No week should start until Tuesday

I love President's Day! It came just in time this year. We were getting a little stir-crazy with all the rain & wind & snow, when suprise! A beautiful sunny Monday morning with no school, no work, and no plans!

Matthew & I (& Henry) hiked up and over the hill/mountain behind our house. Views from north to south:

Valentine's Day was a total bust this year (not that I mind!), because the kids were so sick, so it was nice to go out with my Valentine.

Come back soon for this girl's birthday post:

Mom you left your camera at my house

(So, I only wrote that last post to see if I actually have any readers...)

Since Valentine's Day was on Sunday this year, we got to celebrate it all weekend long. We even got Monday off to prolong the most wonderful time of the year. When I noticed the American flag in my front yard this morning, I wondered why the scouts set up the flags for Valentine's Day. Oh, yeah, Presidents Day. Poor Lincoln & Washington were totally upstaged this year by cupid. Except that they weren't really, because we don't actually celebrate Valentine's Day at our house. When I grow up I want to celebrate it like Jamie, but I'm not there yet. The girls had fun parties at school at least. However, they are in trouble because they didn't bring any candy home for me. Why do they think I buy candy for their classmates if not so I get a return? Matthew didn't bring me any goodies either. Isn't that one of the perks of being a teacher? Summer's off & candy on Feb. 14th? Or at least a new mug! Counselors are so under appreciated these days.

Friday night I dragged my husband to the Ward Valentine's Day Dance. I had a great time dancing with the best-looking guy there. This guy though, after wooing me at Ricks College by taking a social dance class with me and taking me to numerous dances during our courtship, now informs me that he doesn't like dancing. After ten years the magic is gone & the truth comes out. Humph. Maybe it was the nearly professional ballroom dancer in our ward who told him, if you can count, you can dance. I promise, Matthew can count. Dance? Well, that would take a few more lessons at ward dances & I don't think my odds are very good that I could get him to attend another one. Ever again. Daughters of mine, if you want to dance with your dad at your weddings, you'd better start working on him now. I'm giving up. We did get to play the Newly-Wed game there and only lost by one point. (Pretty good for us - we know each other well, really! We just don't know the typical Newly-Wed stuff like what color are your spouse's eyes?) He got the most important question right, What is your wife's favorite date-night activity? Guess what? It's not dancing! It's hiking.

Which brings me to Saturday morning.

We left our four children in the care of two very trustworthy young women (you better believe I take advantage of my calling in YW's to get the best babysitters!) and drove to Zion National Park to try out a hike we hadn't been on before. It was a beautiful sunny day. There was still snow up on Checkerboard Mesa and the views were incredible. There is no where I'd rather be and no one I'd rather be with. It was the perfect Valentine's Day date. I'm so lucky to have found someone who has the same idea of romance. (& he's lucky because I don't want roses!) My mom came to visit Saturday and Sunday. It was so nice to have here around for the weekend. Henry was all smiles for her and the girls were in heaven as they always are around their grandma. Thanks for coming Ma, it was such a nice weekend. Too short as always.

Sunday evening, after we were finally home from all our church meetings, David & Jena & their friends came over for dinner. I had grand ideas for a Valentine's Day feast, but settled on a heart healthy meal of fish and rice and veggies. I did throw some heart confetti on the table and used my Love table runner from Jamie and the girls had new Valentine's Day plastic cups from Matthew's mom, so everyone was happy, and I got away with being a heart day slacker for at least another year.

We went to Pioneer Park today and let the girls explore and climb on the rocks and soak up the sun. Did I mention the sun is back?!? Oh, how I love living where I do. Spring in February is my kind of weather.

Trying to be better about posting more pictures of my happy, growing, cute, mellow, all-night-sleeping baby boy:

Happy Healthy Heart Day

Have I mentioned that I love Bethany's 2nd grade teacher? (Yes.) To celebrate Valentine's Day, she designated this week as Healthy Heart week. Her class focused on healthy eating habits & the importance of exercise. For their class party today, she asked the parents not to bring candy. "Our country has a growing problem of obesity and heart disease. At a young age we can learn how to protect our heart and keep it healthy! The kids are more than welcome to make or bring valentines for each kid in the class Friday. However, please send only healthy treats or none at all. We can learn to appreciate people's kind words and keep our heart healthy at the same time." Amen sister. Here's what my girls took to school today:

I got Gwen's valentines here. Cute huh? She colored them herself. She's not my perfectionist girl, she's my get-it-done girl. Catherine actually colors better than she does. All I care about is there's not a commercialized, sexualized princess or fairy in sight. (Not that I have the integrity to never spend money on or allow that stuff in my house. I just occasionally get on a feminist self-righteous soapbox.)

Bethany's:

Have a happy & healthy heart day today!

Be my Valentine

My girls are really getting into the spirit of Valentine's Day. Me, I've never felt very strongly about Heart Day. It was fun in grade school, there were lots of cards & candy, but it was also stressful. I remember my 5th grade teacher telling us that we had to bring Valentine's for every kid in the class. That was fine except for one boy in the class, David. I could not take the chance of him (or anyone else in my class) thinking I actually liked him by giving him a Valentine. It didn't matter that everyone in the class had to give him one and he had to get one for everyone else. I was in 5th grade. I couldn't think that far outside myself. I spent the evening of February 13th meticulously going through my box of valentines and choosing just the right card for each member of my class. I passed over David's name a few times, but I finally finished all the other children and had to pick one for him. You're the apple of my eye. Um, no. I love you. Ew, definitely not. Let's be friends. No thank you. We make a great pair. I'd rather die than tell him that. Or, more importantly, have anyone find out that I told him that. I'd go out on a limb for you. Maybe. This one had potential. There were no hearts, no holding hands, just a picture of a Toucan. It just might work. I took a pen, added a few letters and the obligatory to: David, from: Emily and put it in the envelope. When he opened it the next day he would read, I wouldn't go out on a limb for you.

I am not proud of this story. It pretty much makes me sick to think about how this boy, with few friends anyway, would feel opening such a card on Valentine's Day, the one day of the year where everyone in the class had to be nice to him. He should have had a classroom full of friends that day, but I was afraid to let him even think that I liked him. I did not want to be his friend. Years went by before I considered his feelings. I had moved a few times before I realized how cruel that was. Ugh. I wish that I was telling this horrible story about someone else and not me. I still feel badly about it. I have been relieved to learn as a mother that now kids take Valentines to school with their name only on them, so they can pass them out quickly. My daughters, however, are not following that rule. They're personalizing their Valentines. Here's a conversation I had with Gwen yesterday:

Gwen: Mom, I have another friend that I like better than Emily.

(I don't know whether to be worried, shocked, or relieved, Gwen and Emily are inseparable and it's not always a good thing. You know how little girls can be.)

Me: Oh? Who's that?

Gwen: Seth.

(Oh! It's a boy!)

Gwen: Today he gave me a lot of smiles & I gave him smiles.

They are not in the same class, but apparently they smile at each other while waiting for the bus after school. Gwen told me, "It all started one day when I gave him a smile and he gave me a smile back. And that's how he became my best friend."

Then she asked me how to spell Seth, so she could give him the heart she made in art class.

Gwen's Valentine for Seth

Detail of Gwen's Valentine. She attempted to hide this lovey-dovey detail by awkwardly holding this corner of the picture when she showed it to me. Gwen & Seth, sitting in a heart.

Bethany has been working on a few special Valentines as well. The first one she made was for a boy in her class named Jessie who has glasses. It says, "When I was looking for a friend, I found you." The two o's in looking are eyeglasses. I'm not sure if she has special feelings for Jessie or if she just recognized the creative possibilities of his shortsightedness.

At least none of them wrote, I wouldn't go out on a limb for you.