February 2022

 Valentine's Day 

We got each kiddo a small treat for Valentines (Aunt Lynnae gave the kiddos some cute Valentine's treats, too) along with our traditional family ice cream cake (To All My Valentines) written atop. I took Linc, Brielle, and Maddie to the butterfly museum followed by ice cream. Lincoln loved everything about the museum...except the greenhouse with all the butterflies. The poor kid kept ducking left and right, terrified of them all. 

While we ate dinner of pink German pancakes, we had everyone (capable of speaking in sentences) say what they loved about each member of the family. It is as follows:

Maverick--Dad play fights and is playful. Mom makes me German Pancakes & yummy dinners. Lincoln plays with me. Brielle when I play with her. Goose (I laughed that he included him) when I play with Goose he puts a smile on my face. Having Maddie in our family. (And then the real kicker and something I really loved and shows his confidence and what he has been learning at the hand of Mrs. Terry, 2nd grade) And I love myself because I like to create. 

Lincoln--Dad helps when I need help. Brielle pays with me when Maverick is at school. Goose plays fetch. Mom makes me mac n cheese. Maverick plays with me. Myself because I spend time with family. And Maddie is beautiful. 

Mom--Maverick is helpful and kind. Lincoln is sweet and thoughtful. Brielle is silly and loves to play. Maddie is fun to watch grow. Dad works really hard to provide for the family. 

Dad--Maverick is a good problem solver/thinker. Lincoln is silly and keeps us laughing. Brielle gives great hugs. Maddie is fun. Mom keeps a really clean house and takes good care of us. 

Side note--when I took Lincoln to pick out Valentine's Day cards for his class, it was freezing outside and he forgot a jacket. I had him wear mine, and even though it was huge on him, he rocked it. 

Super Bowl 

This year, I decided to surprise Lehi by building a wood Snackstadium. It is massive (barely fitting width wise on the counter). It was a project, with a lot of angle cuts (not my strong suit) but it turned out awesome! It is the first of many, many years it will make an appearance for the big game. We had lots of friends and family over to watch the Rams take down the Bangles. (Poppi & Gigi, Matt, Bekah/Nile, Tyler & Alex fam, and Spencer/Baylee). It was a full house (I wouldn't have it any other way). 

The eve of the Super Bowl, I was cleaning out the fridge. I had some pulled roast that was past eating, so it joined the ranks of food/containers on the kitchen counter. When it is its turn for a visit to the sink for cleaning, I paused for half a second and had the thought, "you probably shouldn't put that is the garbage disposal." Did I heed that warning? Of course not. And I clogged it. So out to the garage I stomped my march of shame to get all the tools I needed to take the pipes apart. I did find the plug of decomposing shredded beef, which exploded all over me. And yes, I did gag a glorious series of gags. Lehi came up from watching fights with Tyler and gave me a sympathetic "you poor fool" look. It was one I deserved. Lesson learned! Listen to those quiet promptings, and maybe you can avoid a plumbing disaster. 

Ranch & Jet Ski 

Lehi took the boys up for the winter ranch trip this year. We figured Maddie would have me contained to the house anyways, so I might as well stay home with the girls. Mav and Linc loved sledding down the hill and were making runs down non stop. Lincoln did get cold/whiney, but both of them did great. They crashed hard on the way home (as you can tell). 

Skates & Shakes 

Lincoln's turn for a skate date night! He did awesome. Lincoln liked to almost run on the ice--it was hilarious. He was so determined and (much to my dismay) wouldn't hold my hand. Lincoln also would "run" on the ice, grab hold of the railing to stop his fall, and fling his body underneath it often. He made the comment at one point that the skate supervisor must have electronic skates, because he could go so fast. (I made sure to let the man know Linc said that, too). Unfortunately, the hot cocoa stand wasn't there that night, so we had to improvise a bit. Lincoln decided he wanted a milkshake, so we got him a frozen hot cocoa at Twisted Sugar and I settled with a sugar cookie. I love spending some one-on-one time with my kiddos. 

Along with the snack stadium, I added some "reverse shiplap" in the halls--I love how it turned out! Brielle gave "Spiderman" (aka Venom) a bath in the sink. Maverick performed in a small play (Based on Grumpy Bird), and Ronnie & I braved the curiosity museum with all 9 kiddos (and survived). 

Quotable:

Brielle feeding me a (pretend) bread and cheese sandwich and requested I took a bite. After my pretend bite, she complimented with a praise of "Good girl!"

Sitting by Lincoln on the couch, asking him what he was going to make for dinner. Linc--" I can't! I'm sick. But I can help you!

                       Finished snack area in basement!

                                                                           First time making Loma Saltado! 

I randomly thought about this movie, and wanted to document it. Loved it as a kid. 

Mav picked out some flowers for me.