The Rest of February

The rest of our chilly/rainy February included the following:

• Pass of All Passes ... finally started to use it.  We went to a gymnastics meet this month, and with the crazy weather we have been thoroughly enjoying the bowling alley included on our pass.

•  Hogle Zoo put on a free-entrance day ... which was awesome!  Except for the fact that the rest of the state of Utah agreed.  The place was wall-to-wall people.  I saw several people from my hometown, which was fantastic ... but all in all, I felt like we were back at Disneyland on a Utah-Spring-Break day.  (We learned quickly that if there is ANY kind of kids-get-out-of-school holiday going on in Utah, STEER CLEAR of Disneyland.)  But the kids loved the animals.  I'm still debating whether or not I should get a season pass.

•  We said goodbye to our beloved Pujols Fish this month too.  Mark discovered him on the counter on evening, and immediately flopped the poor little guy back in his water.  We had no idea how long he had been lying out there, but he did seem to swim around a bit .... but by the following morning, it was certain.  Pujols had moved on.  I told Mac, who was quite solemn but very curious about the whole thing.  I asked if I could flush Pujols down the toilet, to which Mac replied, "But Jesus will never find him in there!"  We decided to bury him outside, and Mac picked out Pujols's burial ground.  He was fine until we started to shovel dirt on top of him ... then he burst into tears.  "I just miss him too much, Mom." he said.  I held him and pointed out all the ducks wandering out of the water - probably to see if we had any bread - and Mac said, "Oh look, Mom, they miss Pujols too!  The duckies want to come say goodbye."  I agreed.

The following morning, Mac jumped out of bed and said, "Mom!  Let's see if Jesus took Pujols yet!"  I told him it wasn't very polite to dig up dead things ... how do you explain THAT to a kid? 

•  Mac gave his first talk in Primary.  It was about the Savior's Atonement.  The whole thing was about how Jesus made it so we could live with him and all our friends and family again.  I ended up whispering most of it to Mac, but we had specifically worked on a couple parts that he could just talk about himself.  But when we got to them, he said, "Mom, I think you'd better just tell me."  So I did.  He finished, patted me on the back, and returned to his seat.  So proud of that guy.

•  And Miss Belle has started experimenting with potty training ... it's been a bit of a process, but she's slowly improving.  So crazy to think my house might be diaper free pretty soon ...

•  And finally, we had our first incident with using-mom's-makeup-without-her.  Thankfully it was just red lipstick (which I never use) and not eyeliner or mascara ... but it was quite messy.  Two months later, I'm still finding random red fingerprints on the walls.

Valentine's 2014

Another year, another day to celebrate love.

(One of my favorite things.)

Mark watched the kids the day before while I ran some last-minute errands.  Those included ingredients for a romantic family meal, candy hearts, chocolate ... and decorating Mark's office.

I wish I would've taken a picture ... it's fun to make his office all festive.  I feel like it makes the place feel more community-oriented; a family gathering place.  But of course, we gotta keep it professional ... I'm still working on the balance.

Still, we made thank-yous for Mark's employees and left them with chocolate.  (That ought to inspire them to work super hard, be super awesome, and make everyone want to tell all their friends ... right?)

And then I did a little deep car cleaning for my sweetheart.

And I thought a lot about how I've gotten lazy at doing specific little things to help HIM and no one else.  Not the kids, not our family in general ... but I need to be better at regularly finding little things that make HIS day easier.  Props to Valentine's for the reminder!

Finally, the big day came.  We had toast in the shape of a heart and eggs, completely with chocolate and silly string fights.

We read each other's love notes.  Some favorites include:

•  "Belle, I love when you play baseball with me.  Love, Mac"
• "Dad, I love when you let me stay up late and finish watching basketball games. Love, Mac"
• "Belle, I love your hugs and kisses.  Love, Dad"
• "Mac, I love how excited you get to do things together as a family.  You make everything so fun! Love, Mom"
• "Dad, I love when you help me put on princess dresses. Love, Belle"
• "Mac, I love the silly names you make up.  You are so funny.  Love, Dad"
• "Belle, I love it when you are so nice to other kids, even if they are acting grumpy.  Love, Mom"
• "Mom, I love to wrestle you. Love, Mac"
• "Mom, I love when you let me 'do it'.  Love, Belle"
• "Mac, I love playing sports and watching baseball and basketball with you.  Love, Dad"
• "Mac, I love when you are so nice to your sister and your family.  Love, Dad"
• "Belle, I love your strong will and independence.  I love you.  Love, Dad"
• "Mac, I love when you help me get out of bed.  Love, Belle"
• "Mac, I love your big smart brains.  I love to hear you figure out adding and subtracting.  Love, Mom"
• "Mac, I love when you share your bowling pins with me.  Love, Belle"
• "Dad, I love when you throw me in the air.  Love, Belle"
• "Belle, I love it when you give me hugs and pat my back.  Love, Mom"
• "Belle, You are so cute.  I love when you copy me.  Love, Mac"

Compliments go a long way.  It is so fun to sit and think of specific little things that I love about each of my family members (didn't copy down the ones I wrote for my sweetheart .... his eyes only!), and then to see my kids reactions as we read them?  Priceless!  Mac giggles and claps at each one, whether or not it's for him.

Compliments rock.  I wish they flowed out of me verbally more often.

I'll work on it!

For lunch we prettied ourselves up to go out to eat with the greatest guy ever.

And Mark and I vowed to do a Valentines lunch without kids next year.  (They were nuts.)

We topped off the day with a candlelit dinner for four, and eventually ... got a bit of alone time.

Love is the greatest.

Sochi Winter Olympics 2014

The Winter Olympic were a lot of fun to watch his year.  Mac and I prepped by making a banner of flags from all the participating countries.

He was thrilled.

We were about to witness the bestest, fastest, strongest people from all the countries come together to compete in their favorite sports ... what a treat.  Flags, medals, songs, races .... and plenty of timers and countdowns.

I was particularly interested in seeing how the Olympics would go; what with the book we had just read in book club about the Romanov family and the lady who had lived there on and off for years.  Plus my newest brother-in-law had taught English and later served his LDS mission there; Russia is incredibly interesting to me.  It feels like a massive, old, not quite third-world but definitely not first-world type of a country.  I had heard a lot about the preparations that went into building a town capable of housing the world's top athletes for weeks ... it was quite a feat, considering there was nothing but a few homes and a one-way street to begin with.

There were a few hiccups, and it was incredibly obvious that the hotels had been thrown together last minute.  But I liked what the gal in my ward said about it, "What they were able to accomplish, with what they had to work with ... the Russian people should be proud of their homeland."

I hope they are!

My little family sure liked watching them.  Mac had questions about every sport and every athlete.  We loved cheering for the Utahns in there.  (Since I moved to Salt Lake, its been crazy to see that training for the Olympics is completely attainable and almost - but not quite - commonplace out here.)

I love the Olympics for the honor it gives to dedicated athletes and their dedicated families.  The persistence, the determination ... and even plenty of examples of compassion and camaraderie!

Can't wait for two years; bring on the Summer Olympics!