For the Love

Parker thought Valentine's Day was almost comparable to Christmas. He was so excited to give his friends (preschool and non) his homemade sugar cookies and cards. And, yes, they were his very own. He poured in ingredients with Stockton while I mixed the dough. He and Stockton pressed the cookie cutters into the dough while I placed them on the pan and baked them. Then the two went to town frosting them and sprinkling them, and Parker wrote "To: Friend's Name" and "From: Parker" on all his cards, which were just quartered cardstock that he colored. I was proud of him. And, yes, he was excited to receive gifts from other people as well.

A downer that turned out not to be such a downer was that Cam got sick on Tuesday, the 10th, and it went downhill from there. Coughs that hurt his chest, congestion that pained his head, and chills and exhaustion kept him home from school on Thursday, the 12th. He wanted so badly to stay home Friday, the 13th, but it would have been too hectic for both him and his sub with Valentine's parties, a President's Day program, and the like.

We were going to go to the Stake Valentine's Dance, but with Cam sick, it was a no go. So--and this is the part that turned the downer upside down--we put the boys to bed and had a candlelit, fancy (as fancy as we get) dinner at 9:30. We even dressed up. And danced while dessert baked. Ha ha.

Green salad with homemade dressing, filet mignon, rosemary roasted potatoes, a roll, and some strawberry orange julius.

A little chocolate lava pudding cake with moose tracks ice cream melting on top. Makes me salivate right now...

On Monday, the 16th, we took advantage of the free national park day and walked around Bryce Canyon for awhile with Cam's family. It was fun to be with them all, but the wind didn't make it super enjoyable as it cut through our coats and made our bones hurt, so we didn't stay very long.

I was worried about Deacon (he may be coming down with a cold) being in such undesirable weather. But Cam, being the super man that he is, swaddled the jacketed baby, put Deacon next to his chest, and managed to zip his jacket all the way up. Deacon had the best seat in the house. Whenever we checked on him, he looked as content as could be. If Cam looks pudgy in the picture below, keep in mind that there's a 4 1/2 month old in his coat.