Happy Birthday Fisher Dan!

I love, love, love, love this little boy. Fisher turned four on February 25th. He has been looking forward to and counting down the days to his birthday for months. So, there was a definitely an expectation to live up to.

He started out the day with a donut breakfast. Then he went out to lunch and birthday shopping with Grandma Ross. After naps, we geared up for our pirate-themed birthday party at Pirate Island. Unfortunately, he was so excited for Pirate Island, he went running in so fast, he tripped and fell, and completely scraped up his nose on the street. It was a pretty bloody and traumatic injury for the little guy, but perfectly suited for a pirate, I guess!

After all that, we went back for pirate birthday cake, ice cream, and presents at our house. Grandma and Grandpa Ross, all the Hansens, Brint and Natalie's whole family, Jameson and Jeffrey, Tiffany, and one of Fisher's little friends were all in attendance. Fisher defintely reveled in all the attention and had a wonderful day.

Fisher got a bike for his birthday that he has been riding in loops around the house since then. He totally loves it and can't wait for spring to come to test it out on the road!

President's Day Weekend

Jameson and I were in charge of Jeffrey while our parents were away on a Carribean cruise over President's Day weekend. We decided the best thing to satisfy Jeffrey's endless nagging for adventure was to escape to Idaho! And, of course, my kids' nagging provided a fair amount of motivation too.

We had a great weekend because Megan and Tiffany went home too. We went out to dinner, swam a lot, and just had fun hanging out together. One of supreme highlights for my kids is the opportunity to test their hands at driving around on the back roads.

Fisher and Quincy have sensitive eyes in the sunlight and complain about it often. So they borrowed mommy and daddy's sunglasses the whole way home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day offers a flood of memories for me, good, bad, and all the way in between. As a kid, it was all excitement with the exchanging of valentine's, the making of an original mailbox, the rush of candy.

During the adolescent and college years, it became known as Single Awareness Day. But actually, my friends and I always made light of that by dressing up in formals and going out to dinner, pretending to have been stood up by our dates. Why did we do that? Who knows, but we garnered a lot of pity and a free dessert or two!

Valentine's Day 1995 was my first date ever. It will go down in the books as one of the most catastrophic and horrific dates of all time. But it definitely makes for a good story and one that is hilarious to share.

On Valentine's Day 1997, Dan and I were each dumped (probably within hours of each other) by our respective girlfriend and boyfriend. Though sad at the time, it was the beginning of us. Months later, in a conversation about those very break-ups, Dan and I started an interest in each other. And the rest is history!

Since marriage and kids, Valentine's has become a family holiday. Dan and I always go out some time that week, but we usually spend the actual day having dinner with our kids and exchanging small gifts. And I wouldn't have it any other way! This year, I had my parents, brothers, and Tiffany down for dinner as well. It was a great day.

Goodbye Old Friend

This was my hair two weeks ago. It was super long. The longest it's ever been in my life. But it was driving me nuts. Although all the men in my life loved it, I couldn't stomach another day of it. I guess it's become a symbol too. I haven't cut it since the day we found out that our business was heading into a downward spiral three years ago. But it's time to move on. Time to move forward, right? So off goes the hair! (Don't worry, it's still past my shoulders.)