February started off on the right foot and only got better as the month went on! Joseph's fun run was on February 1st and was highly anticipated since the cancellation of the original one back in November. This date worked out perfect for us though as the girls and I were all able to cheer him on before going to dance that morning. He did awesome and was a sweaty beast by the end and by his calculations ran 23 laps (which is a little over 4 miles!) They began an electronic chip system this year so he wasn't given the lap amount immediately but he ran the entire time and was sweaty and tired by the end. The girls loved being there and seeing all of the runners!
He didn't have school the following day for professional development so that night he went to his very first friend sleepover!! His best buddy's older brother was turning 10 and was nice enough to invite Joseph to join in on the fun. This is such a great group of boys and Joseph said "it was the best night ever!" Nerf guns, video games, pizza and your best buddies...what more could a kid want?!
On Sunday the 4th we headed up to Nani and Poppa's for the afternoon to hang with everyone for a bit. A little relaxation in the pool in February is incredible (although the real story is that the pool is freezing but our kids are just crazy!!)
Sweet cousins!
Putting on shows after dinner time!
The girls and I went to the community fields one day to watch Poppa play baseball and to practice riding bikes and I sent this picture to Rich! Strong girls!!
I was able to sneak away on February 7th because Val was in town!!!! She was presenting at a rare disease conference so I joined her at the poster presentation and then stayed for dinner with her and some of the other parents of kids with Sanfilippo. It was such a treat to see her!!
Aidan and Charlotte have been having dance parties in the cul de sac recently to "The Elmo Slide." They are hilarious!
On February 10th I took Joseph to his buddy, Chase's, 7th birthday at Hilltop Park. Joseph and Chase went to preschool together and they go to different schools now and rarely see one another but when they do they pick up right where they left off and have such a great time together. I love friendships like that!
On Sunday, February 11th we made our way to Coronado bright and early so I could run in the Valentine's Day 10k. Rich has run this race the past two years so it has become a tradition but this year since he didn't need it for a training run I decided to jump in his spot. And then I convinced Laura, Bri and Linz to join, too! And, then we found out that Aunt Carol and Uncle JP were going to be in town that weekend so we convinced them to run, too! And, then, Paul decided last minute to sign up that morning so it was a fun family affair!
The girls and I had a fun race and despite talking the entire time still ran sub 8 minute miles-not bad for a bunch of 30 year old moms!
The racers!We ended up leaving with two awards between the 7 of us; however, the timing was a little off so we really aren't quite sure if we really deserve the awards but the kids are liking them!
The support crew, under age 7!
That afternoon I snuck away to the RB Inn for a few hours to catch up with Katie and Michelle since Michelle was in town for the weekend visiting her parents. Always so great to spend time with these ladies.
Sweet Charlotte wanting to be like the big kids...she has her own helmet but most days insists on wearing Ella or Joseph's (I'm pretty sure she's never worn Julia's because whenever we are outside, Julia's helmet is always on her head!).
Valentine's Day celebrations!!!! Holidays are so much fun with our crew. Loved decorating the table the night before but more importantly loved their excitement in the morning!
Heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.
I volunteered in Joseph's classroom for their Valentine's Day party and was in charge of the craft and am so happy with the way these turned out! I had our kids each make one, too, so now we'll have their fingerprint hearts for decorations for next year, too.
Nani was with the girls while I was at the party and I took Joseph out of school a little early so he was able to see Nani, which normally doesn't happen during the week, since he's at school. He convinced her to play a little game of Twister before she left, which was a Valentine's Day gift from Aunt Cindy.
Julia delivering her valentines to the neighborhood kids.
Our littlest Vlanetine!
She is starting to "pretend fight" like the big kids and is so cute when she does!
Valentine shaped pizza for dinner.
And finally a sweet Valentine's Day picture of Ella, too! She just had the best day at her school, too, passing out her Frozen valentines and having a party with her class.
The next day we were at dance and I had to catch a picture quickly with her hair up in a ponytail before she took it off. She looks so cute with it in and it keeps it out of her eyes but she is always pulling it out!
Friday, the 16th, kicked off the first day of February break!! Poway does a February and a spring break which is kind of a nice way to break up the second half of the school year. We didn't travel at all this week so just enjoyed not being on the strict school schedule and doing something every day to keep it interesting. The big kids started with Friday night being in the hot tub with Daddy!
On Saturday Joseph and Rich were invited to the Laugesens to play "Dungeons and Dragons". They came back with a second game date on the calendar so had a good time.
That afternoon we went to Nani and Poppa's to celebrate Cole's 5th birthday!!! Can't believe that he is 5. We had a super fun time at his Ninja themed party! Even Charlotte got into the obstacle course!
We had some chillier weather over the week off and one morning there was frost in the ground so sent the kids outside so we could get a picture. Joseph, who never complains of being cold, asked to go inside so it was chilly (granted he is wearing shorts and a t-shirt!)
By Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. the family room had been turned into a massive fort/pirate ship and this is pretty much how it stayed all week long! We met up with friends at the Westwood Club on Monday for a few hours,
on Tuesday, both Ella and Joseph had friends over. Joseph and his buddy asked to have some electronic time together so they could play one another in a game and this is how they sat for the entire 25 minutes that they played!
We went to the zoo with the Ozescks on Wednesday. These silly monkeys decided to meditate their way throughout the zoo.
They played for a very long time at this open area.
Charlotte was loving it!
Still meditating...too funny!
and now dabbing!
Finally, one of them just smiling!!
On Thursday we met Lindsay and Finn at a new park in Encinitas right by the beach. The kids brought bikes and had a great morning until it started pouring on us!! At least we got a few hours of outside fun in though!
Poppa took Joseph fishing twice over break and although they didn't have any luck catching anything they had a great time together.
These two just hanging around on one of the afternoons where we had some rain.
On Saturday we went to Poway Park since we had never been and rode the trolley (we actually thought it was going to be a train but I guess they change weekly) but the kids didn't mind and everyone had fun.
Joseph entertained himself by dabbing for the entire ride.
It was a windy day so we stopped and bought a kite. I had planned on flying it at Poway park but the park was filled with trees and was rather small so we drove over to the community park with lots of space and the kids had a blast!
Even Charlotte got in on the action.
More February break fun consisted of Olympic sports, such as bobsledding and the luge, down the stairs. It has been really fun watching the Olympics with the kids-they love the snowboarding and the skiing. Ella told us, "I don't like watching figure skating, but I do like their outfits." Ha ha.
Then February break was over before we knew it and we were back in the normal school routine. Julia and Ella spend a lot of time at the table coloring/drawing/writing and on February 26th she showed me this and I asked her how she learned how to write "E" (because I definitely have not taught her that) and she replied, "Ella teached me." Awww, so proud of Ella! What a great big sister!
Joseph celebrated the 100th day of school on February 28th-he had a fun day celebrating in school and came home with this gem.
To finish out the month we met up with Katie, Abby and Zack and the kids played hard and great for about two hours and Katie and I enjoyed catching up with one another!
Such a fun month with family and friends!!!
