Be Mine

Another Lover’s Day came and went (along with mine and Dave’s 11th anniversary). Our anniversary was actually spectacular this year…super unusual, but one of my personal faves. We went to a cooking class at Taste Culinary Boutique at Gardener Village, and the food was DELISH being an assortment of European dishes! The only problem was we only got “tastes” of each of the courses. I mean…SERIOUSLY??? By the time the class was over, we were both starved! We headed Salt Lake way, and ended up at Bruges for the Torpedo waffle and fries; love the chocolate placed just so inside the sugary waffle, garnished with strawberries and crème fresh. Mmmm!!!  After, we hit up Trader Joe’s so we could buy all of the ingredients to make our new, exciting recipes from our class (and we also stocked up on their awesome macaroni and cheese). And then by this point, we decided we couldn’t end the night without a little gelato from Dolcetti. That place is awesome. Every flavor is wonderful…we should know since we sampled almost all of them. I know what you're thinking: What is wrong with these people?!!! Why do they eat so much?!! I don’t know. It’s an illness really. It was A LOT of food, but you know what, it made for a magical night! So fun!!

So Valentine’s Day happened something like this…

We forewent (is that a word?) individual gifts this year since we’ve got a few upcoming adventures in the works that we’re trying to save for. But I still got a darling bouquet from the husband. The leaves were shaped into hearts, and the roses had little diamonds at their centers. Such a cute, unique bouquet!

Dave is King of Romance I think. He comes up with (I’ll say it) the sexiest;) of ideas for Valentine’s Day dinners with the kids. Last year was Carrabba’s take out, which we all love. And this year? Cheese and chocolate fondue. It was so perfect! He had all the fixings, but of course, the kids loved the marshmallows, popcorn, and chocolate the most; pretty sure they were in Wonderland eating that for dinner. But anyway, he’s the one that always puts it together, and it’s always a flawless, fun dinner.

 

       

After dinner, it was time for me to put on my show…the annual Heart Hunt. This year was neat because Kate could READ all of the clues without help. She would read each clue, and then quickly run off to find the heart. We kept having to make her wait for little brother. As you can see, he had a few fits throughout the scavenger hunt:

It’s hard being the little one

 

The hunt ended in Kate’s closet. Sissy threw her arms up in the air when beholding her prize, a Cuddle-Uppet. And Cole beamed at the sight of his new race track!

 

What a consummate Valennersary!

Snow Shovelers

We had a storm that DUMPED snow! Kate was excited to go out in it, but it took a little convincing with Cole. Our little polar bear hates the snow; he does, however, love a shovel! I pulled out one that was just his size, and he even agreed to put on a few snow clothes. The mom was proud, and I think he really had a good time.

      

 

Snow Angels

 



    

And the best part? Hot chocolate afterwards. Cole could only say, “Mmmm…dood (good)"; the perfect payment for all their hard work;)

The Lyle In Me

My dad is Lyle. He's your average Joe for the most part, except that he is a remarkably lucky guy. The man has won various things over the years. I do not have luck like this...usually...but once in a while, something good comes my way. Take, for example, last Wednesday night:

Dave and I got invited to a Jazz game. Lucky. Not any old Jazz game; a luxurious Jazz game including 5th row seats, courtesy of the Peterson's. Super lucky! This is our 2nd time in 1 year sitting in premium seats, which included dinner before, and desserts during half time. Lucky again. There's just nothing else like it. I mean NOTHING. It is a night of pure bliss when you are sitting that close (and we are forever ruined because of it).

And the dinner, lest we forget, was delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed the salad, cheese and crackers, fruit, chicken, rolls, eclairs, fruit tart, cookie, and anything else I may have left off the list. So good and SO FUN! Oh, and winning a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone (valued at $599) all while being on the jumbo tron; that was amazing too. Crazy lucky...just like my old man.

Trying not to boast here, seriously, I'm not. It was just that great of a night to be left off the books!