February Forever

To be the shortest month, I always feel like February takes forever to get through. But we did get through it! Here are the highlights:

Weston developed a case of cellulitis (on top of poison ivy)
and had to spend some quality time at the clinic.  

Super Bowl Party

Clay's Scout den visited the police station,
and he got to sit in a squad car and get a mugshot.

Brothers and friends!

Ruth, Weston, Jeff, and I got to go bowling at Main Event

Meanwhile, these guys were building bonfires at Mimi and Grandpa's house.

Jeff and I had a day of dates which included a visit to the Haltom City farmer's market,
brunch at the Omni Ft. Worth, a quick stroll through the Ft. Worth water garden,
and a wonderful cultural experience at Mercado 369, where we heard an artist,
whose preferred medium is coffee, give a speech and demonstrate his craft, enjoyed
coffee samples from a craft roaster, and viewed many forms of Latin American art.

Jeff and Weston tried out VR gaming at Source Gaming Lounge.

We played lots and lots of games!

We helped pack and deliver boxes for Lovepacs of Lewisville.

We celebrated my half-birthday with singing, sushi, and tulips.

Weston was chosen to be the MC for the Scouts' Court of Honor at the last minute,
and he was completely nonplussed, even though he had had no time to prepare.
He was also recognized for his most recent merit badges and his latest rank of Life Scout.

Valentine's Day Celebration:
Movie and a Chik-fil-A bouquet for the kids,
fancy dinner at J2 steakhouse for the grown-ups

The younger boys and I traveled to Seguin to celebrate my nephew's birthday.

First track meet of the season, where Ruth ran in the 100M, 200M, the 4x200.
Her relay team captured third place!

Ruth's CyberPatriot team had their end-of-season party.

Sometimes it was hard to get through the school day. 😴

Weston and Clay had a brother rodeo.

Spring tried half-heartedly to make an appearance

Clay helped me work through some of the projects that will be included
in my soon-to-be-published Explore Australia book.

Clay got to be part of the Color Guard at his Scout pack meeting

The Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet was fun for everyone!
Max helped pass out tickets, and Weston helped
welcome the boys bridging over to Boy Scouts.

We took advantage of one of the really lovely days to have a cookout and picnic.

Max officially joined the Boy Scouts.

We had a field trip to Medieval Times with the boys' Arrow history classes.

Celebrating 20 Years

On the 22nd, Jeff and I hit a major milestone in our marriage: our 20th anniversary. This momentous occasion called for a grand celebration, so we took ourselves to an all-inclusive resort in Costa Rica for a week while my amazing mom stayed with the kids and got them to all their various activities. Costa Rica was a new country for us (country 43 to be exact), and we loved it! We spent most of our time relaxing at the resort and indulging in the wonderful food and beverages, walking on the beach, watching the local wildlife, participating in included activities, and visiting the spa. On our actual anniversary, we spent the day away from the resort, hiking in the rainforest at the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, which was amazing. I am including picture collages of the highlights of each day.

Jeff and I are proud of our marriage and the life we've built together. I'm so incredibly thankful that he chose me all those years ago and that we still have forever to look forward to! 

Day One:
A pic from the plane as we approached the coast;
A welcome drink;
All the desserts;
A walk on the beach;
The first of many iguana sightings;
Sunset on Playa Conchal

Day Two:
Iguana entertainment at breakfast;
A special towel animal;
An anniversary cake delivered to our room;
The most amazing sunset of the week;
Thatch-roofed restaurant;
Celebrating a few days early

Day Three:
A sunrise walk on the beach (after ordering off the After-Midnight room service menu at 4:30);
We found a little love on the rocky end of the beach;
Restaurant floral arrangement;
Two-toned squirrel busy in the tree outside our room;
Another awesome sunset;
Our first coati spotting

Day Four:
Our first time to see a calabash tree;
Pedicures at the spa (Jeff's first, and my first at a resort);
A howler monkey making his way across the resort grounds;
Spectacular views of the golf course;
Cocktail making class;
A poisonous yellow-bellied sea snake

Day Five:
One of the huge strangler fig trees in Rincón de la Vieja National Park;
20 years of adventure;
One of many Blue Morpho butterflies;
La Cangreja waterfall was our reward for hiking through the rainforest;
Turtle towel friend;
Sushi dinner at Bamboo

Day Six:
Sushi making class;
The chocolate bomb dessert at Catalinas;
Incredible night sky;
My happy place

Day Seven:
Our last walk on the beach;
A beautiful send-off;
The rainbow was an added bonus;
Wrapping up the trip with a spa package that included a massage, reflexology treatment, and manicure;
Palm tree in paradise;
The big daddy of all iguanas. Man, he was huge!);
Costa Rican coffee class;
Crème brûlée and a "French Kiss" last hoorah

A wonderful day on the mountain

The snow cleared out yesterday afternoon, and today was absolutely gorgeous. Jeff and the kids hit the slopes as soon as the lifts opened, and I met up with them at lunchtime. After they got back to it, I lingered for a while so I could see the kids make a few runs. When I was ready to head back to the apartment, Clay decided he was ready to call it a day, so we spent the rest of the afternoon building a snowman and playing in the rec room. It was a wonderful day!

A beautiful way to start the day!

These kids absolutely love skiing!

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the mountain

Leaving the slopes early doesn't mean the fun has to end!

Perfect end to a perfect day!

The last five days

Maybe you think because I haven't been writing blog posts that we haven't had much going on the last few days, but, in fact, we've had a lot going on; I just haven't been getting it recorded.

On Wednesday, I went up to Jeff's school for a little cooking class they were having. We made pizzas and learned lots of vocabulary and had a great time.

Making pizza dough

Homemade pizza, ready to eat

On Thursday, we spent some time at our favorite park, soaking up the gorgeous weather and enjoying various activities, from working out to playing in the forest to writing.

These boys love "their" forest!

Knocking out some pull-ups

A pretty amazing place to get some writing done

Jeff's school hosted an asado (BBQ) on Friday, and we had a great time hanging out with the staff and students, eating perfectly cooked meat and drinking a variety of wines and beers while visiting with friends from England, Australia, Argentina, and the U.S. in Spanish and English. Afterwards, we stopped at a tiny but very interesting playground made entirely of metal, which the younger boys loved. And later that evening, the boys voted to stay home and watch a movie while the rest of us went out to dinner at Cara & Ceca and coffee at Zeze.

Goodies on the grill

Enjoying the asado at Jeff's school

Loving the all-metal playground

Cara & Ceca

A fancy dinner for about $10

After-dinner macchiato 

We spent a large part of the day yesterday at our favorite plaza, Plaza Independencia. And then we decided to have an asado of our own, except our guests ended up not being able to come, so we just carried on and had our own little party.

The boys love this ground-level merry-go-round

On Saturdays, the "Art Lady" sets up a long
line of kid-sized easels and chairs for budding artists.
Clay just can't resist!

Asado time

The bougainvillea in our courtyard is so gorgeous! 

Today we joined a tour group and headed out to Potrerillos Lake, making a couple of stops along the way. The drive was really lovely, and the lake is absolutely beautiful. It reminded us a bit of Lake Louise in Banff with the mountains all around and the vibrant blue water.

The Mendoza River

Crossing the Mendoza River on
a shaky suspension bridge

Wild and free!

We stopped at the Potrerillos Hotel for coffee and great views.

Clay was thrilled that he stepped on a rainbow.

Master of the monkey bars

Beautiful view from the hotel of
Lake Potrerillos and the Staphyle Vineyard 

The other view from the hotel (of the Andes) isn't bad either!

And in addition to all this, we have all spent time this week working on things that are important to us and that make us happy. Some of those included: reading, writing, Scouts, Hidden Pictures, cooking, Spanish, making plans for the upcoming school year, sleeping in, and hanging out with each other. It's a good life!