February Fun

While all the "big" holidays culminate with New Years, the new year starts with a lot of little holidays or events to celebrate. February had a few fun moments to observe. We started the month (Tuesday, February 1st) with the Lunar New Year. This Chinese holiday changes dates (much like Easter) depending on the moon phases; yet, each year brings a new animal and a small party to honor this distinct culture. Recently, Jonas has become fascinated with Asian culture. I think it's mainly because he likes watching karate or the idea of being a ninja; regardless, we celebrated with lucky red envelopes, gold (chocolate) coins, a tiger, and festive foods. Because it's the year of the Tiger, I got Frosted Flakes for breakfast then we ordered some chow mien and orange chicken from Panda Express that evening. 

That Friday (February 4th) was the opening ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Jonas and I decided to have a little watch party. We have really enjoyed watching several of the events over the past couple of weeks. Jonas is always asking how many medals we have compared to other countries. To say he is loyal to the US is an understatement. He wants us to win! He says one day he'll go to the olympics. I'm not quite sure what sport he aims to do that in so for now, we'll just enjoy watching. I decorated with flags from all the countries (his favorites were Japan and China) and had a little Olympic rings snack assortment.

On Saturday, February 12th, Danny went to the Sweethearts dance with his date, Rachel. This is only his second high school dance. It is fun to see him interact with his friends and enjoy these ritualistic high school experiences. The night before, the boys took the girls to Utah Lake to roast hot dogs and make s'mores while playing a few games on the shore. The night of the dance, they took pictures at the Springville Museum of Art, had dinner at Magelby's, attended the dance, then went to the Chisholm's for a movie after. They all had a blast!

Super Bowl was next (Sunday, February 13th)! This is always a fun evening for us. We don't really follow any particular team, but we enjoy watching the big game...and eating LOTS of food! I just love that it's another reason to gather my family. As is tradition, I chose foods that honored each team. This year, we had chili dogs and buckeyes in homage to the Cincinnati Bengals and street tacos and churros to honor the Los Angeles Rams (who won 23-20). We also had a veggie tray, chips and dips, and (of course) Jeff's favorite bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. We were lucky enough to have all the kids home, plus Evan, Kristina, their boys, Mitchell, Grant and his girlfriend, Liz. Dallin even invited over a couple of friends. To say we had a full house would be an understatement! However, there was plenty of food and fun for everyone. The kids tossed around the football before the game then after the game, we played a few games  of our own. It was a fun evening. I really do enjoy celebrating the minor (and major) moments of life. Any excuse to make a mundane more fun, I'm in!