Pajama Day and lots of Ballet!

This is the week leading up to our vacation.  Needless to say, there was a lot of laundry done this week.  Also, I we had to do our prep for Valentine's Day early, since we will be on vacation for the actual holiday.

On Monday, we had our usual day with Keira going to school and then having ballet in the evening.  I had baked cookies Sunday night, and hoped to let the kids ice them today, but we really get to it.  They still got to eat one, but didn't get to ice and sprinkle a bunch like they usually get to do.

On Tuesday, while Keira was at school, I took Soren to the Pottery Barn storytime.  He really likes the bench in Von Maur, and I have been able to get some really adorable pictures of him on it.

We were able to ice the rest of the cookies today, finally!

On Wednesday, Keira was very excited because her class had earned a pajama day.  I'm not exactly sure how to earn one, but she was very excited about it. 

We had just enough snow overnight to cover the ground with a thin blanket of snow.  It looked really pretty, but did not last once the sun came up.

Also, while she was at school, she was able to select a birthday book to be donated to the library in her name.  They took her picture today, and she will get to be the first to check it out once it is ready to go.

On Thursday,  Keira was excited to bring home her book, "Ten Little Caterpillars".

She also had a make up ballet class this evening for the one she will miss while we are gone.  The girls were a little older, and she looked so tiny, but she had a good time.

Both Keira and Soren had a fun time playing with dominos today.  The pizza chain was having a fundraiser for her school, so we ordered pizza from there for dinner, and we got out the game once we finished eating.

On Friday, we a little bit snow.  Soren ran around and tried to catch them on his tongue. I took Soren to a playdate in the late morning before Keira came home from school.  Keira and Soren both had a blast playing with a large sheet of paper used to package a peice of wall art for our basement.  They colored on it and made a tent out of it.  I got everything the kids needed for the trip laid out today, which I think is a record for me.

Saturday was a busy day.  I had a long run planned with a new friend, Erin.  We were running in memory of a woman, Sherry, who had been abducted from MN while on her morning run.  It was cold, and we had a bit of ice to contend with.  It was the first really cold run this year for me, and Erin's first in the snow ever.  It was nice to have her to run with, and I look forward to running with her again after vacation.  I miss Cristina and Valerie.

That afternoon, I took Keira to a Valentine's Day doll tea party at Pottery Barn Kids.  Keira really enjoyed it.  They had Cheryl's cookies and did crafts.  Keira was happy to be able to do something with just the two of us. 

Once we got back, Ryan got a haircut and did errands before we all went to Gustavo's for dinner.  I made some valentine's treats for her teachers and people helping us out getting to the airport.

Sunday was a full day.  We went to church in the morning as usual.  We also packed up as much as we could, and realized that we need another suitcase.  The second carry on size suitcase we had used previously didn't belong to us so when we looked for it, it wasn't here!  Looks like I will be running out tomorrow to get one.  I also had a meeting for Primary this evening.

Happy Groundhog day and 6 more weeks of Winter?

This week was insanely nice for several days.  It completely did not feel like winter at all.  On Groundhog day, it was 57 degrees and sunny.  Oh, for 6 more weeks of weather like that!  It didn't last, and by the weekend, was back to cold and rainy.

On Monday, we had our typical Monday, with Keira going to school and Soren and I going to the gym.  Keira had ballet in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, it was our first day of the nice weather.  It was pretty nice, and I had a hard time running inside on the treadmill while Keira was at school.  However, I had a very set workout that I wanted to do today and it would have been very hard with the stroller.  It also put us in St Matthews to be able to attend the storytime at the mall.

On Wednesday, I was able to get the jogging stroller out and take Soren for a quick run before my swim.  Soren did OK for his first ride, but did a fair amount of complaining.  He seemed pretty tired all week.  He did chose to ride in the stroller this morning, but it was still a bit chilly since it was early.  It would have been nicer to wait until the afternoon.

On Thursday, we had a busy day.  It was Groundhog day, and beautiful outside.  Keira was excited about it. Soren and I started off with an 8 mile run on Commerce Parkway.  He did a bit better today, but got bored since it was a longer run.  We finished up with our run and went to a playgroup at Emily's, my primary president, house. 

Soren had a good time, and I enjoyed chatting with some of the other moms from church.  That afternoon, it was beautiful.  The kids pretty much did everything they could outside.  We started with sidewalk chalk.  Sammy came over to drawn, and our sidewalk and driveway were covered.  Soren was very excited because he figured out that he could draw a sun.  He pretty much makes circles and lines when he draws, so this was a combination of the two things he can do.

We also got out the bikes.

As we were finishing up, Colton got out his power wheels 4 wheeler, and the kids took turns on it.  They had a blast.

We finished up the day with dinner at Chick Fil A.  Ryan had a boss in town from MI who took his team out for dinner.  Since we were on our own and it was kids night, I took the kids there.  I had to pack Keira a dinner, which drew a bit of attention because the employees there thought she had food allergies.  Unfortunately, the dinner ended in a meltdown from Keira because we couldn't play.  It had just gotten too late and everyone was tired.

Friday was another nice day.  I took Soren to the library storytime.

The kids received a Valentine's day package from Nana and Papa in the mail today, and were very excited about it.  We also learned that my parents will be coming to Utah to ski too, so we will have quite the crew out there.  The plans are shaping up nicely.  It was another nice day, but being the end of the week, the kids were pretty tired, and just played outside a little bit.

Saturday was a big training day for Ryan and me.  I woke up early to do a group run at VO2 Multisport, in the rain.  I am glad I had the group to run with.  They did 1 lap, and I did 2 to get in my mileage.  It was a nice loop, and big enough to run through a variety of scenery.  There was a race in the park this morning, so there were lot of soggy runners out there, although some were happier than others.  I got so wet that I really didn't notice the rain anymore.  After I got home and warmed up, Ryan did a trainer ride, and then we went out for an early dinner at Smashburger. 

Sunday was a relaxing day.  My class went well at church, and Soren and I took a decent nap afterwards.  I am really glad he did that.  Both kids have been really tired, and we needed a day to rest.  We did a quick webcam with Kris and Linda, and I got some cookies baked.  The kids will decorate them tomorrow.