Valentine's Day and Cousins!

We had a very eventful weekend around here! Noelle called me up and asked if they could visit for the long weekend, and we were thrilled to have them stay for 3 whole nights! We don't often get to spend that much time together. 

Of course it was also Valentine's Day and we did lots of celebrating for that too. 

Maddie made this cute Valentine for us at school.

Ty made this one at preschool. Such a fun idea by our preschool mom!

This is the Valentine we made for the kids to take to school. They were super excited about it at home, although the girls expressed some second thoughts about it later when a few kids commented about not wanting it. Well, I am proud of them for being willing to be different. Of course they ate loads of candy and treats for Valentine's anyway (Maddie actually threw up that night because she had been eating sugar until it reached her eyeballs... a cookie at lunch, brownies at her party, a chocolate fountain at a fancy friend party she was invited to, and all of her Valentine's on top of that.... yikes!) but anyway, at least we represented a healthy option!

The day before Valentine's Day we made homemade graham crackers, which are yummy if you don't think of them as cookies. They aren't as sweet but are still full of molasses, honey, and tasty spices.

We topped them with strawberries and coconut cream.

There's some Valentine love!

I helped with Maddie's class party as co-room mom. We had great mom helpers and were able to run some fun stations. This was Minute-to-Win-It, trying to get M&M's from one cup to another with a straw. They also stacked candy hearts, and threw heart marshmallows into cups.

Another station was Healthy Heart Exercises. This one got their blood pumping!

Then they made Valentine kabobs with  heart shaped strawberries and brownie bites. They were a hit.

The next station was a heart craft with pipe cleaners and beads. Ella was my side kick and was happy to make one too.

The last station was Valentine Headbanz with my friend Erin. I sent this picture to her but cropped Maddie out... oh jeez. :)

And when we got home, guess who came?!?! COUSINS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Noelle was so sweet and offered to babysit for us while we went to our ward party, and she and the kids ate heart shaped pizzas and had a movie night.

Valentine's Day was full of love! Ella got out all her homemade Valentine's that she had worked so hard on.

I gave my little loves each a book. We spend a lot of time with books around here and can always use some refreshers. Ty is my superhero.

Jake is my train and tractor lover.

Ella is my princess, all the way.

Maddie has been very interested in spy/detective stuff lately, so this was the perfect find!

Cupid gave Mike some new darts for his nerf guns, and he gave me a new rug! We are still deciding on color and size, but it's the thought that counts. ;)

We had a nice lazy morning, and then finally got ready and dressed to go on an outing to the Aquarium! We had never been so we were excited... until we saw that everyone else in Utah had the same idea that day. We fought the crowds bravely and still enjoyed ourselves.

Shark attack!

The kids look like they're underwater, but it's a cool cave lookout.

This was my favorite part. The shark tank is built around a huge tunnel so everything looks like it's swimming over you!

Wow, those guys were sure scary looking.

We all loved the turtles the most.

The penguins were huge hit with the kids. They could have stayed there forever waiting for another one to dive in.

 

I should have taken a picture from the outside but Maddie couldn't wait to get in the big ship on the second floor and take it for a spin.

The South American side was pretty cool (actually very warm and humid) with toucans, parrots, frogs, anacondas (thankfully I didn't see that) and huge fish.

 I didn't get a good picture but the otters were entertaining swimming in circles.

We stopped to play on the whales, but didn't stay long because we were famished!

That afternoon at home was so nice. Noelle and I relaxed in the sunshine on the deck, pretending to read books but really enjoying time to talk about deep things, while the dads practiced their golf swings in the backyard. I had to snap this moment because Noelle loved Jake's softs ear and cheeks. She really got him to warm up to her and got some good snuggles.

I forgot to take a picture but Noelle and I cooked a yummy dinner compete with candlelight and sparkling cider. She made breadsticks and I made pasta milano and a greek salad.

After dinner we split up and we had a Mommy & Son date! I asked Tyler where he would want to go if he could pick anything, and he said have a game night. So we stayed in and played Valentine Headbanz, had a dance party, and dipped strawberries in chocolate. Those are some sweet little boys!

The other half had a Daddy Daughter date to Rita's Ice Custard. I think they had a blast!

On Sunday we got up and went to church, and then had a BBQ with Dana and Landon and boys, who had just returned from Cancun. We caught up on their adventures and then ate chocolate raspberry cake and played Telestrations. The kids played their hearts out and made great messes. Such a fun night.

The highlight of it all was how much the cousins love each other. They are all growing up so much and play more independently. The older girls would disappear for hours on end, dressing up and playing some kind of pretend. The younger kids were often in dress-ups too, and especially loved to jump on the tramp downstairs.

Uncle Zak joined them in the basement for some fun as a robot named "Stinky," which they thought was hilarious. Then he taught my kids chubby bunny with marshmallows. He is always good for a laugh! We made lots of great memories, and Noelle and I tried hard to relax and not let the messes bother us. We did better than usual!