February 15-Happy Valentine's

Dear Family,
Happy Valentine's Day! We had a fun weekend, sprinkled w/ character to make it memorable. Brian took me out to dinner Friday night (we like avoiding crowds) to Kasbah Grill (our favorite little Indian place, and the owner's a client, we even saw Miles there w/ his wife that night!) and (window) shopping for couches. I had a blast asking questions all about my newfound knowledge on "8 coil hand-turned springs" and "kiln dried wood" with "reinforced joints" and we did find a crazy little store in Riverdale where you can custom order couches, so I think we have a place to go when the time is right. We topped off the night w/ a Marie Callender Razzleberry pie! Saturday was a little less romantic, though Emily kept trying to get us all to make a Valentine craft or eat Valentiney food :). We cleaned out the rest of the basement (freeing up space for the sheetrockers), and then shopped around for carpet. Buying carpet, I've decided, is a bit like voting. There are very few answers, and very few unbiased opinions, and though you want to make the best decision b/c the consequences are long-lasting, it is hard to know where to find accurate and current information!!! On our way home from Lowe's though, I started to feel quite sick, and had to go into an Urgent Care facility w/ a UTI. First though, Brian made us all dinner of hot dogs and french fries (they were actually SO delicious, since we seldom have hotdogs--Brian and Maddie don't enjoy them very much), so I can say he made dinner for Valentine's :). He stayed to man the bathing and bedding, and I ended up being gone from about 6-9PM. Ironically, I came home, not only w/ relieving Rx in hand, but quite refreshed! I had taken a book, and though admittedly, quite uncomfortable, it was so peaceful to just sit and read for so long! I even my free ice cream cone coupon at DQ on the way home (I'm hardly ever in the car alone!). Brian had straightened everything up, even after all that cooking :), and I'm sure he wondered at my illness that put me out just long enough for "evening chores" and then had me ready to play our new game "Manhattan" (that we gave ourselves for Valentine's Day) before bed--and I won! The children celebrated at school on Friday and I got the girls' hair braided into hearts (thanks for the idea Sharon!), helped in Brent's class, and had a fun day--almost a second Halloween at these parties (Spencer even suggested playing "Trick or Treat" w/ all the candy when the kids brought it home). Ah, but now we are off!--Emily is invited w/ her parents to a "Great to Be 8" night for all children getting baptized this year---can we believe she's getting baptized this year???? I told her maybe we should braid an "8" into her hair for the fireside :).