Feb 20-26

Monday, February 20 - Simon was off today for President's Day so we were able to meet my family at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Yum!

Tuesday, February 21 - This was a bittersweet lunch date. Leslie DeSouza is moving next week to Arizona so we had a farewell lunch for her at Arctic Circle. We'll miss her and her sweet smile - specially at book club! I am so proud of Nick! (I feel like I feel that way a lot lately!) He received his Webelos award tonight. He also earned his Arrow of Light but that ceremony will take place in June. What a great day!

Wednesday, February 22 - Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Jim invited me to go to the Little America Buffet for lunch today. The beef stroganoff is Jim's favorite and I liked it too! It was an amazing lunch and what's even better, the company that I was with! Big thanks to my sister who rearranged her plans with Grandma H to watch my kids while we went.

Thursday, February 23 - I just love lunch dates (obviously)! We had our February lunch group today at Cubbie's. We get different ladies at each group and it is so fun to get to know so many people better! How cute are those techno boys by the way!?!

Friday, February 24 - I spent a little time today making Nick's birthday invitation for Airborne. He is so excited that it's his turn for a party and he can't wait to go to one of his favorite places with his closest friends!

Saturday, February 25 - Today was just a really great day! First thing, Nick called Blake and asked him to come over to play Mine Craft. They had a blast! Tonight, Dave & Viv came over and watched the kids while Simon and I went out with Seth and Jessie. We went to dinner at Five Guys (after Olive Garden was too long of a wait) and then we went to the movies and saw "Lion". It was such a great show! I only went through one box of tissues!!

Sunday, February 26 - I get a little obsessed with puzzles when I get them out. I was up until about 2:30 am finishing this so I figure that totally counts as Sunday, right? Although I didn't take a picture, I wanted to mention that I went to the viewing of my great aunt Margaret Boehme. I was sad for the family but happy for her. She has been struggling so it is a blessing that she is now in a better place.

Feb 13 - 19

Monday, February 13 - How adorbs are these cute new haircuts?!? Halle got enough cut to donate! They look so beautiful! And what a fun thing to do on Brielle's actual birthday! P.S. I don't have a picture of this but Ricki is still super sick. We were not going to go to bowling and spread the virus but bowling got canceled anyway! (That's never happened to me before!) So we stayed home and sat on the couch pretty much all day long!

Tuesday, February 14 - Happy Valentine's day from these big mouth kids!

Wednesday, February 15 - I feel like so much has changed with Ricki in the past few weeks. First of all, I started just putting her in her bed and walking out at night. I know that seems normal but actually, I have been spending up to an hour and a half in her room EACH NIGHT waiting for her to fall asleep! She has transitioned so well to that, I think I could have done it months ago! This picture is of her eating breakfast in big girl pants! She woke up dry yesterday so I encouraged her to sit on the potty. She went! I put her in a pull-up, told her not to potty in it (like I've done a handful of times in the past), and after about an hour, she grabbed her bum and asked for a diaper. That was my clue that she wanted a diaper to potty in so I took her in the bathroom again...and she went! Here we are, over 24 hours later and she hasn't had one accident! I am hesitant to be too hopeful but she *MAY* have just potty-trained herself!!!

Thursday, February 16 - We had our Relief Society "Favorite Things" activity. We asked the sisters in the ward to bring a product, book, website, etc. that was their favorite thing and share it with the group. Normally, a Favorite Things party entails giving your favorite thing away but we just did it for the ideas. We handed out notebooks and pens to each person so that they could take notes about ideas they got while they listened to others. It was so fun and I had great feedback about it! 

Friday, February 17 - Ricki had her first "official" haircut today! Of course, she did cut a nice chunk of hair out on Christmas Eve but this was an actual professional cut by Penney. It's so beautiful! Tonight, Simon went on the Klondike scout camp so I had the fam over to go over wedding plans. It was really fun and ended up being a mass sleepover! :) I love my family!

Saturday, February 18 - My sweet mommy took all of us Howard girls to the University of Utah gymnastics meet. We met up, did a little bridesmaid dress shopping, Katie and I bought new UofU shirts, we had dinner at Olive Garden, then went to the U. The meet was SO fun! We loved watching it! What a fun day out with my most favorite ladies of all time!!

Sunday, February 19 - To say that my kids are a little obsessed with Finley is a huge understatement! They love this little girl and Nick took about 40 pictures of her! Isn't she so cute?? We can't wait for baby girl Pearson to arrive in April!

Feb 6 - 12

Monday, February 6 - My dear Simon is working hard to get the big wall in our family room patched up and painted. He had to climb over the fireplace to get clear into the corner. Tonight, we had dinner then family night and then he started working. It made for a late night for him!

Tuesday, February 7 - My parents rock! Mom came and picked up the boys right after work today. She picked up the McCullough boys too and they went home to have pizza for dinner. Afterward, they all (dad too) went to the movies and saw "Monster Truck". The boys came home so happy and excited to tell us about their special night! These are the best memories that they will have forever!

Wednesday, February 8 - We went with Jenni and her girls to Cafe Rio for our favorite tostada special. Despite Zack's silliness, Ricki was pretty grouchy and sad. :( She was getting sick, poor thing. But those lashes!!!

Thursday, February 9 - For the first time in what feels like years, we had all of our permanent bunco players at bunco! It was a very fun evening. Erin and Samantha did a great job!

Friday, February 10 - She wasn't feeling well on Wednesday, she was really yucky on Thursday, but Friday, she was just miserable. We had two really rough nights. (Simon even slept with Kendra because she was up so much in the night.) So I called the doctor first thing and got her in. She has bronchiolitis which is basically bronchitis in young children usually cause by the RSV virus or Adenovirus. He also said it could cause croup-like symptoms and to be very careful because not only is it very contagious, it also easily turns into pneumonia and she is borderline. Well, if you know me and know our medical history with Nick, you know that the scariest words you can say to me are Adenovirus, croup, and pneumonia! She will also start antibiotics for fluid on both ears. This little baby with the big blue eyes is a mess!

Saturday, February 11 - I love this picture of our Valentine party! There was a lot of conversation, happiness, and laughter. I am so glad that this is our new party tradition. I love having my friends gathered in my home!

Sunday, February 12 - Halle came up to me a couple of weeks ago and said, "Aunt Heather, will you  make my birthday cake?" How does one say no to that!! They requested a unicorn cake so a unicorn cake they got! It got a little lopsided on the drive to their house but they both liked it so that's all that matters! Happy birthday Halle and Brielle!

Jan 30 - Feb 5

Monday, January 30 - This old van has been so good to us! I can't believe we've already hit 140,000 miles! It has it's issues...like the automatic doors no longer work and my seat doesn't heat up anymore BUT, it's still a great car and a smooth ride. HOping for another couple of years!

Wednesday, February 1 - Happy birthday to our sweet Halle! She's 6 years old today! We celebrated with Grandma, Jim, and Jenni at Chick-Fil-A.

Thursday, February 2 - I had the fun opportunity of volunteering at Kendra's 3rd grade marketplace. I was in charge of "personal care" items. She was supposed to dress up as a car salesman. We didn't mean to match but it was kind of fun that we did! :)

Friday, February 3 - We FINALLY sold our kitchen table! It's been on KSL for sale since November. A cute lady and her adult son came and she loved it! We didn't get as much as we were hoping for but we're happy to have it gone. Now Simon can pick up our new table!

Saturday, February 4 - Liz, Amie, and I went downtown tonight for dinner then saw "Lala Land". I liked the movie until the end. I loved the company I was with though!

Sunday, February 5 - Superbowl 50! Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots. Atlanta was ahead for almost all of the game. Right toward the end, the Patriots caught up and tied the game. For the first time in Superbowl history, the game went into overtime. Of course, the Patriots won the coin toss and therefore won the game 34 to 28.