If you stop by our local grocery store, you may see the cutest little cashier.

After only a couple of weeks as a bagger they trained her on the registers and since then she's been trained on the self-checkouts and filling balloons.

I think she likes it. It's hard work and long shifts that end past my bedtime but she comes home tired but happy. She likes people so it's a good fit for her.

I took Erica to the dermatologist to see what they could do for a scar above her knee. Last winter she fell on a bolt or something at a friend's house. It didn't rip her pants but punctured her skin pretty deep. It left a dark purple scar and it was time to see what could be done about it.

It's getting zapped by some sort of light thing that will hopefully take some of the pigment out. She goes back again in March. She did not like the process and said it was hot and hurt.

You can buy a snow shovel for $12 or a toy one for $20. I'd buy my kid a real one and tell them to get to work. Actually I wouldn't buy one at all because we haven't needed to shovel at all this winter.

I was looking on Amazon for some Easter decorations. If you search "Easter decorations" everything is a bunny or an egg or a bunny holding an egg. If you search "Easter decorations religious" everything has a cross on it. I don't want either.

Then there's this that combined both:

::Sigh:: I guess I'll just buy flowers.

This was the sky on a walk one day. We had a week of clouds and inversion so this was a beautiful sight.

Erica played goalie for a period one game. She did great but wanted to switch out because she was getting hot in all the gear.

Here she is facing off against Truman

She signed up hoping she'd be on a team with a certain friend and that didn't happen and wanted to quit but I told her she would have to pay me the $45 if she didn't go. So she goes.

I don't think she loves it but she is getting better. She does not have a competitive personality but she's a good sport and likes to do new things.

Family Bowl & Valentine's Day

Last week the kids made Valentines and printed off Valentine activity pages to send to our dear neighbor and friends that moved to England for a year or so (please be no more than a year like you promised!) I pulled out every paper craft supply I had and the kids got to work. I mailed them off the next day and I hope they got there in time.

We held our second annual Family Bowl last Sunday. We play six board or card games and the overall winner wins the trophy for the year and $5.

The tricky part is choosing 6 games that have clearly ranked results. Henry and I stared at the game closet and made a list of 12 games that would work (Yahtzee, yes. Clue, no.) Then James read off the list and we voted on any game we would be okay with playing, voting as many times as we wanted. The top six games became the tournament: Masterpiece, Wits and Wagers, Uno, Spoons, Quiddler, Wig Out. 

The winner of a game got six points going down to sixth place getting 1.

It took a long time but that's the fun of it. Everyone picked a food to eat while we played. Chicken wings, queso and chips, apples and caramel dip, lemon bars, frozen yogurt, green beans.

After each game the scores were tallied and the ranking announced. It was pretty close all night but James came out on top! (Sarah won last year)

Sarah had to work on Valentine's Day so we did our family dinner a few nights early. Red enchiladas, refried beans, toppings.

Fancy glasses and candles, of course. And the new wooden napkin rings I bought in a random grab bag at the thrift store.

And a candy box and a new book for the kiddos. The boxes I bought this year were so big I included a doughnut.

Actual Valentine's Day. James couldn't decide what he wanted to do for a Valentine box so he just reused the one he made last year because he loves it so much and it is incredibly cute.

It's Erica's last year making one so she wanted to do something good. She made a vending machine complete with mini soda can candy Henry kindly bought for her at the gas station.

It turned out so good! She was pretty discouraged while making it but once she started to put the hearts and details, it all came together and she liked it.

School was crazy that day. After the kindergarten's class party, I went over to Erica's class during her party. As room parent, it was my job to find 4 parent volunteers and everyone was telling me no except for 2 moms. I hate begging for volunteers. I told them we'd have to cancel but one mom wouldn't hear of it and personally called a few moms she knew and the party was back on. Well, then a surprise mom also showed up with an activity all set up so we ended up with 5. I have no idea why she just showed up. Sadly that made the rotations short and none of the kids finished making the craft in time. I felt so bad for that mom since she prepped so much beforehand. My time as room mom is over after this year (I've done it like 6 times). It is too stressful. 

Valentine night was kind of a wash. Sarah was at work, Henry at a friend's, Erica went to a friend's but James was sick with a fever so we only left him long enough to take Henry to Luke's and pick up some ice cream for us and a Gatorade for him at the grocery store.

Last night was Sarah's high school sweetheart dance, girls choice. Her friend Kyleigh picked her up then they went to get their dates and to the mall for a scavenger hunt.

While she was gone I finished setting the table for their dinner. I had been working all day cleaning, prepping food, borrowing supplies.

They came back about 7pm for dinner. Erica played waitress gathering menus and taking out plates from the kitchen for all three courses.

Kyleigh brought these cream puff swans and they are so cute. They were so loud and laughing the whole time so I think it was a success. It was stressful in the kitchen for Justin and I to make up custom plates with their choices but I think it was a fun way to do it.

From there they went to the dance then Aurora's house for a movie then home by midnight.

A short trip away

Justin had a conference in St. George so I left work and the kids behind and went with him. Since he had to be there the morning after Erica's birthday, we left at 5 am and drove straight down. (Justin's parents handled the shuttling of kids to and from school but the kids slept at home on their own one night, the boys at my mom's the second night.) I dropped him off at Tuacahn and then went to the St George temple. I had never been inside before it was remodeled so I have nothing to compare it to but I think it was just beautiful inside. Lots of white and blue, just like the outside.

From there I went to a cafe several blocks away and ordered a sandwich and this huge cinnamon roll. Not gonna lie, I googled "cinnamon roll near me" and that's how I chose this lunch spot. I ate outside. In February. It was great.

From there I walked around downtown, looking into shops. I found this great antique store on main street.

I didn't buy anything but I found a few gems. Spoons, anyone?

And a watercolor art gallery

I love this bison.

Then I checked into our hotel and did pretty much nothing until it was time to pick up Justin. From there we went into Snow Canyon and hiked around as the sun set and talked about stuff.

For dinner we met Justin's coworker and his former, now retired boss and his wife at an Indian restaurant we suggested. I never know how people are going to like Indian food but I think they all enjoyed it. We parted ways with them at the restaurant  and went to Harmon's to get some ice cream. Check out how many pints they sell. This is just the pints.

The kids were texting me, asking questions so I showed them what we were doing. Henry's text made chuckle.

This is what I settled on. Justin got vanilla. We went back tot he hotel and ate them while we watched Jo Jo Rabbit.

Friday Justin went to his conference and I went for a walk. I found this trail not too far from our hotel and followed it for a couple of miles. That's the temple straight ahead. It was cloudy but still a nice morning for a walk. Compared to the freezing temperatures at home it felt lovely.

Justin came back and we went to a chicken place for lunch then a sugar cookie place for dessert then we took a drive that goes in and out the west side of Zion National park, climbs really high, passed some yurt campgrounds, through some cabin subdivisions and then we turned around at a reservoir. It was 64 degrees at the bottom, 30 degrees at the top.

That evening we went out for Thai and more ice cream. The next morning we slept in, Justin did some more work then we drove home (stopping for burgers and more ice cream of course). The kids had been asking all morning when we were going to be back but when we got home, they were all off with friends except for Sarah and she left 30 minutes later. Sigh.

That evening Tiana was in town so I met up with her and Kenzie for dinner. It's always so nice to see old friends, ladies that knew you as a child, teen, young mom and still like you.