February

Before we head off on our March/April trip to Iowa and then California, I guess I'd better get something posted about February.  We have a February birthday in our family--Febreeary 8 is Ben's day.  One year when he was about 3 or 4, he really didn't want me to take the Christmas tree down in January.  When I asked him why he thought we should leave it up (being a live tree, it really wasn't an option!), he said, "Where will we put the presents on Febreeary 8??"  We went down to meet Ben for lunch a few days before his birthday, on a snowy day. (What other kind of day has there been this winter?)  We had a great lunch at Portillo's in Skokie. 

We made two trips to Ankeny in February, one planned and one sort of spur-of-the-moment.  The first one was unplanned---when we found out on the afternoon of the 13th that Jeremiah was running a fever and had a croupy cough. And Rachel had already taken a personal day earlier in the week because the daycare lady's son was sick.  So we threw a few things in a bag and were on the road by about 5:15.  And we got to spend Valentine's Day with our favorite almost 4-year-old boy!  We enjoyed some "quiet" activities---books, videos, etc., but as the day went on he perked up quite a bit and we moved on to other things, like legos and trucks, etc.  And Grandpa was the hero of the day for going out to buy a few things at the store, including popsicles! 

A few days later we were on the road again, this time for Jeremaih's birthday. Our plan had been to drive over on Monday, Tuesday was the BIG DAY, and then we were going to drive home on Wednesday.  Well, the weather changed those plans a bit. It was a very snowy day on Monday, so we decided to delay our trip for a day.  And then we thought we'd stay until Thursday.....but, no, the weather interfered again. There were blizzard warnings for Thursday, so we drove back home on Wednesday after Rachel got home from school.  Winter is such fun!!

So, we arrived on Jeremiah's birthday, and got there a bit before they got home from school and daycare. Of course, presents were the first priority!

A Lego construction set

And a leaf blower. This will come in handy if the snow ever melts. 

And then it was dinner at the Pizza Ranch, the birthday boy's request.

And then home for cupcakes!

A former co-worker of mine has started a cupcake business, and so I ordered some Mickey and Minnie cupcakes from her.  They were a big hit! And they were also delicious!  This girl was already baking a lot of cupcakes when she was working at KinderCare, and she would often bring in samples for us to try. Needless to say, this made her very popular! 

The day after the birthday was a very pleasant day--at least for February in Iowa. It was nice enough to be out without a heavy coat, and Jeremiah got to try out his new scooter.

And then he and Grandpa took a trip around the block---Grandpa walking and Jeremiah riding his bike.

Who would have thought that the next day there would be blizzard warnings?? That's the way our winter has been this year in the Midwest! 

One more February event was another trip down to Chicago.  On the 22nd we drove down to enjoy a "tasting" at La Lucé, the restaurant where Abby and Neil are having their reception.  We were there with Abby and Neil, Neil's parents, and two of Abby and Neil's friends.  We were treated royally---got to sample lots of delicious food, and our waiter kept our wine glasses filled! 

Next big event: driving to Iowa tomorrow to spend most of the week with Rachel and Jeremiah. Actually we probably won't see much of Rachel, because she has parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday and Thursday.  Friday morning we will start our drive to California. Hmm, the last time we did that drive we had 4 kids in a mini-van.  I'm sure we'll be reminiscing a bit as we make this drive. :)