thatcher work trip, february thaw, friend reunion

 last monday morning thatcher left very early for the airport to fly to DC for 2 nights for work. i had to take azalea to the orthodontist before school to get a new bracket on a tooth for her rubber bands to attach to. the old one fell off. thankfully it was super quick! thatcher got to see cedar, eric, jack, and telemachus for dinner that night. 

tuesday i ran some errands in the morning, including a trip to marshalls. i had a giftcard from christmas burning a hole in my pocket :) for years i have been looking for some new bedside lamps. i could never find ones i liked for a good price. but yesterday i did! i love the way they look in our room. the old ones we had were fine, but they were too small and cheaply made. what a glow up!

before: 

after:

ashford had zoom piano in the evening. 

wednesday the weather finally started getting a little warmer. it's amazing going for walks with winnie in 20-30 degrees vs. single digits like we did for weeks. she also has started resting just her paw on me while i'm working. they don't call doodles 'velcro dogs' for nothing :)

 in the evening, the kids and i met my brother for dinner at 'the sunshine factory' in plymouth. it was nice to get out on a weeknight and see him and not have to cook! thatcher returned from his trip that evening too. we missed him! 

thursday it got up to 36 degrees, which felt amazing and melted some of the snow. naughty pup always wants to be a part of whatever is happening at the table. 

friday evening thatcher and the kids went to the monthly potluck at liz and joe's and i opted to have a night to myself (ok, winnie was there too) and watch the olympic opening ceremony. winnie ended up in her crate because she did not want to sit on the couch with me and relax. ha! 

saturday was the busiest day we've had in a while. in the morning azalea and i met up with our old friends mandy and georgia at 'marc heu patisserie' in our neighborhood. when we lived in minneapolis before, they lived in our old neighborhood and azalea and georgia were the same age. we sort of lost track of them after we moved, but just a couple months ago we discovered that azalea and georgia had met at their high school without even knowing they knew each other as toddlers. so fun! i couldn't resist a little 'then vs. now' comparison picture. 

in the afternoon, thatcher and i walked over to another old friend's who lives in our current neighborhood. he and his family were having an open house. thatcher knew rick back in college when rick's band toured with thatcher's college roomates' band. we met some new people and had some delicious cuban food. then...(are you tired yet?) i headed out to volunteer at a performing arts fundraiser for the high school. my friend karen is one of the organizers and she asked me if i would help with 'check in'. it was fun to be a part of this huge event for the first time. i saw some people i knew and met lots of new people. i also watched some of the performances by the high schoolers. forgot to take any pictures though! 

sunday morning thatcher made us eggs and biscuits. azalea and i ran some pre-superbowl errands. our neighbors next door have a sauna and they have invited thatcher and me over almost every sunday this winter and we hadn't been able to make it, but yesterday we did! i hadn't been in a sauna in probably 25 years and the heat was intensssse, but it was fun to try it out for a few minutes. my brother came over in the evening to watch the superbowl with us. we had lots of fun snacks (i.e. junk food) and thatcher grilled burgers for dinner. it was fun to see the seahawks win, even though we don't live in seattle anymore, and the bad bunny half-time show was so good! 

my kids have short school weeks this week and next. seems to to be the case a lot here. i can't say i mind not waking up in the dark though :)