Love in the air

We love to stretch out holidays around here, so why not Valentine's Day? We started last week with a fun hair-do for Clouburst (I found it here):
I don't usually do too much to her hair because of her beautiful curls, but this was fun. A few days later we had just a couple friends over and made some Valentine's cards.
The kids have a Valentine's Corduroy book that we read and followed (we made Valentines and then had cupcakes). We are still finding sparkles on the floor but it was fun!
On February 12 Cloudburst's school had a special pageant to honor President Lincoln's 200th birthday.
The gym was packed and Sunshine and Tornado had a great time running around in the back with all the other boys. They have no trouble making friends wherever they are.
And then it was time for Cloudburst and her class to dance the Virginia Reel! In this clip, Cloudburst and her partner are the head couple.



Now, a little trip into the past...................... about 6 years ago, Thunder and I planted a tree next to our house in Idaho Falls. After planting the tree and running errands, my wedding ring was lost! I searched high and low, made dozens of phone calls and tearfully told Thunder that I couldn't find it. Since then I've worn a lovely ring that my grandmother gave to me before she passed away. That is, until a few days before Valentine's Day, Sunshine came over to me with a small box and asked "will you marry me?" And inside was this!

I just love it!

For the actual day of Valentine's Day, we were able to drive up to our friend's ranch. What a nice break! R and M have a beautiful cabin in a stunning setting up in Idaho. Snow-covered hills stretch out as far as you can see, and it's wonderfully peaceful and quiet.
Thunder took all of us on a ride on a snowmobile and everyone took turns sledding and enjoying the outdoors. Cloudburst studied the snowflakes and noticed how beautiful they were up close....
Sunshine just preferred to eat it.....
and throw it. R and M also have two kids and they all played very well together. M is also preggo, about 2 months ahead of me, so we waddled around together. We had a great time, so thanks for some great memories!