Happy Valentine's Day

This was a fun filled week. We had some unexpectedly great weather, a visit to Nana's, a week of Valentine's Day activities, and a visit from Grandma.

On Monday, we had excellent weather. It was super warm, in the high 50s, and I was able to take Keira and Soren on a run with the jogging stroller around the neighborhood for the first time. Although the stroller had been used at Maybury last fall, I can't really call that running. Boy, I cannot say that it was easy to push a double stroller while running, but I don't really know that it was any fault of the stroller. I made it one mile and decided I had better head back if I wanted to make sure I ran the whole way. Not too shabby, considering my pace was fairly uneffected by the addition of pushing the 70lbs or so!

Soren fell asleep during the run, so Keira and I played outside with bubbles while he slept. This lasted until she fell into a pile of melting snow and got cold and wet. I don't know which was more upsetting, being cold and wet or needing to come inside to change!
Soren is doing great with his cereal. It has helped his sleeping somewhat.


Tuesday was another day with great weather. We had made plans to do something with Valerie, Katie, and Luke. After our experience playing outside in the soggy yard on Monday, we opted to stay inside and we hit the mall playarea, grabbed lunch, and then played in the food court as well. Keira and Katie were very happy to get to play together. It had been a little while. This was the first time I saw Luke with his helmet, it is to correct a flat spot on his head. We also went out on another run this evening. By taking Keira and Soren with me, it allowed Ryan to prepare for scouts without distraction. It was nice to be able to watch them and run at the same time. I made it my full 3.4 mile route today, and it wasn't bad at all.





Wednesday was a special day for Keira. She got to play with Lizzie and Elise in the morning during my presidency meeting, and then, in the afternoon, she went to Nana's to bake Valentine cookies! She had a great time rolling, decorating, and eating the cookies. Nana said that she refused to taste any dough or frosting until it was time to eat the finished product! What willpower it would take me to not taste. Actually, I think she was probably just confused by the batter and frosting not in their usual cookie form. It is sad, but I usually do not have her help me bake, but do it while she is asleep or watching a movie. Nana took some fabulous photos documenting the afternoon.





Other cute pictures from Wednesday:
We had some rain. Keira's coat is a bit short, but still managed to fit around her for the 3rd year!
Keira is trying to get into Soren's pockets!
Keira likes holding Soren, but he is pretty heavy for her.

On Thursday, we went to Kindermusik first thing in the morning. We didn't meet up with anyone for this class. Soren woke towards the end, so we just headed home right afterwards. Both Keira and Soren started wearing Valentine outfits again today (they wore them in the begining of the week, but took a couple days off for laundry).

Keira was very excited about her bee paper she received at the end of class, and wanted this picture taken.

We have a picture of me holding Keira wearing the outfit Soren has on while sitting on the steps. It was on the old computer, but on Kodak still, I think.

Friday was a busy day. After getting everyone ready, I made red velvet heart shaped cupcakes for Valentine's day. I was able to get them in and out of the oven before leaving for the libary Storytime. Keira had a good time as usual. After we got back, I got the cupcakes iced and the kitchen cleaned before Ryan got home. He brought me a dozen roses, which are beautiful and opening nicely. We gave Keira and Soren their Valentine's cards and treats a day early. We went out to dinner at Chili's, and then on our way to REI, we hit a HUGE pothole, and ended up with a bent rim and flat tire. We were able to drive it home because it wasn't totally flat just yet, but became flat by the next day. The roads here are terrible with potholes from all the freezing and thawing we have been experiencing.





On Saturday, Ryan and Keira had hair appts first thing, so we didn't have time to worry about the car just yet. We drove the truck out to Ann Arbor in the snow to go to Salon Vox and have Brittany cut their hair. The nice thing for Keira is that she is familiar with going to the salon with us and is not nervous at all. The price is also not too bad either- about in line with the kids only salons in the malls.




Once we returned home, the frustration about the tire situation came to a head. I volunteered to change the tire because I like taking things apart and putting them back together, and I haven't done much of that since leaving Ford. I have also changed several tires and do not find it terribly difficult anymore when you have everything you need. When I went to get everything ready, I realized we had no jack! Apparently, when we had our last flat, about 4 years ago, the dealership didn't put it back in the stowage area when the put the spare back because I know we didn't leave it on the side of the road! Everything was just heaped in the trunk. We have AAA and free roadside assistance through our car warranty, but I really didn't want to spend a ton of time waiting for them. We tried to use the jack from the truck, but it was too tall to fit under the car in its lowest position. So, we called the Mazda people since it was essentially their fault we couldn't do it ourselves, and had to wait an hour for someone to come out and change it. Why do we always get flats on Friday night when we have to wait all weekend do fix it properly? The car would need to sit idle all weekend until Monday because we had to take it to the dealership to be fixed for free. That evening, for Valentine's Day, Nana came over to watch Keira and Soren for a couple hours so that Ryan and I could go out to dinner at Pei Wei. It was a great ending to a crazy day.


Keira was past being ready for bed, and didn't want her picture taken. She wanted a hug from me.

On Sunday, we went to church, and Kris and Linda were both there for our ward conference. My mom also came up that afternoon once we got back from church. She had Monday off for President's day, and it was great to see her. She brought Graeter's ice cream in a cooler with dry ice and waffle bowls. We drove those down to Kris and Linda's and had soup followed by our FAVORITE ice cream. We try to make a point to make it to Graeters when we are in Westerville because their ice cream is so good. They are a Cinncinati based company, so they have limited locations in southern/central Ohio and Kentucky.

Linda showed Keira this really amazing pop up book about Strega Nona's family.
Keira loves the puzzles at Nana's.

It was actually great timing to have my mom around for Monday. She was able to help me with the car situation. She brought their Explorer, so we could all fit in it easily. I brought Soren with me to the dealership while she stayed home with Keira. I stayed at the dealership just long enough for them to locate a new tire and wheel for me (yes, we needed a new wheel too) to make sure they could get it done today, and then took the shuttle home. Having Soren in the infant carrier makes it easy to shuttle him around from vehicle to vehicle. While we waited for the car to be finished up, we went to the mall for some play time and food. While we were there, we ran into Rebecca with Asheley and Alex. Keira had a great time, but it was pretty crowded with school being out today. We did a bit of shopping, and then grabbed some lunch. While we were finishing up lunch, the dealership called and we were able to pick up the car on the way back. They could not give me a free jack, and are ordering one for me. They want me to pay their cost for it, but I guess we will see once I go to pick it up how much I actually do pay. The tire and wheel were totally free to us due to the expensive warranty we bought. It was pricey, but it has already paid for itself with the two tires and wheels we have had replaced alone. It expires next fall, so hopefully we have better luck with the potholes. My mom headed back shortly after Ryan got home from work. Here is Keira laying flat in the play area. She apparently requested this picture.

Keira and Asheley were playing peek a boo over the wall.

Soren is sporting a new outfit after making his earlier one messy! He has really taken an interest in toys lately.
The rest of this week should be pretty fun. We have another free Kindermusik, and will see about setting up more playdates. Hopefully I can get out again with the jogging stroller.