valentine's day

so my valentine's day decor consisted of:

1. the red wall in my great room

so on saturday i took the kids and we went to look for a few things. surprisingly, there's not much out there for the day of love as far as home decor. it's mostly cheesy things to buy for your loved one.

after lots of hunting, and a side trip to cache honda yamaha to check out the dirt bikes, we came home with a couple fun things. here's our entry way and the shelf in the great room.

winter

i just need to say that i am officially done with winter. just wanted to let everyone know.

shiny teeth

we all headed to the dentist this morn for our checkups. kids did great, nobody had any cavities, but i heard dr. s tell cameron "k dude, you HAVE to brush your teeth twice every day, ok? before you go to school, AND before you go to bed" to which cam replied "yeah i know, i usually just don't brush them at all." sheesh.

so with new toothbrushes in hand, we left the dentist's office. i started kiddin around with cam, telling him we'd have to resurrect the old sticker charts we used to use for potty training, chores, and the like. he goes "hey yeah!! let's go get some stickers!" hhahhah!

so we did. hey, whatever works right? here's our new stickers....stay tuned for our next checkup to see if they actually work! i think kids are so funny. a little motivation and positive reinforcement goes such a long way.

bedtime

bedtime is my favorite time of day. it used to be because by the end of the day, i was kinda ready for everyone to leave me alone, but now it's different. we do the normal "bedtime" stuff, brush teeth, read a story, say our prayers.

then i tuck in lizzie first, cuz she usually takes a couple times, tuck in emily, and head to cam's room. i tuck him into his blankets, and i always kiss him. i always say "nite dude, love you" and "see you in the morning".

then i sneak back to the girls' room. emily and i have a new little nighttime routine. i sit on her bed and brush her hair back across her pillows. we whisper about 2nd grade events, talk about the next day, whatever.

what is said is not important. what is important is that i really resisted this for a while.....she would ask me to lay by her.. and i'd think of ALL the things i had to get done before i got to go to bed. the dishes! the laundry! the list making for tomorrow! the bathrooms! pick up!!

and then one night i IGNORED the little voice that said "you have stuff to do!!" and i sat on her bed. and i brushed her hair. and we talked about nothing important. and guess what? it was precious. it was calming. it was priceless. it was wonderful. now i look forward to it every night. i love her so much. how lucky am i?

lizzie and the camera

to combat boredom while waiting for me at dance, lizzie took out the camera. these are the shots she took. always amazes me how things look from her perspective. ok, the garbage one is kinda gross, but check out the windows in the bullen center where we dance! not bad for a novice photographer who's knee high. :)

hot springs

ok how long has it been since you went to crystal hot springs?? for me, i'd say about.....um...since i was in high school probably! we went over on monday when the kids were out of school. once you get past the initial "yuck" factor (of the locker rooms, the green water, and the old guys in small suits....) it's actually pretty nice. kids had a ball, and the warm water felt great in the cool outside air. the kids even braved the slide, which had a splashdown pool at about -45 degrees. :) a definite recommend. plus the whole fam gets in for only 12 bucks if you go for family nite! bargain!

kyle

we had little kyle over for a few hours on monday. we loved having him here! such a cute boy. liz really liked having someone to play with, she was sad when we laid him down for a nap and kept "checking" on him. :) probably why he didn't sleep long.....