Love Month Happenings

I'm playing catch up for the last half of love month. Here are a few pictures of our families activities.

Our traditional Valentine's Day Heart Shaped Pizza dinner

Trevor and his BIG Valentines Card (his card was big, but the card he gave me had a Maurices gift card in it:)

I got a $30 gift certificate from Benihans for my birthday, so Trevor and I decided to take the whole family for a birthday dinner (the kids meals cost less than a babysitter).

We told the boys we were going to dinner where there were food Ninjas cooking right in front of us. All the children did fantastic. They loved the food show. Amelia would squeal every time the chef put food on her plate and called her princess.

Amelia and the boys used their kid chop sticks the whole time. Amelia screamed when they brought her a Shirley Temple with a little pink umbrella by the straw.

After my birthday celebrations in Vancouver the kids and I went up to Olympia for the rest of the weekend to hear Grandma and Grandpa's talks on Sunday (they did a fantastic job:). Grandma made me an angel food cake.

Trevor's work got us box seats for the Globtrotters. We took the boys and went for my birthday.

Singing Happy Birthday with the kids

Trevor and I at a Blazers Game for one of our Love Month Dates

The boys got to choose one item at Target when I came across a 90% off Valentine aisle. They both chose stuffed animals. I paid fifty cents for them. I got an entire set of heart shaped plates, bowls and cups for nineteen cents each. I've never hit an after holiday sale that good before. I stocked up on decorations and Valentines for next year. The goggles were new for swimming lessons so they were playing pilots with the goggles.

The last day of Love Month I wrote memories on the back of pictures and hung them from balloons. Trevor loved it. So did the kids.

Valentines Dance Party

Every year our Stake puts on a couples dance around Valentines Day. This year they canceled it. My friend Holly and I were so disappointed we decided to have our own dance. So Holly made a play list, Heidi created invitations, a few other friends helped set up and we had our dance. There were about 30 friends from our ward there. We had it at our building. It was an unofficial ward activity. Trevor and I danced the entire 3 hrs. We had tables set up for games for couples who didn't want to dance the entire time. We even set up a place for couple pictures. It was such a success we are planning on doing an 80's dance in the Spring.

This was our special picture place:0

King and Queen of the dance

A little of the decor

Trevor getting his groove on

I think this was a superhero song of sorts. Not quite sure what the boys are doing.

A Black Eye and a Loose Tooth

Amelia nailed my eye with her forehead 20 minutes before church a few weeks ago. I had this weird feeling my eye was filling up with fluid and sure enough it was. I took one look in the mirror and thought of the Rocky episode where Rocky tells his trainer to cut him because he can't see out of his swollen eye. I immediately iced it while feeding the kids breakfast. Trevor was in early morning meetings, so I didn't have any help getting to church. Surprisingly enough, we made it on time.
This is actually a really mild picture of my eye. I wish I would have taken a picture a few days later because it was a total black eye, even underneath.

TJ lost his first tooth Wednesday at playgroup. He was eating a pear. We couldn't find the tooth anywhere, and then my friend Ellen suggested looking at the pear. Sure enough, there it was. What a great moment for him and me. The tooth fairy came that night and left him some money, which he spent the next day on a spider man watch from the dollar store (which is working great for a dollar watch).

January Wedding in Salt Lake

We enjoyed a quick trip to Salt Lake for Matt and Tori's wedding at the beginning of January. We got back from our 10 day, Christmas trip to Olympia on Sunday, and left for Salt Lake on Wednesday. It was a little bit of a tornado, and probably would have been easier to leave the kids in Olympia with my parents, but we didn't want them to miss out on seeing Grandma Andrea and Papa Tom back from Hungary. It was such a treat for the kids (and us) to spend time with their grandparents.

Seeing Matt and Tori in the sealing room in the Salt Lake Temple, made all the craziness of the trip worth it. What a fantastic girl Matt found. They just glowed together the entire day. I'm so thankful we were there.

Matt and Tori with the nieces and nephews

I just love this picture! Matt's wedding is one of the many beautiful blessings of having parents serving in the mission field.

No snow, but very cold. Amelia lost it after this picture and cried all the way back to the hotel room saying, "go home, go home" over and over again.

Back at our hotel you can still see the tears in Amelia's eyes from her melt down.

A little happier playing with my bouquet at the reception.

Simon and Russell eating their cheese cake and wedding mints:)

The brothers working on the car.

Next morning in the parking lot of In-N-Out

At the church doing our family Christmas gift exchange.

The boys playing with their Hungarian puppets.

At the Bean Science Museum at BYU

Our last night we spent with Chelsea and Spencer (thanks a million for the room and car). Carson, Jenna and Court came and visited us in the morning before Chelsea drove us to the airport.

Thumbs up to Court for reading Russell's Star Wars encyclopedia for at least 45 minutes.

Just outside the temple, waiting for Matt and Tori to come out.

Olympia Christmas

We spent Christmas in Olympia with family. It was a little quieter than Thanksgiving:) but we missed having the entire family home. We were grateful to see so much of Carson and Jenna. We were glad Beth, Wes and Oliver came Christmas day to spend the rest of the week with us. We spent a few of those days out at the beach house and enjoyed the new pool there.

We made Gingerbread houses with Grandma and Jenna (can you spot Santa?)

This is just easier:)

Making Gingerbread girls with Grandma

Believe it or not this was Christmas Eve (granted the boys had been running around a lot).

Santa's Christmas Eve visit

The Nativity Story

Christmas Morning

The Darth Vader flashlight key chain is Trevor's gift not Russells:)

Papa and Amelia playing Christmas carols (or princess songs)

Out at the Beach House