Gary's Valentine Surprise

I had to work on Valentine's Day and wasn't too surprised when a delivery driver came in with some flowers. We get people all the time that come into the store to ask for directions, so it really wasn't unusual. Then, I happened to look at the card on the flower arrangement: it said Ellie Jones! Then, I knew something was up. I looked at the larger bouquet and it was for me! Gary hasn't sent me flowers since the year Chelsey was born; 16 years!

I can't even tell you how surprised I was! And the fact that he had gone in personally and signed the cards meant so much! I had thought that maybe his mom had gone in and done it for him, but it was his handwriting.

I also found out that he had sent bouquets to Mikayla and Chelsey at school, too. It was such a sweet and thoughtful thing to send them to the girls, too. He felt really bad about not sending a bouquet to Braquel, but he didn't know her address. We bought her an arrangement a day or two later and gave it to her when her and Keven came up for our Valentine's Day dinner!

Ellie's Valentine Party

Ellie wanted to have a Valentine party for her friends. We went to the dollar store and I let her pick out some decorations and paper supplies. Then we made invitations for three friends. She was so excited to have a "big" kid party!

We decided to stick with the Valentine/red theme for lunch. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut them into heart shapes. We had strawberry flavored applesauce and red fruit by the foot. We also had some red juice boxes to drink.

We asked each child to bring one dozen unfrosted cupcakes and we provided the frosting and several different sprinkles and toppings. The kids got to decorate their cupcakes to take home to their families.

The kids had a good time and I know Ellie LOVED planning her party and making cupcakes. I was even surprised by how unmessy the kids were!

Treven's D.A.R.E. Graduation

The 4th graders all do a class designed to teach them ways to say No! to drugs. I'm not sure how long the classes took, but the kids got to have a little graduation ceremony. Treven learned quite a bit and sometimes when we are talking about drugs, he says things I can't believe he knows. I always ask him where he heard that word or how he knows what a certain drug looks like or what it's called. He tells me he learned it at his D.A.R.E. class. I'm really not sure if knowing more than his parents do about drugs is a good thing or a bad thing!

Snow Forts/Angels

I was at work one day and the kids called and said dad was helping them make forts. The second I walked in the door, Ellie wanted her snow clothes on so she could show me their fort! They even built a snow couch, a snow t.v., and a snow refrigerator in it! Then, Ellie wanted to make snow angels. Then, she decided she was going to lick the snow like a dog would...silly kids!

Snow Cream

We got quite a bit of snow one day, so Mikayla decided her and Ellie would make snow cream. They took a bucket of snow outside and scooped as much as they could. They added some vanilla and a bit of milk. I'm not sure if they added anything else, but it actually turned out pretty good. The crazy part is Mikayla's outfit!!!!

New Year!

We had New Year's Eve at our house and the crew all showed up! I wrote activities on paper and put them inside of balloons. Every hour, we popped a balloon and did whatever the activity said. We made a time capsule, had a hairy leg contest, and played Just Dance and karaoke. We always have such a good time when we get together and food abounds! We are so lucky to have life long friends and I love that our kids are still getting together as adults and staying friends!

Christmas 2012

I know I'm almost a year behind, but better late than never, right? Christmas 2012 seemed to sneak up on us once again! Every year, I tell myself that I'm going to slow down and enjoy the next Christmas and every year I end up running around like a mad women to get everything done. Totally lose the true meaning of Christmas! Ellie got a game system for preschoolers from Santa this year and a stocking full of Hello Kitty goodies.

Keven and Braquel came up and stayed the night on Christmas Eve with us. It's so much fun to have the whole family here to celebrate the holidays. It makes this mommy's heart so happy! I had fun staying up late with them and helping wrap presents and stuff stockings.

Chelsey got mostly clothes for Christmas this year. Imagine that! The problem with updating the blog almost a year later means I can't remember what Santa brought her!! Mikayla got money to go toward a lap top from Santa. With her going to school, she really needed something she could take with her for homework.

Treven got a Nintendo DS XL from Santa. Lots of electronics at our house this year. The kids went together and bought me a Kindle Fire (which I LOVE) and Gary got me a cover for the Kindle and also a gift card so I could download games and books on it!