Valentine's Day Sleepover with the Girl Scouts ~

 We had a sleepover at the fire station last night and the girls had a blast!  16 girls...ran, danced, laughed, created, ran, ate, played, read, sang, and ran some more!   5 girls did presentations to earn badges, we enjoyed pizza for dinner, made candles out of old crayons, played games, made our own lip gloss, and made a kazillion rubber band bracelets!

 As it was nearing midnight we put in a movie to wind down.  We lost a few of the girls during the first movie...but the die-hards stayed up to watch another movie...and when that ended at 3am, we called it a night!

 What an wonderful bunch of girls!!!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Dinner ~

 On Friday morning, we caught these big horn sheep hanging out over at Archer's!  It looked like they were gathered there for a meeting of some kind...

 but mostly i think they were just basking in the sun!

Today was Jordyns school Valentine party, and when Justin brought Jordyn home from school she was excited to tell me that her love robot won 2nd place.  She spent several days working on it, so we were excited she won!
Our family also celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday instead of Saturday, because we had a big sleepover at the fire station planned with the girl scouts on Valentine's Day. 

 Justin had surprised us by bringing home steaks, lobster tails and crab legs, so we had quite the feast!

 After dinner we opened presents...Justin got a few new movies and some chocolates, Jordyn got a chocolate heart, a movie, and some other silly Valentine goodies, and then we decided to watch our show.  We are recently hooked on the Falling Skies series, and its on Amazon Prime (sort of like netflix), so we can watch them back to back!  Well...after pigging out on that big feast, followed by cheesecake, we all fell asleep on the couch cozy and warm!  A perfect Valentines Date if you ask me!  :)

Preschool and the Red Feather Rockers

 Our preschool Valentine party was today...and look at all those goodies!!!

 After school it was the first official practice for the Red Feather Rockers!  Mrs. West, our PE and Art teacher, got a grant for a bunch of music equipment, so we thought it would be fun if the older kids tried their hand at music and perhaps a band :)  Mr. Ross and Justin helped out by introducing the kids to the instruments.  There are a lot of kids in the group, so they will have their hands full...but the kids are excited and i cant wait to see how it turns out!

 

Our school really does ROCK!  :)

Valentine Flowers for Jordyn ~

Look what daddy brought home for Jordyn today...a lovely bouquet for Valentine's Day!  I got one too, only mine were carnations...my favorite!  Thanks babe...we love them!

Moose and Scouts ~

Jordyn and i had the pleasure of seeing these three moose as we were turning into school today...its been a long time since we saw moose on our drive, so we were thrilled to see them.

After school we had our February girl scout meeting.  Cadey brought the snack, and Ellie presented for two patches.

Then it was time to make Mardi Gras masks...

Let the party begin!

My Exciting Drive to Work ~

This giant boulder and that car you see coming in the distance (which was road crew by the way)...were the only two things i passed for 12 miles. (and yes...i set fresh tracks in the 5 inches of snow on pingree hill).  Happy Hump Day Everyone!

The End of the Magic ~

 I knew it would come some day...but i was sad just the same when we had "THE" conversation last night in the car on the way home.
  I saw the signs this last Christmas...Jordyn seemed a bit unsure... not wanting to show enthusiasm or inquire about Santa, she was one of the last kids to take her photo with him at the Winter program at school (in fact i wasn't even sure if she would sit for a photo at all), and she had a lot of questions.  However, we made it through the holidays, and i figured the curiosity was gone for now.
 But recently she began asking questions again, and Justin told me about a conversation they had in the car last week...so when she asked me in the car last night on the way home, i figured it was time.
 After several leading questions, she asked me if i was the one that put the Doctor Who bed set under the tree or if Santa did.  I asked her if she would be upset if it was me, to which she replied, no.  Well after thinking it over in the car, and with tears rolling down my face, i decided it was time to let her in on the secret.  She did not seem mad or sad...a bit disappointed at first perhaps...but then she started to think about it and that unearthed all kinds of new thoughts and questions.  One of the first things she said was, " that means you and dad actually bought me the tablet last year for Christmas...that was expensive".
  I told her parents share the magic of Santa with their children because it's a wonderful memory from their own childhood and we all like to carry on the tradition.  I also told her that in many ways there really is a Santa, as the spirit of Santa is alive and well during the holidays when people donate gifts to toys for tots or other organizations, anonymously giving gifts and sharing the magic with those less fortunate.
  It was weird having this conversation with my daughter, as i never had this discussion with my own mom.  I just sort of figured it out one year, but never said anything to her, and that is how it has always been :)  But i am glad that Jordyn and i had the conversation, and i hope that she is too.
  My mom never liked to talk about difficult things, in fact, she still doesn't and avoids them at all costs, however, i think its important to answer questions when kids are truly ready for the answer.  I don't believe her way is wrong, i just want to be very open with my daughter.
  Then we discussed how it was her turn to share the magic of Santa to others by not giving away the secret to friends and little ones at school, so that they could continue to enjoy the spirit of Santa as well.  Besides, no one wants to be the one to ruin that magic!  Also, i jokingly told her that kids that didnt believe in Santa only got underwear and socks!  So alas, its the end of the magic...but perhaps the beginning of wonderful new things!