Presidents' Day

The Willis crew came up for the weekend. Scott & I hadn't seen them in almost a year, and our kids very much needed to meet their adorable son, Burton.

We played games, sliced insane amounts of vegetables & cheese & bread, vowed to never bowl in Boise again after two hilariously bad experiences, went to dinner instead, lounged, laughed, learned all about Mario & whales, and caught up.

Thanks for visiting, guys! It was so good to see you again.

Valentine's Day 2013

The kids woke up to their valentines from Scott & me-- chocolates and secret messages. They eagerly decoded (and eventually had a proper breakfast):

 

Their day was a whirlwind of school parties, crafts, valentines, candy, and games.

Travis' valentine for us:

Libby's "gift" for me:

 

Benjamin's valentine box we made for school:

Scott left for work at 5:45 in the morning (as usual) and had a long day due to meetings. Knowing that, we opted to keep it simple-- which suits our style better, anyway-- by enjoying a relaxing evening together once the little ones went to bed. 

My valentines are the best. But I may be a smidge biased.

Jack-o-lantern Travis

Let's go back to last summer.

Benjamin & Travis were roughhousing-- as boys do-- when Travis fell off the couch. He came up with a bloody mouth and a slightly wiggly tooth.

X-rays showed a hairline fracture at the root of his tooth. His dentist explained that it could take up to a year to heal and that the tooth would probably look grayish (from bruising) in the meantime.

At Travis' regular checkup in December, his x-rays looked the same as before. Dr. Higer gave us a rundown of emergency scenarios but told us she'd most likely see us again in 6 months.

One of those scenarios came up this week. Dr. Higer decided to extract Travis' tooth. He handled the procedure like a champ and had everyone laughing.

Waiting for the the medicine to kick in:

New smile (for the next 2+ years):

Benjamin's 7th birthday

Our 7-year-old had three days of fun!

On Friday, we brought chocolate cupcakes to school to celebrate with Jamin's class. 

Saturday was Jamin's Ninja Turtle party.

The kids ate pizza, played games,

 

 

goofed around,

and ended with fruit pizza (because Ninja Turtles love pizza).

Sunday-- Benjamin's actual birthday-- we kept it simple with family. He requested an ice cream sandwich cake:

We're so thankful for Jamin and had a wonderful time celebrating with him.