My funny valentines

We're once again a little behind in posting. I have to confess to being a little overwhelmed lately with just lots of stuff going on, so something had to give. Dave graciously took this past Friday off to spend with the kids so I could have a day "off" as well - which I spent running errands and doing a lot of shopping. Even though it wasn't a relaxing day, it was still fun and I was able to cross a few things off my "to-do" list, which helped me  feel a lot better. Here are a few things we've been doing:  (left above) visiting Grandma Ida at her apartment in Sartell. Right above - Aidan rocking out during the Super Bowl half-time show. He got so excited when Slash popped up on stage that he ran to get his Elmo guitar and had to play along. 

Working hard, making Valentines for Grandma Ida:

 Dave made heart-shaped pancakes for us for breakfast on the Sunday before Valentine's Day:

For the most part, we celebrated Valentine's Day on February 13th this year since the 14th fell on a Monday, and Ellie had swimming lessons that night. In addition to the pancakes, we made pierogi for dinner and Dave bought the kids a "Watch 'Em Grow" garden from Bachmann's!  They're having a great time checking the flowers each day for new blooms.

 Mother Nature gave us a reprieve from winter last week with highs in the 50s two days in a row, and a couple other days in the 40s. We made it outside almost every day for at least an hour, and the fresh air was wonderful for all of us! The huge piles of snow in the yard and on the roof were melting fast, and the kids had a great time standing under the eaves with umbrellas, letting the melting snow drip on top of them like rain. Dave even managed to dig out their ice-filled Little Tikes cars that had been entombed in the back yard since last fall; we'd had such an unexpectedly large snow last fall before we were able to pack them safely away in the garage for the winter, but the kids were thrilled to be able to play with them again last week.

The girls loved trying out their new rain boots...

...and just playing in the sunshine!