Em's 9th Birthday

Emily had a self-proclaimed "great birthday" this year.  Kat & I took her a special Chick-Fil-A lunch to school & then she got to buy ice cream from the cafeteria for dessert (she chose an all fruit Strawberry bar - love that!)  Then we had dinner together as a family followed by a yummy fruit tart I made for her.  She LOVES fruit & we decided this would be a great birthday desert this year. 

And...by the way...Jonathan brought his suit to me, **on his own**, and asked me to help him put it on so "he could look nice for her birthday dinner."  I said of course I would help, while trying not to let him see that he totally made me tear up.  Here's a photo of him in it holding the birthday card he made for her.

Now, lest you think they get along like this all the time, know that perfect harmony is soooooooo not the case.  They are typical siblings, through and through.  We have plenty of "stop copying me's!!!!!!" and "Moooooommmmmmmm, Emily did this, or Jon did that or, Kat won't give this back."  You get the point.  But, I am impressed on a fairly regular basis with how sensitive and caring Jonathan really is about his sisters.  He is going to rock husbandhood (because that's a word).  Having 2 sisters living with you 24-7 is some pretty great training in my book.

After dinner Em had requested that she get to pick out her present from Justice (a girl's clothing store she is particularly fond of).  Grandma & cousin Edna met us there to also contribute to the shopping spree.  She had a blast.  Mom (grandma) even texted each outfit to Emily's Aunt Kerry in California to which Kerry would text back her responses. It was fun.

Once home she modeled her new things to her daddy who did a great job praising her picks.  Then off to bed.  Great birthday it was! 

Beautiful Morning at the Zoo

The weather this week has been phenomenal.  I have been wanting to get back to the zoo for several weeks now, but due to sick kids, busy schedules, or uncooperative weather it has not been an option until now.  Grandma joined Kat and I today.  It was a quiet day there as most were at work or school - a very nice visit in just about perfect weather. 

The flamingos were especially social today & came right up to us.

 I like that you can see her reflection in this one.  She really took it all in this visit.

 Watching the kangaroo eat a morning snack.

 She was excited to ride the "seat" on the carousel.

 Catching the zoo train back to the entrance on our way out.

Fun First Weekend of February

We had a fun first weekend of February.  Friday was Joel's 37th birthday.  His good friend took him to one of his favorite places for lunch, Cavali's Pizza.  I made him one of his favorite meals for dinner & a pecan pie for dessert. 

Jonathan was line leader in his class all week which meant he could bring home the class fish for the weekend.  Rainbow has been well treated and even shared meals with us and watched some TV from the coffee table.

Emily had her second basketball game Saturday morning.  Then that evening was the annual daddy daughter dance at the local rec center.  She and Joel went with Em's friend, Hailey, and her dad.  They had dinner first at Red Robin & then went to the dance.  Emily made sure Daddy stayed out on the dance floor all night.  He even worked up a sweat.  This is a testament to his love for his little girl as Joel is not the public dancing type.    

And today is the Super Bowl.  We are having a lazy Sunday at home and will have a relaxed evening watching the game together, most likely in our pjs. 

Good weekend indeed!