Valentine's Day with a Twist

Valentine's Day started out with a bang...I woke up to beautiful tulips in a vase with an extremely thoughtful card, then I had to dress, feed, and drop off the three younger kiddos to a babysitter and have batter and all the stuff you need to make pancakes over to Max's school by 8:45 a.m.  A few other moms and I made a pancake breakfast for Max's class as well as the other 1st grade class.  It was fun!  I love the kids in Max's class and I love being "Max's mom". "Hi, Max's mom!" "Thank you, Max's mom!" Adorable.

We had spent many an hour on his Valentine mailbox...not because we wanted it to rock, but because we got a little caught up in the art and excitement of it.  Max thought it was the coolest thing he'd ever seen/been a part of.  It is on his bed as I type this {on March 1st}.  They took them to school the day before V-Day and he came home and said, "Nobody paid any attention to anyone else's mailbox...only mine!  I was like, don't you want to look at anyone else's mailbox?!"  So he was proud of it too. :)

 

I don't remember what I did the rest of the day, but I remember it being really busy.  At some point I made some bacon and DIPPED IT IN CHOCOLATE for Ty's Valentine's Day present {we aren't big on big gifts for this holiday}.  I knew it would rock his world and he totally wouldn't expect it.  I was excited to give it to him.

Ty had planned for several weeks that we would actually go out to dinner on Valentine's Day.  We usually forego due to the crowds and do our Valentine date a different night.  But he made reservations at Whiskey Creek Steakhouse and said that it would be fun to go out ON Valentine's Day for a change.

We had a romantic dinner, I gave him the bacon and ROCKED his world {it really was delicious, but I could only handle a little bit of it.}  We decided beforehand that we would just do dinner since it was a school night for Max and for our babysitter.  During dinner I got a text I didn't pay attention to, but Ty asked, "Who's that text from?"  So I glanced at it and said, "Oh, just my dad sending pictures of Adri's kids.  He's babysitting them tonight." {Little did I know...}  A little after 7:00 Ty seemed kind of anxious to get home, but I told him to chill and enjoy.

Well, we did head out a little after that.  When we got home, we walked in the door to some excited kids.  There was a HUGE mylar Valentine balloon in the family room and the kids are yelling, "Grammy and Papa gave that to us!"  My mom has said that she was sending a Valentine package and I thought, "So weird.  Why would she send such a huge balloon?  That must have been a really big box!"  My next thought {this was all in a matter of seconds} was, "Why isn't Sandra {our babysitter} standing up to say hello?"  So I walk a few steps toward the family room to say hi to her annnnd....

THERE ARE MY PARENTS!  In my family room!  They live in Vegas, I just talked to them the day before...and they are in my family room!!!  What?!  I was s-h-o-c-k-e-d.  I jumped up and down, I probably hit them a few times amidst hugs and questions.  Turns out, they had flown in the day before, stayed in a hotel in Bellevue, went to the Seattle Temple, shopped, and then headed our way for the surprise!  Ty was in on the whole thing, and so was our babysitter, but the kids and I were totally shocked.  It was SO fun!  And because I didn't know that they were coming, I didn't have to do any cleaning/prep to get ready...it was nice to just have them here and to not have anything planned.

After we had settled in with the surprise, Tyler sat me on a chair and serenaded me with the song L-O-V-E (Nat King Cole).  It was thoughtful and oh-so-sweet.  The kids ate it up!  Perfect Valentine's Day gift.

We enjoyed an unseasonably warm day the next day and spent a good chunk of it at the park.  My parents did some babysitting for us, we cooked, we hung out, my mom and I worked out at the Y and did a little shopping, we watched home movies, Tyler and I went on a date, we had dance parties...it was super fun! We celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary {which was that Sunday} by sending them off to try and catch the sunset {fail} and while they were gone, the kids made a sign, we lit candles all over the family room, Ty made a playlist of love songs from the late 70's, and when they got home we had a dance.  My dad isn't big on dancing, but he was a good sport. I found out that my parents have a song, which I didn't know, and so Ty quickly found that song and they danced to it.  It was really fun and sweet {Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson}.  I love my parents!

The last day they were here, we went to the Naval Undersea Museum, which we never get tired of.  It was a good time.

 

I love surprises and this was such a great one!  Thanks, Mama and Daddy for coming!  It was perfect.

This n' That

Catchin' up!  And off we go...

Ty has Young Men's on Tuesday nights so this particular night I put Biggest Loser on in the background because...well...those nights can sometimes feel tiring and I'd had a really busy day and wanted to be entertained.  Max was inspired and decided that we should do Biggest Loser in our living room.  Brother was hard core.  He had me jumping up on the couch 100x's {he only had to do 10 and the littler kids got to step up on a stool}, we did bear crawls across the living room, leg lifts, crunches...I seriously worked up a sweat.  At some point Kelly had to put on her 'exercise hat' and so they all decided to don BYU head gear {not to be confused with head gear of the orthodontic variety}.  It was not the relaxing television viewing I had envisioned...it was SO much better.  And cute.

Our baby boy has the most chubby, delicious thighs.  You wouldn't know it to look at him dressed and so it makes my heart especially happy when I see them.  Although, you can't see them in this picture.  I will try to get a picture of them soon before he crawls/walks the chubbiness off.

His little face is pretty darn cute too.  And he thinks he is preeetty funny.  He does more things to get a laugh than I remember my other kids doing at his age.

I was typing a paper for my online class one afternoon and I thought that I could totally submit this picture to my professor, professing that my baby had eaten my homework. :)

I really like Everett D.  He was sick when I took this picture and we'd been sitting on the couch with him telling me a hundred knock-knock jokes/stories "Knock, knock."  "Who's there?" "Chin." "Chin who?"  "One day, chin went walking down the street, and he got SMASHED by a CAR!...."  It was a highly entertaining afternoon.  Brother was sick for two weeks, turned out.  'Twas awful.

We bought Max a Patriots football costume on eBay when he was three...because it was $16 {or something} and we weren't about to shell out $50 for a three-year-old Halloween costume.  We had no idea that would lead to a legit fanship.  The devastation was palpable on Superbowl Sunday, especially since Tyler and I were rooting against the Patriots {though we started cheering for them in the final minutes to help ease the pain we knew was coming}

These kids have some moves.  This was at the close of a hard-core dance party.

Max's dream in life is to be a BYU football player.  He told me that he's glad he's so skinny because it will give him more of a chance to be a wide receiver someday.  His poses kill me.

Tuck Man is venturing into the wonderful world of walking.  He stiffens his legs when we try to set him on his booty and wants us to walk him around holding onto our fingers.  Man, it goes so fast.

Max spent a few hours outside in nary a coat in 38 degree weather, shooting hoops.  The reason behind no coat?  He wanted "everyone" to see his uniform...because, you know, we have people flocking to our backyard to see him ball it up.  No really, we do!  They are just in his cute little imagination.  Maybe if the BYU football thing doesn't work out, he can go for basketball.  That is, if the fact that his mom is a shrimp doesn't hurt his chances too much.

I like when Everett dresses himself.

My best {and worst} motherly advice is to give your babe a metal bowl and spoon to entertain themselves while you're making dinner.

When Max was a babe I NEVER thought I would take my kids to germ-infested play areas.  Now I gross out internally for a moment, say "meh" and let them have at it.

One night Max asked what we were having for dinner and I said that I wasn't going to make anything because I didn't feel like it {partial truth..I really didn't feel like it} and that he would have to make dinner.  He said, "Nooooo....okay!  I'll make dinner!"  We had turkey sandwiches {though Tyler pimped a few of them up just a bit}  It was super sweet and he was so proud of himself.

Everett D came down the stairs groaning loudly {totally gets that from me}. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I'm mad at my shirt!" He couldn't get the darn thing straightened out. I helped the brotha out and he happily went on his way. I wish these were the kinds of problems I get to fix forever.

Ty and Max headed to Portland to catch a BYU basketball game.  Max got to give high-fives to most of his favorite players AND his hero, Owen Lewis {and his family} went with them.  Dreams came true that night.  I'm totally behind the genius of the defense - d-fence - signs, thankyouverymuch.  Me and a million people in America who attend sporting events, which is where I got the idea.

Oh, Kelly Anne

Where has the time gone?

2008...

2009...

2010...

2011... 

It is hard for this mama to believe that you are FIVE, Kelly!  I kind of hate it.  But I love you.  I love the extremely good person you are. 

I love listening to you sing all.day.long.  You have a really sweet, pretty singing voice.  

 I love that you are an introvert and retreat to solitude a couple of times a day.

 I love that you draw "machines" instead of flowers, houses, or people like most other girls your age.

I love that you care how I do your hair, that you want to wear jewelry and have your toenails painted, that you sneak my bright red lipstick every now and again.

I love that you bargained and plead and stuck to your guns on getting your ears pierced.

I love that you've taught yourself how to read because it is totally how you do things - you are a thinker and a doer, but you don't make a big fuss about it.  You would rather perform for yourself in a mirror than be in front of anyone most of the time.

  I love that you have motherly instincts and are such a big help with Tucker {and Everett too.}

 You are girly {sooooo girly} but also pretty tough.

You have a difficult time being reprimanded - ever - but I especially know to not do it in front of others.  You take seriously any correction that you receive and are very diligent about being better.

You have the most beautiful smile, Kelly Anne, and I love the twinkle you get in your eye when you are especially excited about something.  You are a great planner and very decisive; Dad and I both love the dates you plan with us.

 You are smart with your money {you get that from your daddy}

I love the little notes and drawings you are constantly doing for me; I love that you trace your hand on those notes so often...maybe you do it because you know I won't throw those ones out. :)

I love how excited you get about things and that you keep track of how many days until it happens; we don't need countdown chains with you around!

I love that you love to memorize songs...you'll have me sing a song you want to learn over and over again until you think you've got it and then you say, "Okay, now don't sing.  I want to try it by myself."

I love your long eyelashes and every excuse I have to put mascara on them.  And the fact that you have the most beautiful blue eyes under those lashes is a total bonus.

I love that you love to snuggle with me and have such a long attention span...you will sit and do a task for a l.o.n.g. time until it's complete.

You are everything I hoped my little girl would be...and more.  So much more.

Kelly Anne Foster, I am honored to be your mama.  I love figuring you out.  I can't stand the thought of you going to school and not having you in our home all day...so I won't think about it for now.  I love you, my sweet girl.  You are incredible, smart, kind, talented, determined, loving, thoughtful, and will do great things in this world!