February!

February was a good month!  We stayed busy as usual and were not affected too much by winter weather this year.  We started out the month by replacing our water heater (that was ONE year old!)...luckily, we discovered it quickly, there was not much damage, and the tank itself was covered by a manufacturer warranty.  We "only" had to pay for the labor to install the new one.  Oh well, hopefully this one will last more than a year!  For some unknown reason, our builder put the hot water heaters in the upstairs attic areas of most houses in our neighborhood.  It saves space, but is very bad when they fail.  Some neighbors have had a great deal of damage when theirs have failed while they were out of town.  The rest of the first week of the month was busy with routine meetings, school, Sawyer, etc.  The girls and Daddy went to the school Sweetheart Dance on Friday the 5th, and everyone had a great time!  Bob reported that Anna spent more time dancing with her friends than with him.  So it begins.



We had a fun weekend with Jimmy's awesome Lego birthday party on the 6th, then Erin's friend Kate's party and Little Flowers on the 7th.  We also went to a neighbor's superbowl party that evening as well.  The following week was more of the same, with Ash Wednesday in there and our first of three fish fries on Friday the 12th.  It is quite the social hour, especially for the kindergarten crowd!  We had a fun weekend with Mommy's birthday on the 13th, complete with a family bowling outing.  The girls were off school on the 15th-16th, but we mostly stayed at home due to an ice situation on the 15th.  Luckily, it didn't affect schools that were in session more than a day. We had Sawyer over on the 16th, so that was busy with the 3 kids all here!  I'll have to get into shape for the summer when all 3 will be here a lot.  The girls enjoyed Spirit Week the remaining 3 days that they had school with Pajama Day, Sports Team Day, and a basketball tournament for the older kids.



Bob and I each got to help in Erin's class on different Fridays which is always fun and exciting (lots of energy in that class!).  I also got to go to the NC Art Museum on Friday the 19th with my moms' group and felt very cultured in the ways of contemporary African art after that!

The weekend of the 20th was our busiest one this month with gymnastics, Ike's 3rd birthday party, Nina and Lily's princess tea party, a playdate for Erin and a friend, AND an adult outing all on Saturday the 20th!  We and 5 others celebrated neighbor John's birthday with a nice dinner and a very rousing game of "team" Connect 4 at a local brewery.  Luckily, the 21st was more calm.  The following week was more of the same, my highlights including getting the ladies' spring wardrobes at a huge consignment sale and the second of three fish fries.  Bob also went to Atlanta by way of Charlotte and got stuck in the "tornado" storm on Wednesday the 23rd.  Schools even let out early in anticipation of the storm, but luckily it didn't cause much damage.

Saturday the 27th was gymnastics and Anna went to a trampoline party for her friend Mateo (can you sense a theme regarding our weekends?), and we enjoyed a beautiful day outside on Sunday.  We spent our extra leap day at school, work, and running errands as usual, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

We are excited for spring and are trying to make plans for some fun trips this year.  We are going to do a "staycation" at the end of March due to a busy spring break at home, then will go to Concord twice in April, and possibly New York at the end of April (Bob and Gina only).  We are also thinking about renting a mountain house for a family summer vacation this year, as well as going to the beach.  It's going to be a fun time!