A Basset and Babies: February 2026

February flew by, as it usually does! We had some excitement on the first of the month with a much-hyped snowstorm. What started out as a 24" prediction ended up being about 1.5-2" here. We had a fun day sledding, making snow cream, and working on a puzzle.

However, our family in the Concord area got a lot more! Because of the snow, the kids had 2 more days off at the beginning of the week. They didn't have any complaints about that! Bob avoided all of the excitement while he was in Brussels and then London that week, which went well. Erin had to work on Thursday evening which isn't usual for her, but it went fine (despite it being Senior Day at Harris Teeter; the discount day brings out lots of senior citizens). Bob got stuck in DC on Friday night due to a flight delay (mechanical), but made it home midday on Saturday. Sadly, we had to sell the basketball game tickets because of his flight delay.

I enjoyed a nice dinner with friends Dawn and Laura on Saturday, and Anna had a big night on the town at the Snow Ball dance at Gibbons (rescheduled due to the ice storm 2 weeks prior). She had fun with her friends at Lyla's before the dance, and closed it down with Joe!

Erin went to Cathedral School on Monday the 9th with Service Beakers. Bob had a quick trip to Detroit from the 10th-11th. I enjoyed helping at the Gibbons Store on the 11th. We had a fun birthday dinner out at Colletta on the 12th, and some Smithfields and board games at home with Joe on the 13th. Bob and I watched a heartbreaker basketball game on the 14th while Anna and Joe hung out at the Downtown Cary Park and had dinner for Valentine's Day. Erin worked that afternoon/evening.

The following week was Winter Break, so they got more days off of school. We had a really fun day visiting UNC Charlotte on Monday, including meeting up with Logan on campus for a fancy and delicious lunch and stopping at Grandma and Grandpa A.'s for visiting and dinner on the way home.

Charlotte was a hit! Anna and I had our first-ever golf lesson on Tuesday the 17th where we learned that golf is a lot more difficult than we realized. We had a wonderful lunch and enjoyed catching up with Grandma and Grandpa F. that day, followed by prom dress shopping for Erin (!) and Bob and I watching the Wolfpack beat the Tarheels that evening (yay!).

Bob had a day trip to NYC on the 18th, I had lunch with a neighbor friend, and we girls did a bit of shopping. Bob got stuck in NYC that night due to big delays in Newark that evening and got back Thursday around noon. Anna and Bella went to the movies that evening. Friday, we all toured Wake Forest, which was beautiful, but is probably not a top contender for a few different reasons.

Bob hit the road (skies?) again on Saturday the 21st for his bi-annual trip to Sao Paulo. Erin worked, and Anna and I caught up on chores. Anna was back to youth group on Sunday the 22nd after a 4-week hiatus due to weather and scheduled nights off. We are in the home stretch before Confirmation! I got to catch up with a couple of StMM friends on the morning of the 23rd, and Finley had a vet appointment. The rest of that week was fairly uneventful. Anna is going to help coach the StMM girls' soccer team this spring, so she's all set up and getting excited for that to start! Unfortunately, it was raining and practice was canceled on her first day, the 26th, but she's looking forward to getting started on Monday the 2nd.

Erin and I had a super fun girls' trip to Blacksburg to visit Virginia Tech with Olivia and her mom on the 27th-28th. We really enjoyed seeing it; the campus is beautiful, and the people we encountered there were very friendly and helpful. Erin has officially toured 8 schools, and has 1 more tour scheduled in April. She's done a great job of researching and considering lots of schools!