Happy Valentine’s Day

In the past, I have celebrated this by preparing a fancy meal.  Then, we all dress up.  This year, we went away this weekend, shopped, and ate out at a fancy meal.  So, Valentine’s day was simply leftovers. 

That said, there were a few highlights to this holiday. 

For most of the past couple of years (I think I missed last year…), I put a heart on each of the girl’s doors with something that I love about them.  I try to make them different from each other, but also pull from that day’s events.  So, occasionally, they are similar (like the one after we went skiing or when they helped get supper on the table).  It is a good practice for me to do before heading to bed.  (Madison on the left, Ellie on the right)

    

Also, Jeremy is always very thoughtful and gets me roses.  He has done this since our very first Valentine’s day together 16 years ago.  I realized this year that even though flowers aren’t necessarily my “thing” (I am usually more down the practical line), they represent his loyalty and thoughtfulness each year.  If he didn’t do it, I would miss them and wonder what was amiss.  He is much more thoughtful along the gift giving vein than I am usually remembering something I had said I would like and getting it for me; I usually have to straight up ask him what he would like before I go shopping.  This speaks to the fact that he does hear me when I talk and care for me.  He also gets the girls a little something, and this year, I did think of it as well.  So, we had a little celebration on the table Sunday morning – nothing extravagant… a tiny notebook, nail stickers, and chocolates to go with the card and roses. 

Our gift from the girls was cleaning up the Barbies that have invaded our basement for over a week (for Jeremy), picking up clutter around the house (for me), and preparing the dessert (for all of us).  It felt amazing to be able to sit in a room and not see “stuff” – you know what I’m talking about… just things sitting on every countertop.  It was also nice to venture to the basement and not slide boxes out of the way, tip toe around a land mine of Barbie paraphernalia, or remember to shut every door to prevent Pepper access to the tiny things. 

And the chocolate brownies with ice cream were delicious.  They baked two in heart shapes and three in other small pans.  I think we are going to head down the street to share the love with one of the heart-shaped ones today.  (A day late, but I think that’s okay.)

We have a nice long weekend.  So, today I am trying to get laundry done, bookwork started, and figure out food for the next week.  There is also snow coming down as I type with about 5-8 inches expected tonight.  I am anticipating a snow day tomorrow, which I am normally reluctant to do this early in the day.  But 5-8 inches of snow overnight… I can’t imagine that we will go to school.  I could be jinxing myself.  The weathermen could be wrong.  The snowplows could actually keep up.  And if that’s the case, it’s fine.  I have enjoyed the weekend and I am actually ready for the day tomorrow at school.  So, whatever will be will be.  Have a great week.

First Time Skiers!

We had planned on going to Columbus for a little getaway this four day weekend in February.  We only wanted to spend a little time there rather than the entire weekend.  It allows a weekend getaway without feeling overwhelmed with the stuff that you have to do when you return from any length vacation – you know what I’m talking about… unpacking, laundry, reorganizing, catching up one sleep, etc. 

We scheduled a hotel for Friday night and planned to go shopping on Saturday and maybe the Columbus Art Museum on Saturday.  The weather looked like it was going to be very cold, so we weren’t looking into any outdoor activities.  However, as the week went on, Friday looked like it would be a little warmer and more conducive to outdoor fun.  Jeremy suggested we go skiing, so we did. 

We made a reservation for 10:30 group lessons for the girls and lift tickets for us.  We got there with enough time to check in, gather all the equipment, and then put it all on. 

The girls met the rest of their little group and headed out.

Jeremy and I headed back in to get our equipment and try to get a run in before they finished their lessons.  We took a lift up to a blue run.  I dropped off the lift like a rocket and was surprised by two things: 1) I felt like I had no idea how to ski, and 2) The blue slope was steeper than I imagined.  While Jeremy could have probably raced down the slope pretty quickly, I slowly meandered with a severe snowplow to prevent falling – which I successfully managed to do. 

We checked on the girls when we got to the bottom.  They seemed to be making progress on the small bunny hill.  Their group took moved to the bigger bunny hill where Madison went with the group, but Ellie spied us and lost her courage.  Madison came barreling down the hill, lost control, and tumbled.  She was not hurt, just scared from the feeling of being out of control.  I empathized with that feeling because I have felt it many times while skiing. 

We took a break to get some water and food.  Ellie was VERY excited because the special of the day was ribs – her favorite!  Jeremy got chili; Madison and I each got a cheeseburger.

    

We headed back to the baby slope to recover from Madison’s fright.  Then, suddenly, Ellie said she wanted to go the bigger bunny hill.  Jeremy took her; I stayed with Madison a few more times before she headed over there as well.  We worked on maneuvering back and forth on the hill rather than straight down. 

Soon, Madison decided she wanted to take the beginner’s lift up to the top of the green slope and try it out.  Ellie opted out.  She and Jeremy continued to work on her skills between the baby bunny and bigger bunny hills. 

The first time off the lift, Madison fell.  The second time, we unloaded successfully.  The third time, there was a fall in front of us, and the lift operator stopped us a bit late and left us hanging slightly above and beyond the ramp off the lift.  I managed to lower myself the couple inches and then helped lift Madison down.  It was a bit dramatic.  The fourth time, we made it without a hitch.  Always an adventure. 

     

She got better every time we went down – better at falling gently, better at getting up, and better at turning.  It was neat to see her confidence build.

Ellie continued to hone her skills as well.  She decided she wanted to hike a bit up the slope to take it down without being as high as the mid-sized bunny slope was.  Unfortunately, while she waited for Jeremy to meet her to take her down the hill, she slowly slid backward into the snow fence and was a bit tangled up.  Thankfully, Jeremy was able to untangle her, and they headed down.  They then realized they could take this diagonal slant down the hill by using the magic carpet.  They did that for a couple runs, before Ellie felt comfortable in her skis and just headed full force straight down that slope.  I am pretty sure she outran me down it – and in control.  She felt more confident as well.

We skied until about 5 o’clock.  The weather was perfect.  The day was fun.  And by the end, the girls decided skiing was as fun as we said it would be.

From there, we headed to our hotel in Columbus.  On our travels there, we were mesmerized by the sky; the beauty of the clouds and the colors was breathtaking. 

We grabbed some Papa John’s pizza, a salad and chips from Kroger, and allowed our tired bodies to relax in our room.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast before heading to our reserved pool time from 9-10am.  The pool probably would have been all they needed.  This is one of their favorite things about going to hotels – the pool.  It is not usually my favorite, but I braved the lukewarm water and joined them for a game of water tag and swimming.

    

Next stop, Easton to go shopping.  They had some birthday/Christmas money to spend, so they were armed and ready for the day.

First the American Girl store.  We browsed and saw all the things from the catalog.  Finally, they settled on a few things.  Madison went with an ear piercing for her Blaire doll, a pic, and a pair of navy glasses.  Ellie decided to just do the ear piercing.  She had her eye on Build-a-Bear which she spotted from the back of the store. 

         

We went first to the Lego store.  There was a very short line to enter (only 12 people were allowed in the store at a time).  The girls both chose a small Lego set.  Jeremy went to The Cheesecake Factory to make a reservation while we perused Legos.  With over an hour estimated wait for food, we headed to Build-a-Bear.  There was a line with about 6 groups ahead of us (only 16 people allowed at a time here).  So, Ellie and I w..a..i..t..e..d to go in.  We sent Jeremy and Madison to explore Barnes and Noble.  As we made it to the very front of the line, we got a text that our table was ready!  So, Jeremy and Madison went to sit at the table and wait for us.  Ellie made a very quick decision to get a Burmese Mountain dog as her choice.  Oh man, did she love it from the start!

    

We feasted on our meal at Cheesecake Factory; it was about 2:30 by the time we ate!  We even indulged in two shared pieces of cheesecake at the end – key lime and white chocolate raspberry truffle.  By the end, we were bursting at the seams. 

    

We walked it off at Barnes and Noble and a short stop to IKEA before heading home – happy, but tired. 

My parents had graciously watched Pepper.  He was spoiled and (fairly) well-behaved from the sounds of it.  They made our return easy by having him home and waiting for us. 

    

We all crashed early and are currently recovering from all the fun.

Super Bowl and Other Things

In year’s past, we have enjoyed the Super Bowl with the youth group or the Rohrs.  Seldom have we had a “only us” Super Bowl.  Well, with the COVID stuff going on, we weren’t having any big parties, especially in our small-ish house.  So, we made the best with what we had to work with..  We invited Gloria over to make it more worth making food and to have a least one fun person to party with. 

Sunday after church the prepping began.  Ellie wanted to participate and make quite a few things, so she was hard at work in the afternoon as well.  We had homemade meatballs, buffalo style wings (cooked in my air fryer… long story I haven’t really told here on the blog yet), and empanadas prepped by Ellie.  For our sides we feasted on cheesy potatoes and a salad.  Dessert: Buckeye cookies – a peanut butter filled chocolate cookie. 

    

The game was the KC Chiefs vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  It was hyped as the game of the season.  It was good, but things just weren’t going in the Chiefs favor, and by about halftime it was clear that Tom Brady was going to get another ring.  The girls reluctantly headed to bed since we had school the next day.  It was a tasty night, but I missed the people.

We went the weekend prior to Sophie’s 18th birthday party at her house.  It was so good to celebrate with her.  She has grown up so much and I cannot believe that she will be off to college next year.  She is beautiful inside and outside.  I always think she demonstrates such calm and kindness.  Her easy going smile makes her easy to be with as well.  I am sure she has moments of irritation and anger, just like the rest of us, but generally, she seems to just enjoy life.

While we were there, Megan and Ellie had a little fun being silly with Meg’s Christmas gift.

Other fun pictures… mostly of Pepper inhabiting our home in his passive aggressive way… or maybe really needy, jealous way. 

              

Ice Skating

Waaaay back in January we had a four day weekend.  We had thought about going skiing, but since it was threatening rain on the day we were going to go, we opted out.  Instead, we discovered an outdoor ice skating rink in downtown Canton.  It was not pristine.  It did not have the most comfortable skates.  But it did provide ice, a close place to skate, and a fun time for a couple hours. 

The girls progressed from safety cones….

    

to the wall, and eventually hands free skating. 

    

It was a good family day.