Feelin' the Love

It's the month of paper hearts and all things sweet.

 Quinn and Elsie were excited about getting their Valentine's cards ready for classmates.  

 Watching them reminded me of the strategy involved in giving just the right cards to the right people.

It was Anna's final year of receiving traditional classmate Valentine's.  Of course, it's the beginning of receiving other Valentine's - just ask Jantzen.  I practically had to beg for a bite of his giant Reese's Chocolate Heart some girl gave him.  And I found out about the Kiss-O-Gram (Hershey kiss taped to a card) he received from a secret admirer from his teacher during Parent-Teacher Conferences this past week.

 Our mornings can be rather busy with work-outs, basketball practices, piano lessons, etc. before school.  It was nice to find this breakfast smoothie in the fridge from Aaron with a note one morning.

Yep, we busted out our "Jar of Love" once again.  The younger children happily drew slips of paper out and worked to complete a "love task" during the day.

  "Heart Attacks" on bedroom doors became very popular.

 Decorating is easy thanks to the Dollar Store in town.

 We always get our money's worth from the window clings.

 For many, it was a party day on Friday the 13th - no school!

 Greta (cousin) celebrated her 5th birthday.

 And in case the kids didn't receive enough sweet treats from their class parties the day before, there was plenty of candy in this birthday piñata.  Yikes!

 Apparently, Jantzen's wrist is healing nicely because it didn't stop him from taking a few swings.  

Transitioning to wearing a brace now instead of the soft cast - he's feeling the 'freedom'.

 In fact, I was totally shocked to learn that Jantzen had signed up to play "Lightning" during half-time at the final MHS basketball game of the season on Friday evening.

 Cool as a cucumber, he went up against four of his fellow teammates in front of a packed crowd and won the contest!  Hooray Jantzen!

 Jantzen - holding his 'loot bag' 

As I mentioned, Friday was a party day for most.  But not for Tanner.  He had all four wisdom teeth removed and one tooth was vertical under the gum line (ugh). The good news is that he had other dental work done while he was sedated cutting down on extra appointments.  The bad news is that he had his mouth open for hours (!) and has been quite sore.  The best part of Friday for him was probably the fact that we have a Jamba Juice in town:).

By Saturday afternoon, he felt well enough to work on a history paper and found a clever way to keep ice packs in place while multi-tasking.  Needless to say, he chose not to be a part of our Saturday morning festivities as he preferred a little R&R instead.

 We had such a late night on Friday (parties, movies, basketball games, etc.) that I thought I'd end up decorating for our Valentine's breakfast.  After meeting my neighbor (Wendy) for a Saturday morning walk at 6:30am, I planned get the job done. However, as I returned home, Brinley and Anna were up early just so they could do the job.  Nice.

 Anna added this little twist.  A race down the stairs?  

 This particular tradition has become very important to our crew.

They are serious about their donut.  Even Tanner found a way to eventually eat his:). 

Aaron and I noticed how much the verbiage has changed on the candy conversation hearts while listening to the children read/eat theirs.  Interesting.

Aislyn and Elsie - delivering neighborhood pizzas incognito

After spending the rest of Saturday getting ready for Sunday (doing chores/laundry, taking kids to clean HCP, arranging/transporting for playdates and basketball, prepping for primary sharing time), Aaron and I enjoyed a Valentine date night dinner (Costa Vida) and at-home (Redbox) movie, "The Good Lie".  It's definitely one of those shows that helps keep life in perspective and reminds how blessed a people we are.

Today Anna played a beautiful piano duet medley with me in sacrament meeting - "I Feel My Savior's Love" and "A Child's Prayer".  Jantzen was called and set apart as 1st counselor in the Deacon's Quorum.  Aaron had a speaking assignment in another ward and we'll be attending a Stake Fireside in a few hours.  We've been feeling the love lately especially with the crazy-warm weather we've been having.