Random smorgasbord

Here are some pics I've taken lately.

 Every other Wednesday afternoon I watch our neighbors' boys, Noah Weniger and their foster child, Sevyn (seated next to Henry). That day we had enjoyed some nice enough weather to eat outside.

 Making Valentine cards with Clara's friend, Jae'lyn.

 Slime we made was a big hit on one "snow" day (haven't had much snow--mostly ice or cold temperatures that have kept the kids out of school).

 The tallest Magnatile creation yet--Michael took a fun video of Robbie breaking the tower in slo-mo.

 Not the greatest pic, but I just had to take a selfie with this cutie pie during devotional one day. Henry is such a joy.

 A fun girl's night at Sweet Frog to celebrate Sara Briscoe's birthday. I feel blessed to have such sweet friends in our ward. I help organize our weekly playgroup on Tuesday mornings, and it is a highlight of my week--we have a couple of ladies from the 2nd ward who come as well, and it's just so nice to have adult conversation while the kids play.

 Funny hair with my hairbands.

 Last weekend we drove up to DC--I did initiatories (the temple was SO crowded since it's closing next month), and despite the steady rain we drove to the Air and Space Museum and then to Ikea. I realized that the last time we'd gone to the museum was when I was pregnant with Henry (so nearly three years ago!) with my parents. This isn't a great pic, but I just had to capture this funny moment when Michael got really into an experiment and I watched the kids for a bit--it is very endearing how he can be like a big kid sometimes.

Clara has really gotten into Harry Potter, which has been fun--Michael reads to her most nights. She wrote this letter to Hogwarts, and I had to preserve it. She really wants to go to Harry Potter World--we are going to see if the kids can "earn" the privilege through an incentive program we're going to do to help them work on different skills.

Valentine's Day 2018

Happy Valentine's Day! I really enjoy Valentine's Day with kids. For FHE on Monday we talked about ways to show love through actions and words and how Heavenly Father and the Savior have shown love for us. (Not sure it really translated into changed or improved behavior, though . . . )

 In the morning, the kids awoke to chocolates on their plates and valentines I had made.

I was dang proud of that dragon! (I looked at a picture online.)

Michael made the traditional heart-shaped pizza this year for our family Valentine celebration--so good, as always.

I think the chocolate milk might be the favorite part, though!

And he came home early (the best gift ever!) with the most beautiful bouquet and a card he had drawn. He has always made such lovely cards for me and the kids--I have some of them from our early courtship still.

My gift to him was "letting" him go to Snowshoe, WV for Thurs/Fri to go snowboarding. He had a great time and came home early on Friday, which was nice (the weather wasn't the greatest, unfortunately). He drew these sweet cards for each of the kids (and me) and left them out early in the morning for us to find after he left.