Wordless Wednesday

a weekend for the books

We had a really great weekend, which - by circumstance and happenstance - resulted in a mini getaway for Steve and me.  Saturday after skating lessons, we dropped the girls off in Flower Mound and headed to Ft. Worth for 24 hours of fun!  As it turns out, there is a huge ISU contingency in DFW, so we met up to go to the game at TCU.  We started by totally overtaking a bar on campus ... it's been a lot of years since we'd seen so much cardinal and gold in one place.  We paid homage to the gathering with ... cardinal and gold, of course.

 A while back, we splurged on front row seats for this game, and it was totally worth  every penny.  We got looks and waves from the guys during warm-up.  The stadium was FULL of Cyclones fans.  It was so awesome!  After the game, we got shout-outs on social media from players, the coach, and Iowa media outlets for the great and unexpected fan turn-out.

 We hung around after the game hoping to catch some high-fives from the players before they boarded the bus.  We were thrilled that many of them stopped to chat, shake hands, and take pictures.  Here we are with superstar Melvin Ejim ...

 And then the moment of all moments happened.  The biggest celeb on the team, Coach Hoiberg, simply known in Ames as The Mayor, was within arms reach when his wife offered to take a picture for us.  This one's going in a frame for sure.

 A friend watching the game from home sent us this picture he took when he spotted us on TV.  Yes, we've watched the ESPN highlights a bunch of times just to watch ourselves jump up and cheer. (For the record, I look angry in the picture because, at that point, we were losing to a terrible team.  Not for long, though.)

 After the game, we checked into a hotel in downtown Ft. Worth, grabbed some dinner, and then settled in for an early evening since Steve would be running the Cowtown Marathon the next morning.  This race wasn't part of his original plans, but once the Dallas Marathon was canceled due to our extreme ice situation back in December, Steve signed up for this one.  I was able to see him at Mile 10, which was routed right in front of our hotel.

 And here he is with the finish line in site.  The sun was beating down by this point and it was hot, but he hung in there and finished strong.

 After he was done, Steve told me to leave him if he ever threatens to run another marathon.  When I sort of laughed, he said, "No, really.  Pack some bags, take the kids, and leave if I ever think I want to do this again."  I'm writing it here so it's in stone.  This blog is stone, right?  Regardless, I'm so proud of him for his successful completion of his second marathon.  Also, I'm waiting for his motivation to rub off on me.

By the time we rolled back into Mamas and Papa's house to get the girls, we were so ready to see them and be back home as a family.  But we sure did enjoy our fun day away ... all that excitement will hold us over for quite some time!

I see I've gotten into the habit of blogging only after a weekend.  I'm not sure what to say other than I've spent my weeknights over the last two weeks glued to the Olympics, probably just like you.  I also managed to read a book for the first time in ages, so that felt like a decent use of evening hours.  Since this seems manageable, I think I'll stick to a weekly post goal (anything more will be bonus).  For now, we have lots of busy fun on the horizon: two trips for Steve, and a spring break trip to see G & G in Florida. 

Weekend Update

After weeks and weeks of cold, we have had a beautiful weekend.  Although winter doesn't officially end for another month, it sure feels like spring in DFW!  It started on Valentine's Day, which was perfect because Sara really wanted to wear her heart shirt without long sleeves underneath.  To celebrate, I did a little decorating and we had small gifts waiting for the girls when they woke up Friday morning.  They had parties at school, and then we came home and enjoyed a family dinner of heart-shaped pizza - and plenty of candy, of course.  

 As we were driving home on Friday afternoon, Sara was thrilled to see a plane writing in the sky.  Not sure what the rest of the message ended up being, but it was fun to see the I {heart} U in the sky on V Day!

 

Yesterday, after watching the incredible USA shoot-out victory over Russia, we had skating lessons and a birthday party.  In between, we played outside and broke out some new bubbles.  Today, which started out cloudy and foggy, turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day.  We took care of usual Sunday business like cleaning and grocery shopping, and then played at the park followed by bikes, bubbles, chalk, hula hoops, balls, etc. on the driveway.  It was just good fun!  When Sara ran inside to grab a hat because the sun was so bright, Emma wanted one, too.

After an early bedtime for the girls tonight, Steve and I enjoyed some poolside grilling: eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and Italian bread ... delicious with a glass of vino.  Now we're glued to more Olympic action (whatever will we watch when the Games are over?!).  I'm looking forward to easing into this week with a staff development day tomorrow, and then ending it with a date to see the Cyclones play at TCU on Saturday ... I'm sure there will be plenty of good stuff in between, too.

Monday Montage

• While watching all of the Olympic action lately, Sara informed us that she is an athlete because she does gymnastics and skating.  She is making good progress in both, but seems to enjoy gymnastics more.  I don't think she expected skating to be as hard as it is, which I think has been good for her.  Next month we are going to start gymnastics at a new gym that's closer to home and that also has a class for Emma.  She sure is tired of watching Sara have all the fun!

• Speaking of athletes, we are currently watching the Cyclones play terribly.  The losses hurt so much worse when the season has been so full of wins.  Hopes remain high for an excellent show at the tournament. *update: no longer watching...it's a disaster*
• If we are FB friends, you know that Emma took a spill on Saturday.  She tumbled out of her booster seat onto the kitchen floor, and immediately started bleeding profusely from her mouth.  I totally lost my cool and scrambled around crazily before I could gather my thoughts enough to realize we should go to the ER.  We all hopped in the car, and after a short wait at the hospital, learned that Emma's lip would heal on its own.  I was so thankful that her teeth were in tact, and that she hadn't bitten through anything that required stitches.  She did a lot of sleeping after her eventful afternoon, but is back to normal now.  But, geez, the blood ... there was so. much. blood.  I decided to wash this top and then keep it as a blood-stained souvenir ... I was shocked to find all of the blood had washed out when I pulled it out of the machine.

   

• We've had quite a bit of wintery weather this year, including late last week.  We ran into a problem when the girls' daycare was closed on Friday, but my district wasn't.  Many days Steve has the flexibility to work from home, but last Friday wasn't one of them ... so after driving the 25 minutes to daycare, the girls and I turned around and headed home for cold, icy a day together.  Sara was so disappointed because it was supposed to have been pajama day.
• For Christmas, Santa brought Sara a small, inexpensive MP3 player, and it continues to be a huge hit.  Her songs include everything from Disney songs to "Roar" to "Say Something" (Steve threw a little RENT and Indigo Girls in there, too).  She'll just relax and listen to her music when she needs down time, and it's so fun to hear her sing along with the radio when we're in the car.
• I am happy to report that Emma's expressive language is developing nicely.  Her receptive language has always been good, and continues to be, and now she's finally adding some words to her vocabulary, which has cut back on the screaming (hallelujah).  She now says mama, dada, blankies, dog, puppy, baby, ball, hi, bye-bye, Sara - some are more understandable than others, of course, but she knows what she is saying.  She has also become expressive in attempting a phrase to tell us what she wants; most of the time we can't understand at all, but she's diligent in repeating herself and pointing.  She's still behind the curve, but I'm thrilled with her progress.
• I'm so excited because I have the invites for my sister's bachelorette party ready to go.  They are so cute.  Too bad I can't send them for another month.  We are going to pedal pub around Minneapolis/St. Paul ... should be a good time.
• Steve was invited, along with a handful of people from his company, to spend four days at the CEO's home in the Virgin Islands.  I know, rough.  But I'm really proud of him for giving it his all and working his way up.  He deserves this perk ... if only spouses had been invited ...
• This picture was taken Sunday morning.  You can see Emma's busted lip, but clearly she was in good spirits ... as she usually is when she's hanging out with her big sis.  Love these two!

• Happy Valentine's Week!

Super Weekend

We had a super Super Bowl weekend.  It started late Friday night when Melissa and Adam arrived.  Sara was determined to stay up until they got here and, low and behold, she did.  Their flight arrived around 10:30, so Sara was in bed pretty shortly after saying hi and giving them a quick house tour.  

After skating lessons on Saturday, the girls headed to NorthPark for lunch and shopping while the guys headed out and about for Mexican food and sight-seeing.  We met back up in the evening, and had a grown-ups night out.  It was a much needed night of relaxing fun.

 Super Bowl Sunday, which was also my birthday, was spent hanging around the house and making good food.  The weather was terrible, which was a bummer, except that it gave us an excuse to just be uneventful and relax.  It turned out to be a great day, even though the game was pretty boring.  During the day, we made Valentine's cookies ... this activity will surely go down as an important pastime for Auntie and Sara.

Melissa and Adam left late this afternoon after lunch and a little shopping.  I missed them as soon as I started to drive away from the airport, but am so glad we had such a super weekend together.  We'll get to see Auntie again in Florida next month ... can't wait!