8 years and counting

February 1, 2003 was the day I married my sweetheart. We don't really use pet names like that, but he really is a sweetheart; except he disobeyed my edict of no gifts this year.

2 dozen beautiful roses

A beautiful necklace

We had a lovely night out, eating yummy food, being horrible bowlers, grabbing some groceries (romantic and necessary!) and enjoying a movie at home. It was fun to spend time together and reflect on our years as a couple.

In other news, we've had so many ups and downs with the weather. It's hard to get accustomed to things when they so suddenly change!

We had a lot of fun playing outside on those beautifully warm days.

Ryan and Madeline had a very fun time out there one afternoon while Claire was napping.

He buried her alive...

...threw her into the snow banks, multiple times...

...and they made a new friend.

Thank goodness for fun Dads. :)

We got to see an Oil Kings game, which is always fun. They go out of their way to make it a fun family experience, and there are usually lots of goals to celebrate.

Madeline was entertaining Claire during the game.

She sings SO loud when she has headphones on. It's hilarious. Note the makeshift microphone.

The girls started Ballerina Dreams again. It's a great class put on by the CPAA. Here they are, all gussied up.

We have great mentors this year. Here's Claire's helper Anthony. He's been wonderful with her.

It's hard to catch Madeline during class because she's always moving and loving every minute of it, so here she is at home, ready to go!

Our little computer guru. She can now get to Treehouse and PBSkids by herself and does a pretty good job of navigating through the games.

For some reason, January felt like a "blah" month. I'm looking forward to the rest of February and getting closer and closer to warmer weather!