Happy Valentine's Day!

What a day! It was a fun, love filled day. Not a down moment to spare :).

We started off the morning with "egg in a heart" for breakfast. We had just had pancakes for dinner last Sunday with the missionaries, so we decided to change things up a bit. The kids loved waking up to their surprises and valentines. I love watching their faces. First groggy and tired... then they realize... "Wait, it's Valentine's Day!" Those tired faces are quickly replaced with mounds and mounds of excitement and smiles beaming from ear to ear.

Abigail wasn't too thrilled that she had to go to school. She didn't know if they would be celebrating Valentine's Day or not (poor thing). But she still took her valentines in hand wearing her love shirt :).

I think this was one of my favorite things I did for the kids this year. Who knew Christmas wrapping paper and coloring books could make such fun valentines.

I wasn't very good about taking pictures throughout the day. I really wish we would have gotten a couple more... oh well, maybe next year.

After breakfast, Abby headed to school and Dad headed to work. The boys and I assembled legos and played for a bit, mixed together some sugar cookie dough, and we quickly got ready for the day and headed to one of our favorite bakeries - Two Little Red Hens. We were so happy to find a small line there (I was expecting a much bigger crowd - like I saw on Christmas Eve). After grabbing some cupcakes we headed for Midtown to surprise our Dad.

We definitely took the wrong bus - the local is MUCH slower than the express. Lesson learned. But we still made it just in time to have lunch with Dad. I felt really lucky. John doesn't always get lunch and to arrive at the exact time that they were just breaking for lunch... miracle :). So we enjoyed a yummy pizza/salad lunch at Patsy's. Yum. But the best was surprising our Dad and getting to spend time with him.

John headed back to work with cupcakes to share in hand and the boys and I jumped on the subway (hoping that would be faster than the bus). When we walked in the door we had 35 minutes to bake a couple trays of cookies and make frosting before heading over to a friend's house for a little Valentine's Party. We made it - only 5 minutes late. The boys had a blast decorating cookies and eating frosting until their tummies hurt :). They weren't too happy when I told them we had to go. We were only there for about 45 mins, but we had to hurry to get Abigail from school.

By this point in the day I began to question why I bought them candy and debated how much I should really let them eat in one day. Soon I gave up the fight and agreed to just about as many sweets as they wanted for the day. It's a holiday ... they're allowed... right??

With homework, picking-up and reading done, we enjoyed some heart-shaped meatballs with spaghetti. But I think dessert was the most fun. Fondue. We love fondue.

Don't you just love all those chocolate faces? I do.

This little boy was covered with chocolate. He thought he was so funny.

And even Owen enjoyed his 1st fondue experience. Chocolate covered bananas. Yum.

But I think one of the best parts of the day for me, besides the smiles on my kids faces, was this sweet card from John. I love his cards. They are the kind you save forever. The kind you pull out of your sock drawer on "bad days" and read again.. and again.. and again. I truly love this man. And can you believe it? John bought roses this year!!! I was SO surprised :).

I hope you all had a great day filled with love from special people in your life.

A special thanks to all those that sent their love our way.

Thanks for thinking of us.

We truly love all of you.

Saturday Adventures: Botanical Gardens

Saturday is here again. As you have probably noticed, each Saturday we find some adventure to do as a family. Many are documented with photos, but many are not. Either way, when Saturday comes the kids know it is a day for fun.

This Saturday was no different. We had heard about a Holiday Train Show at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx and decided to go. It was quite the event. Within the large greenhouse at the gardens, they had constructed a variety of structures (buildings, skyscrapers, bridges, stadiums, etc) that can be found in NYC. The amazing part was that each of these structures were made of natural materials - bark, sticks, acorns, nut shells, moss.. you get the idea. Some were only a foot tall, while others were close to 7 or 8 feet. I was amazed at the detail. The kids I think we more impressed with the model trains that ran throughout the exhibit - through roads and centers and across bridges. Connor (our train man) was in heaven.

The gang waiting for the subway at our local subway stop - 96th

"The Train Show"

"Waiting for the crowd to get moving"

A typical NYC crowd ... basically it is always crowded. You learn to push your way through the crowd with the best of them.

"Ellis Island" - the train show display

Real life Ellis Island... Can you see the resemblance? I think they did an amazing job.

Abigail and Penn Station in the background

John trying to show the kids the details ... trying to help them appreciate :)

"Brooklyn Bridge"

"Yankee Stadium"

This was a fun one... the tallest building was probably about 8 feet tall. Can you tell which famous buildings are in this shot?? Rockefeller Center, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building...

It was always fun to come upon something that the kids recognized and could remember visiting... Many of the above were part of that remembering... as well as many sites from Central park and others.

Connor was SO much fun to watch. He LOVES trains! He was so excited whenever a train would pass by. Many times he would sit and wait for the next train to reappear.

After the train show, we walked around the gardens and tried to enjoy some of the other facilities. After walking not too far we came upon the children's center. But I think the kids favorite part was climbing the rocks. More than anything, they were so excited to have space to run and play... things to climb on and ground to jump on.

Enjoying the Rocks

Even Owen was having fun

Connor being a scientist

Hooray for another Saturday of fun. We actually had such a great time we decided to put the cost of the days tickets toward a yearly membership. We can't wait to go back... especially in the spring.

Side Note: I was so bummed that I forgot to bring my longer lens for my camera. Especially after remembering that my regular lens is broken and is only in focus 50% of the time. Bummer.

Cabin Fun

We were all excited to spend some relaxing time at the cabin. It hadn't snowed as much as usual in Utah this winter, but we still managed to make it up there in the snowmobiles and there was plenty of snow for sledding (my favorite anyway).

Visiting the cabin always seems to have its fair share of challenges... I don't know if you remember the year before last when we found that all the pipes were frozen. This year was not as eventful, but when we got up to the cabin we found that we had no water! I was prepared to pack it back down the mountain and call it, but John and Mark were determined. They headed out to find the problem. After checking all the pipes around the cabin, they decided to see if they could find a neighbor that might be able to help. Come to find out, the main water pump wasn't working and we weren't the only ones without water. But our heros saved the day and worked (watched) to get the problem solved. We had water by midnight :).

We spend most of the time in our pajamas.. eating, sledding, snowmobiling, watching football and movies, and putting together puzzles. Fun times for all. It was a great way to spend part of our winter break... relaxing and enjoying family.

Connor - always a bit nervous to go sledding, but still smiling.

Dallin the Dare-Devil

I don't think this kid is afraid of anything. He couldn't get his sled going fast enough :).

One of the few shots of Abigail. She was usually playing with her "girl cousins" :).

She did have lots of fun sledding down the mountain and then getting picked up in the snowmobile. (the best kind of sledding if you ask me... long rides and an easy back to the top)

John and two of his boys

The Reason

The reason we traveled to Utah the day after Christmas...

To watch these two

get Sealed for Time and all Eternity.

What a beautiful couple... inside and out... Jake and Alexa Holland.

The sealing was absolutely wonderful. They had the opportunity of having President Eyring seal them. His remarks were so heartfelt and inspirational. It really was one of the best sealings I have been to. The spirit was so powerful.

You can't help but remember your own sealing as you watch the married couple experience a similar day. I still remember kneeling across the altar from John, my eyes filled with tears and his face filled with joy (he was giggling). But we both so happy. Each day since then we have grown more in love. I hope that we continue down that path holding true to the covenants we made that sacred day for us in temple almost 10 years ago.

Everything about the day was beautiful. The temple. The sealing. The reception.

I didn't take many pictures. But here are the few I did...

The Beautiful Bride

Dallin refusing to put on his boutonnière. "Flowers are for girls!"

All the little kids on both sides (our four included) were able to be part of the wedding party. Little girls in beautiful cream dresses and little boys in navy with little blue bow ties. So adorable.

Two Little Princesses - Bella and Abigail

Love these two silly kids

James Dowse (Catherine's youngest) and Owen Wirthlin

Cousins once removed - Born just weeks apart

6 months old

Gingerbread Houses

We really had fun heading down to Soho (would love to go back to this part of town and just walk around..preferably without kids) to this crazy candy store. Of course, it was a skinny store - like most everything in NYC... you feel like you are in a closet or hallway. But it was packed with candy (and people) - and not just the fancy NYC candy. We have been to a couple of those stores, too. This was old-school candy. The largest PEZ collection I have ever seen. Rock candy. Candy cigarettes (haven't seen those forever). Gummies. Hard candies. Pop Rocks. The list could go on and on. So we loaded up on all the best things we could find for our gingerbread houses and headed home to create our masterpieces.

Here are our creations...

Dallin working hard.

Owen hanging out in the kitchen watching the fun and enjoying some sweets too.

Dad helping get the frosting in just the right spot.

Connor couldn't wait to eat some of his treasures.

Dallin's Masterpiece

Connor won "Most Candy." This picture is missing his lemon drop yard.

Abigail and her creation. She couldn't stop making silly faces...maybe all that sugar was getting to her :). She was awarded "Most Meticulous"

Santa's Winter Wonderland

We had to take the kids to the famous Macy's Winter Wonderland to see Santa. I was a bit hesitant.. knowing the crowds were just going to be ridiculous. But these are the things that we do for our children, right?

We decided we might have a better chance during the week than going on the weekend. So the kids and I met John just off the subway at 33rd and walked over to Macy's around 6pm. It was perfect!!! I was anticipating having to wait at least an hour before we even entered the Wonderland, but when we arrived they said there was no line! No line?!?!?! I was more than excited. We walked right onto the little train and entered the Winter Wonderland. It does take about 20 minutes to wind your way through all of the little exhibits and displays in the wonderland., but we all loved it. From sledding penguins and dancing bears, to a Santa sleigh full of toys and tin soldiers ... the wonderland had it all. Connor was especially enthralled with the toy train that wound its way around a Christmas tree and then down again.

It was fun.

The Santa wouldn't smile.

But I still had a good night and so did the kids.

And that is all that matters.

And we were still home in time for bed... perfect!