a little bit of love

before i get to our valentine's day, i want to share some news that is much more exciting (in my opinion). my brother-in-law anders proposed to his girlfriend nith a few days after arriving in laos last week! we knew he was planning to pop the question and got to see the ring when he was in town, but it's exciting to have it be official now! i've only gotten the opportunity to meet nith when she came to minnesota for a few weeks last spring, but i have no doubt that we are very lucky to get to have her as part of our family, and i look forward to getting to know her more. most importantly, they are a great match :) 

azalea had a little party at school on friday, so on thursday we worked on her valentines for her 10 classmates. i printed these black and white ones i found on the internet onto cardstock, so she could decorate them. she told me she wanted to do glitter paint, so we did. she really globbed it on and i was a little worried that they would never dry, but they did after sitting in front of a fan all night. none of the kids in her class have food allergies, so there were no limitations on what they could bring.

we didn't really have anything planned for valentine's day, but it ended up being a nice little day. thatcher let me sleep in that morning (it was my turn. ha). we had a slow morning and finally got ready to take the kids out somewhere for a few hours. i was sort of in a funk all morning and the kids were...getting to me, so thatcher offered to take them to the zoo himself so i could have me time. now that is my love language :) i wish i could say i used my time to do something exciting like shop or get a pedicure, but i went the responsible route and picked up the house, then walked to the grocery store. i did stop at the coffee shop on the way for an iced latte and a jam biscuit, though. 

it was relaxing and i greatly appreciated the quiet time. i also made a little display of valentine's goodies for when they returned. the kids were thrilled. azalea is suuuper into holidays and gifts these days.

i got the kids bubbles, silly putty, chocolate, and a headband and little purse for azalea. thatcher bought those flowers for me a couple days ago and the bars of chocolate were for him.

in the afternoon thatcher went out on some errands and i lounged on the couch while the kids napped. we made chicken gyros and potatoes and asparagus on the grill. so good! then we watched a movie with the kids and ate a chocolate souffle that thatcher baked. i've decided it's our official valentine's dessert now (we made it last year too). 

now it's monday, but it doesn't feel like it because thatcher is off for president's day and azalea doesn't have school. we are planning to go to the children's museum for our bonus weekend day! hope you had a good valentine's day with those you love!