The Sunny Day that Wasn't.

Nathan and I have a trend going this year of believing the weather man's report, making outdoor weekend plans, and then freezing. :) This past Saturday it was supposed to be 50 and mostly sunny. Well, the sun forgot to come out and sent 43 degrees and wind instead. But we had our heart set on going to a park with a big lake, boats, playground and hiking trails so we went anyway. We passed on the boats but we persisted in enjoying the playground and trails despite the cold and our inadequate jackets. :)
Both girls loved the slides and swings. Gracie laughed and laughed.















Daddy and Evelyn hiked through the woods to check out this giant tree.

And on our hike E decided that we all needed to use walking sticks. :)
We have outdoor plans all this weekend too.... we'll see if the weather man is wrong again or if he gets it right this time and we get to enjoy our predicted warmth and sunshine!

Aunts are the best!

The girls love all their aunts quite a lot and so they were quite thrilled when Aunt Katie said she was coming to visit and bringing some friends along too! Evie talked about Aunt Katie's visit for weeks. Over the week prior to Katie's arrival she would frequently check the windows to see if Aunt Katie was coming yet. Once after her nap she so desperately wanted Aunt Katie and only Aunt Katie to get her up from her nap that it took 5-10 minutes to convince her life was still worth getting up for even if Aunt Katie wasn't coming for another few days. ;) Needless to say, we were thrilled once her visit actually came!

Katie slept in Evie's room, much to Evie's delight, and this is what Nathan and I walked in to every morning. :)

Evie went to bed every night SO excited to wake up and read with Aunt Katie the next morning. :)
Katie's two friends, Anna and Tia, came with her. We were mostly having too much fun to take pictures. Despite the rain and frigid (by my standards ;)) temps, we had a marvelous time shopping, cooking, eating, talking, laughing watching movies, drinking tea, and relaxing.

Making guac...

Reading and relaxing...

Evie was so excited to share her favorite thing with Aunt Katie - watching the party scene from the Nutcracker!!

Sunday after church the sun finally came out so we headed to the James River beach for a bit before they had to head home.
  
Thank you soooo much for coming to visit, Aunt Katie, Anna, and Tia!! Come back soon!

Happy Vday! Happy Bday!

As you may recall, Valentine's Day is kind of a big deal in our house for many reasons. :) Not only do we love celebrating all holidays (even minor ones :)), but it's also our favorite man's birthday!!! I think Evelyn was a little confused as to why we were celebrating Valentine's Day (which we'd been talking about for a while with making Valentine's and all) and Daddy's birthday (which we had also been talking about for a while, I had to explain to her that other people had birthdays too ;)) on the same day, but it was all fun so she didn't question it too much. She helped me make the blueberry "cupcakes" the night before and couldn't wait to wake up and start the celebrating. Blueberry cupcakes = blueberry muffins. We're very into all things cupcakes right now so calling them cupcakes made them more exciting. ;)
We started celebrating before Nathan left for work, thus the PJs by some and sleepy looks by the parents. Good job, Nathan, on keeping Gracie out of the fire. ;)

So excited to start the presents!
Soon watching wasn't enough, she wanted to help...
And then helping from her seat wasn't good enough either... :)
The girls also get small presents on Vday which we were going to save until the evening, but Evie spied them early and we decided not to wait after all. Sooooo exciting! :)
It's Biscuit!
She was in the present opening mood and after decimating her wrapping paper, she offered to help Gracie...
...but Gracie said she could handle it. And yes, that is a Christmas tag on Gracie's gift. It's a leftover from Christmas that we decided she didn't need after she'd opened everything else. :)
While Daddy was at work, we continued on with the Valentine's Day celebrating. We'd already made cupcakes to share with our ballet class/music class/bookclub (E was in charge of the decor):
And we'd already painted the valentines cupcake magnet that Nana and Grandpa sent in their package:
So we decided to make birdseed hearts for the all the amazing birds we get in our yard! All our neighbors have feeders and we decided to join in. As you can see, Evie picked the cookie cutter so we ended up with some shapes other than hearts as well.
Three were gifts but the gingerbread girl is hanging up in our yard, much to the delight of the birds. :) It did take them a few hours to find it which was a bit puzzling to Evie. She stood in the backyard for a while calling "Come here, birds! Here is your food! Come oooooooonnnnnnn birdies!" Her calling may have aided in delaying them a bit. ;)

Nathan came home that evening with flowers for all three of his girls though we just got a picture of Gracie with her first Valentine's Day flowers. :)
Nathan's parents kindly watched the girls so Nathan and I could go out for a bday/vday dinner. They came equipped with little Valentine's gifts for the girls including a Minnie Mouse figurine for Evie which she has slept with most nights since. ;) They came back again a few days later for another birthday celebration. Thanks again, Mom, for making the best birthday dessert ever for the party!! :)
Happy birthday, Nathan/Daddy! We love you so much! You are the best husband, father, and friend anyone could ask for. We're so glad we get to spend our lives with you! :)
Happy (very belated) Valentine's Day to everyone else!