Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I know this holiday (like many others) gets a bad reputation for being too commercialized and too overblown, but I think the whole premise of the day is great. I know people will argue that there shouldn't be a day to tell people to express their love; love should be expressed freely every day. I agree!, but I also don't hate that there's a day devoted to promoting those expressions in ways that may not be everyday sentiments. Thus said (and knowing me), I celebrated not only the day but all the days leading up to the day (and even a fun family day following the day). Starting on February 1st, I placed a heart on Jeff's, Daniel's, and Jonas's bedroom doors listing one thing I loved about them each day leading up to Valentine's Day.

The day before Valentine's Day, Krystle invited Jonas and me over to her house to decorate heart-shaped sugar cookies. Jonas loved every part of the process, especially the eating part! He made a couple extra cookies for Jeff and Danny. Danny got to eat his, but Jeff sacrificed his cookie to Jonas's cookie eating desires. It was actually pretty comical and super sweet. When Jeff came home, Jonas excitedly showed him the cookie that he decorated for him then sat at the counter with Jeff. Jonas longingly looked at the cookie while Jeff ate dinner. Jeff told Jonas he could have a bite if he wanted. Jonas politely reminded Jeff it was his cookie and declined the offer. However, Jeff insisted and Jonas readily agreed to take a couple bites. Jeff even got Jonas some milk. Suddenly, Jonas noticed that the cookie was all but gone. There was just a small bite left. Jonas ran into the living room where Jeff and I were talking to insist that Jeff at least get the last bite...even though we could still tell that Jonas wanted that final bite. Jeff gave him permission, and Jonas again reminded Jeff that he had decorated the cookie for him. Jonas was trying super hard to be polite, but when Jeff insisted that it was ok, Jonas devoured the last bite with a smile on his face.

Valentine's was a fun day for everyone! The boys woke up to a sugary breakfast and sugary treats because what says I love you more than sugar? Actually, there were a couple small gifts/gift cards to go with the sugar. Our breakfast was red and pink themed. We had bagels with strawberry cream cheese and strawberry/raspberry yogurt parfaits with a berry blend juice.

Both boys went to school. Jonas had his Valentine's party. He (or rather I) chose to give his friends a little car with a note that said, "I'm Wheelie glad we're friends." He, of course, came home with more sugar. Danny had a pizza party in his seminary class. That was about the extent of his Valentine's celebrations.

After school, I took Jonas out for a little Valentine's date. We had lunch at Chick-fil-A then went to the Springville Museum of Art. Each year, during the week of Valentine's, they have little heart stickers for patrons to put by the pieces they love. We did this last year and decided (or rather I decided) to repeat it again. Jonas actually found a few pieces he really liked! His favorite was a painting of a Slurpee. It just goes to show that art can be fun for all ages!

That evening, Danny decided he wanted to go hang out with his friends instead of babysitting his brother. It has finally come to that. The family will no longer exist for Danny for the next few years as he continues his scary journey in the world of adolescence. That meant that Jonas had a babysitter. We asked our neighbor, Gracie Chisholm, to come over. She was great! I ordered pizza for them and got a chocolate cake with some sparkling cider.

Jeff and I then got to enjoy our Valentine's evening together. Jeff put a lot of effort into making this evening fun...and definitely unique. I really appreciate that, even though it would probably just be a day for him, he knows how much I like to celebrate holidays and took the opportunity to make the evening special. We started with a delicious buffet dinner at Magelby's in Springville. This is one of the nicest restaurants near us and the food is really good...especially the dessert bar! That evening, they even had a fun little photo booth area set up. I'm sure that was Jeff's favorite part!

After dinner, we headed to the Nordic Center at Sundance for an evening with owls. Yes, you read that right. Jeff booked us a little owl excursion. It was actually pretty amazing...and now I want an owl. We started with a little tutorial about the various kinds of owls native to the area where we live. We even got to meet a couple owls who were injured and unable to be reintroduced to the wild. Next, we strapped on snowshoes and headed outside to see a rehabilitated great-horned owl released back into the wild. It was majestic to see this bird take flight and return to its natural habitat. Finally, we hiked back to a small meadow to "call" for owls. Our guide had an app with owl calls. She would play a call then we'd wait to see if an owl would respond. We actually had one respond! It was incredible! The evening was just warm enough to be enjoyable. There was no moon that allowed the stars to shine in abundance, but the best part was simply being with Jeff. I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. I really appreciate who he is and who I am becoming because of him.

The next day, even though it really wasn't tied to Valentine's Day, we took the boys snowmobiling in Midway. It was fun, but the trip was cut short after the pull cord on Jeff's machine broke. Still, we made the best of the couple hours we had. We did a short trail ride. We found a little meadow to buzz around in. I am definitely not skilled and tipped my machine twice. At least, it was a soft landing. We all had fun. I am grateful for this little family. We are not perfect. There are moments of frustration, hurt, and even anger, but we don't give up on each other. We keep trying. We keep forgiving. We keep loving.