get a picture taken.  Oops.  I love Porter's heart man with the fun arms and legs.

They had a great time at their school parties and then they came home and we partied some more.  

 Dad made dinner and my cake, which was my birthday present and it was awesome!  Yummy sliders!   

The kids decided that we needed to document my 33rd by taking selfies.  I don't take selfies.  Ever.  But I did it for them.  And it is totally clear that even my kids are better at taking selfies than me.  I don't even know how high to look :)

 I got a little better after a few shots though.

For my birthday I just really wanted something new with my hair.  A week before my birthday Chant cut and colored it for me all in the comfort of our living room while I got to watch PROM.  Love that movie.  He did a great job!  It was a wonderful day and I felt very loved!

Double Digits!

January 26th Miss Brinnley turned 10!  I cannot believe we are in double digits!  She is such an amazing girl and I just feel so blessed she is mine!  She brings love and joy to our home everyday.  

 Her birthday was a Monday, so school day.  But we tried to made it special.  We had homemade pizza for dinner, per tradition.

This turned out to be the year of money for Brinnley.  She didn't get so many gifts, but a lot of cash.  She was okay with that.  It was kind of funny because on her birthday the guy we delivered phone books for came over.  He saw all the crepe paper and asked what we were celebrating.  When we told him, he gave Brinnley a $10 bill, plus she has money from Grandma and Grandpa.  As soon as she got home from school (before the whole pizza thing), she wanted to go to Swain's and look at clothes.  Swain's could be compared to Cal Ranch for all you Idaho folk.  She loved the clothes, but they were a lot of money so she decided to hold off till Wal-Mart.  But we made our way down to the toy section where she fell in love with this Lego set that was a newborn horse that even came with its own bottle!

After dinner we opening presents.  Ainsley got her a yo-yo and Porter got her a cool crystal making kit.

 A new cow friend from Gran.  She was so excited that now Moo has a friend!

 And our sweet friend Tracy gave Brinnley the entire Spirit Animals set.  She just finished the first book and is moving on to the second book tomorrow.  We have such awesome friends!

 For weeks Brinnley had been hinting at this particular lego set, an animal rescue one.  That is what Chant and I got for her.

 Brinnley requested strawberry lemonade cake.  Good thing her dad is an amazing baker.  It was awesome!

 I think she felt special and had a pretty awesome day!

The next day we took her to Wal-Mart to go shopping.  She ended up with $40!  Rich little sinker.  I was so proud of her.  She and I looked at clothes together and she had a little pile of things to try on.  While we were in the dressing room after she tried everything on, she made a pile of things she really wanted and things that were maybes.  Then we talked about prices, she even remembered to factor in tax.  She chose to put back a shirt because she wanted to have money to get another Lego set.  Before we even went to the dressing room she was being choosy about what she wanted to try on based on how much it cost.  She ended up with three tank tops to go under a few favorite shirts that are getting too short, this lovely hoodie, a couple t-shirts, and a Lego set.  I would say she did very well!  

A Day in Seattle

(Ainsley in the top left corner on his shoulder)

 Saturday, January 24 was a wonderful day!  Some dear friends of ours in the ward, the Honors, were sealed that day, and I really wanted to be there.  Since it was two days before Brinnley's birthday, we decided to make a day of it.  That is our family's tradition, rather than a fancy party we take a day to explore an area around us.  It's something we all look forward to.  We weren't necessarily planning on going to Seattle, but it just worked out that way.  The sealing was at 12:30, so we left P.A. at 9:00.  Chant stayed in the parking lot with the kids while I went into the sealing.  We brought the kids' pillow beds and the computer so they could put the seat down and lay in the back of the van watching a movie while I was inside.  It worked out great!  They had a good time outside and I was able to be there to witness the beautiful sealing!  I felt so honored they invited me.

As soon as I was out of the temple, we started our Seattle adventure.  I had done some research and found a few things that sounded like fun for the kids.  The first stop was the Fremont Troll.  He is literally a troll that lived under the bridge.  Getting to him is pretty fun.  He is at the top of a hill where he becomes the dead end.  We had to drive a few blocks over to find a place to park.  He's a popular guy!  

Brinnley peeking out from his shoulder.

 The next few pictures are like playing Where's Waldo?

Porter, king of the troll.

 This picture shows it a little better, but the kids are sitting on top of his hand and he is holding a VW bug.

 They had so much fun climbing all over him.  They were so dirty afterwards!

 Next was a boat dock just down the road from the neighborhood troll.  It was gorgeous out and we enjoyed looking at all the different types of boats, from little row boats to sail boats to this big red thing.  It was beautiful!

 We all look awesome because we were looking right into the sun.

After the ships, we drove through the rest of the neighborhood and checked out some things.  Definitely a place to come back to.  Later I found a place online that is a flea market kind of thing and it looks huge!  I will be visiting that place some day!

Before starting the drive home we ate dinner at IHOP, where kids eat free :)  And you would have thought they had died and gone to heaven.  We don't get out much, but when we do they sure do appreciate it.  It's the little things like strawberry syrup that make life sweet.

Day Off

 January 19 Chant had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr Day.  It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, so we took advantage.  We went to the pier and the kids climbed the lookout.  I get sick to my stomach just looking up at the thing.  Me and heights aren't friends.  So I waved at them from the bottom.

 Along the shoreline is a beautiful walking path.  The kids ran from the pier down to the trail for a walk.  We had just reached the path when Chant got a phone call. It was from the hospital billing department calling to schedule a job interview.  We did a little happy dance right there and then took off on a celebratory walk.

 We had just made it back to the car when the sky turned dark and the rain started.  Perfect timing!

 For Christmas Aunty Kristy and Uncle Mike sent us pillows and money to buy fabric to make these cute pillow beds.  We let each child pick their material and later that same afternoon Brinnley and Chant sewed them together.  They are perfect for sleepovers in each other's rooms or the basement.  The kids love them!

Future Architect and Interior Designer

 For Christmas Brinnley made these lovely origami decorations that we hung in the hallway.  They were there the entire month.  She is always creating or building or designing.  I love that girl's imagination!

 And Miss Ainsley decided her pet lizard Leo needed a home.  I think we have a future architect on our hands.  She thought of it all, even a remote for the television and a bowl of food.  He is a well cared for pet!  Love my creative girls!

Taking a moment to brag on them, Brinnley won 3rd place out of all the 4th graders in our school district in an essay contest about Martin Luther King Jr.  She will be getting her award next week.  Ainsley also has an exciting thing coming up.  On the 24th she gets to spend the day at the college for a writers convention.  One student form each class was chosen to attend and she's the lucky lady from her class.  She was chosen based on an opinion essay she submitted.  She is very excited and has been working on a series of stories to take with her.  So proud of my girls!

Family Christmas

January 2 was Family Christmas, when we get together with my parents all of my brothers and their families in Ashton.  We weren't able to go home this year and I was really upset that we were going to miss it.  Mom told me to Skype so we could talk to everyone while they were there.  I was thinking everyone would gather around the computer and say a quick hi and that would be it.  But my amazing brother, Kasey, answered the call on his laptop and we were there for the entire program and present opening. We were able to get updates on everyone and hear about the highlights of their year.  That is the part I love the most, sharing what we are grateful for and what we learned over the previous year.  We also got to "meet" the fiances of two of my nephews.  So exciting!  I was glad that my kids took up the whole screen because I did shed a tear or two off to the side with gratitude that we could share in the moment and heartache at missing it in person.  

 My parents gave all the girls skirts and all the boys hats from Route 66.  We were all pleasantly surprised when in the middle of February we received a package of skirts and hats.  Thanks Grandpa and Grandpa, we love them!