Where Love Is

You can't beat a holiday that's all about LOVE.

Our neighbors celebrated by throwing a couples party with a white elelphant Valentine's gift exchange. What a great idea! The gifts were sweet and sassy, and we came home with a romance themed picnic basket and lots of chocolate dipped strawberries!

We ended up sharing the strawberries, when family and friends came over for dinner and dessert on the 14th.

And perhaps what I enjoyed most of all that night were all the Valentine's that little Lorin made from foam hearts and stickers. She passed them out with heartfelt love to everyone in attendance.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

We've got season tickets to all the shows at the ASU's Gammage Auditorium. And when Mary Poppins came to town last week, we took Caroline (my niece) and Chantelle (my cousin's daughter) with us to the show. It was "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" I mean it. The songs, the staging, the story were wonderful.

In keeping with the night's them, at intermission the concession stand sold "Spoonful of Sugar" mocktails (Sprite, pineapple juice, and blueraspberry flavoring). The colorful drinks - clearly marketed to the underaged audience - were served in tall glasses with plastic umbrellas hanging over the sides. We had to have them.

I have to say that part of the story line - where the banker father is worried he'll get in trouble for choosing to invest in something "real" as opposed to a mere money making scheme - hit home in light of the recent banking crisis and financial meltdown. And I was fairly touched by the old lady singing "Feed the Birds."

Parenting Success (aka The Fruits of My Labors)

So, tonight I got home before Maren and Bridgette. Naturally, I turned on the Nuggets game so as to create a warm, welcoming environment. Immediately upon coming into the house, Bridgette squealed with delight, pointed to the game, and said "Nuggets!"

I wept sweet tears of joy.

Oh When the Saints Go Marching In!

Super Bowl parties are always fun! Good food (this year I was particularly proud of my veggie bars), fun decorations (see the cool Colt/Saints sign my nephew Jackson made out of legos), and great folks (note all the happy men on the couch).

But these parties are best when the game is good and ultimately your team wins! Of course, we'd have preferred that the Cardinals were there. But I was happy when the underdogs - The New Orleans Saints - played tricky in the second half and took a trophy home.

The game still cost us though. Since we were at Marc and Karen's - home of the best bike/scooter/anything-with-wheels collection ever - Bridgette insisted on hanging out in their garage (where aforementioned collection is kept). Kevin and I had to bribe her older cousins to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't roll down the driveway and into the street.