February

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!

So, that was February! There wasn't much school (haha), but there was lots of fun and accomplishment! We are looking forward to spring!

February

February was lots of fun:  we got some snow!  Bob came back from Sao Paulo on the 1st, Anna babysat for new friends in the neighborhood, and Bob headed to cook at the StMM "parent prom" that evening.  We had lots of fun meeting up at Jason's Deli in Greensboro for Ansley's birthday on the 2nd, including a quick drive-through UNCG before, and some fun in the shopping center after lunch.  

From Monday on, that week was pretty routine.  Erin had an extra busy week with taking 2 placement tests for next year's classes, and also taking an extra dance class before school.  I enjoyed book club one evening, and also got to help in the school store one day.  Anna and Bella did some shopping and hanging out on Saturday the 8th, and Erin went to a rehearsal for her upcoming piano concert.  

We had a great dinner out on Sunday the 9th at Colletta in Cary for my birthday, then watched the Super Bowl after.  Bob headed to Seattle on Monday and returned on Friday.  We girls had a fun time at a Wolfpack Women's basketball game on Thursday, and the kids enjoyed an extra day off on the 14th (given to them by the bishop a couple of weeks prior) ahead of their week off the next week.  

Anna had two Galentine's events that weekend:  shopping and hanging out at Grace's on Friday, and a party at Sophie's on Sunday!  While Anna was at Grace's, the rest of us had heart-shaped Valentine's meatloaf, of course! 

The kids enjoyed their week off, which ended up including 3 snow days!  Erin, Bob, and I toured Meredith College on Monday morning and really enjoyed getting to see the campus and learn more about it.  

Anna got some shopping done with Bella on Tuesday before the snow.  Some might say that they got lucky to have the snow during their break; others would say that they missed out on extra days off this way.  Regardless, we got a couple of inches Wednesday afternoon/evening, followed by another round of light snow on Thursday morning.  Anna had a great time sledding and playing in the snow with Laney, Joey, and Quint.  The girls were not able to help at CPO on Thursday as originally planned since they were closed for the snow.

Bob missed all of the snow excitement (but saw more snow that we did) in Denver that week.  He made it back on Friday afternoon without incident.  Erin was supposed to perform in the benefit concert on Friday evening, but it was rescheduled for a month later due to the snow.  Grandma and Ansley had planned to come up for the concert, but decided to still come visit without the concert happening.  We had a great time eating and playing games!  Anna had a morning babysitting job for the Lemons kids on Saturday.  Grandma and Ansley headed back after watching the Wolfpack manage a win.  Bob and I enjoyed a dinner on campus, followed by a great comedy show on Saturday evening, featuring our friend Ann Marie as one of the comedians! 

Sunday, Anna was back at the Lemons', babysitting in the afternoon this time.  Erin hosted 5 of her friends for their monthly hangout, and everyone seemed to have fun.  We all went to youth group after (3 more sessions!).  Monday was back to school after 10 days off.  Erin went to her alma mater on Monday after school to teach a science lesson to 3rd-5th graders.  The rest of the week was back to the normal routine!  I am looking forward to a belated celebratory dinner for Sophie tonight with Dawn, celebrating Sophie's master's graduation, as well as her 40th birthday.  

So, it was a great month that went quickly due to the week off and fewer days than most months.  We are looking forward to a busy March with some trips and a few additional fun events!

February!

February has been great!  Things picked up a little compared to quiet January, and we had a really good month!  Sadly, we did not see any snow yet again.  We are cautiously hopeful for a little bit in March, but we will see what happens.  

The month started out as per usual, including youth group on Sunday evening the 4th.  Erin enjoyed attending a girls' retreat through Gibbons on Monday the 5th where they hung out at the retreat center in Smithfield with teachers and got to take a little spiritual break from their daily lives.  She jumped back into a busy week after that, including taking 2 placement tests to place into higher level classes for next year.  She passed both of them, yay!  She also took an extra dance class as a part of her honors credit requirements on Wednesday morning that week.  Anna went to the first of two soccer preseason workouts on the 7th, and Bob enjoyed hanging out with college friends David and Josh on the evening of the 8th.  All 4 of us helped at Brown Bag Ministry on the morning of the 10th with StMM, which was a nice time, as always.  I enjoyed an impromptu coffee with my friend Denise after that.

Anna hosted 3 of her friends for the Super Bowl on the evening of the 11th.  They didn't seem to really like our game day food spread, but they had a great time otherwise!  Erin visited a local Catholic K-8 school after school on Monday as a part of her Service Beakers club where they teach interactive science lessons to the kids.  She really enjoyed it, and they're visiting another school in March!  

I had a fun birthday on the 13th, catching up with lots of friends and family and eating some yummy food!  It was even better that it fell on Mardi Gras this year!  We went out for Mexican for dinner and had some carrot cake at home after dinner.  The 14th was Ash Wednesday and Anna's second soccer workout.  Erin took another dance peer teaching class on Friday morning, and Anna had a fun sleepover at Gracie's that evening after a half day of school.  The 4 of us had a really fun night out on Saturday the 18th, seeing the Dancing with the Stars World Tour at the DPAC!  It was a great show - none of us really knew what to expect, but it was mostly the professional dancers (who are paired with the stars on the TV show to teach them how to dance and choreograph their dances) performing, and one of the celebrity finalists from last season was also there in a lead role.  We enjoyed it very much!

Sunday, Bob and I went to a Wolfpack women's basketball game against Georgia Tech.  The Pack won in overtime!  

That evening, he headed to Sao Paulo for the week, which all went smoothly, and thankfully, much less dramatic travel-wise than his last trip there.  Both girls were off school on Monday and Tuesday (and Erin was off the rest of the week, too); Anna went to Gracie's house on Monday and got her hair cut on Tuesday, and Erin joined me at the Y two days and got lots of driving practice in!  

Anna had soccer tryouts Wednesday and Thursday; she made the team and is looking forward to her last middle school sports season!  On Thursday, Erin and I went to school mass, shopping, and then met up with my friend Kelly from college and really enjoyed catching up!  Bob returned home Friday morning, just in time for the first fish fry of the year, which was successful.  

Erin had her second Musician's Meet Up of the year on Saturday afternoon, and Anna had a babysitting job for a new family in the neighborhood that evening.  She enjoyed watching the 6 year old boy, and is booked with them again next week!  Erin and Bob were both under the weather this weekend, so she and I ended up missing youth group on Sunday evening.  I wouldn't say that I really missed it...

The final week of the month was the usual routine, including my monthly book club meeting on Monday, and Anna's first soccer game on Thursday (outcome TBD)!  All in all, it was a great and productive month.  We are looking forward to the soccer season ahead, as well as Anna's Gibbons admissions (hopefully) and Erin's piano Young Artist Audition coming up in March, followed by our spring break road trip!  

February!

February went by pretty fast; I guess it is a short month!  We started out the month with Bob wrapping up his trip to Seattle, and then Anna enjoyed cat sitting for her friends next door.  I got to eat lunch with Erin and her friends as a part of Catholic Schools Week!  

The girls and I had fun helping with the Daddy-Daughter Dance on Saturday, and then we had a fun birthday lunch for Ansley in Greensboro on Sunday! 

Bob spent a few days in New York the next week and the rest of us held down the fort. Anna and I had a blast at the last home basketball game at school on Monday, where we assisted the mascot in cheering for our teams!  Friday the 10th, we had a super fun visit from Chris, Logan, and friend Brady.  We met up at NC State for dinner and a little walking tour of Main Campus, then came back here for some porch sitting on the warm evening.  

After breakfast the next morning, they headed to their robotics meet at Wake Tech.  Erin, Bob, and I went over and watched them while Anna hit the trampoline park with a couple of friends.  The meet was lots of fun and very intense!  We really enjoyed it and learned a lot.  After that, Bob and I had a super fun birthday dinner out at Tribeca Tavern, complete with surprise guests Dawn and Justin!  We had the best time!

I had a very nice birthday on Monday, too!  

That week was busy with Teacher Appreciation activities; the school moved it from early May to February in an attempt to lighten the load at the end of the year.  Everything seemed to go well!  I also enjoyed working at the Durham Food Pantry with a few students from school on Thursday morning.  The kids had an early release day on Friday, and then a 4-day weekend for a mini winter break.  The girls and I did a little shopping on Friday, and we all had a great time at Crowder Park with Jimmy, Danny, Tom, and Pam on Sunday...despite a little bit of dodging some rain!  On Monday the 20th, Anna had a soccer open field and then friends Olivia, Vera, and Elena came over for lunch and hanging out during the afternoon before Erin's piano lesson.  Bob headed to New York for a quick 24 hours that evening, and we ladies had a quiet day on Tuesday other than the kids' dentist appointments.  

We got Lent going on the 22nd, as well as Anna's 2-day soccer tryouts.  She made the school team, and it looks like it will be a really fun and great season!  The first "back to normal" fish fry happened on the 24th, and it was a big success.  We had a really fun family outing to the Carolina Hurricanes game on Saturday night, and Erin continued her weekly rehearsals for Dance Theater on Sunday.  She is looking forward to the performance on March 11th!  Bob headed to London on the 26th for a week of work meetings.  That basically sums up our month.  We are eagerly awaiting Erin's admission decision from Cardinal Gibbons, which will come out on March 3rd.  Otherwise, we are looking forward to Erin's performance, lots of soccer, and a great month ahead!

February!

 February was a good month!  We didn't see any snow, but we had a lot of nice weather days!  We started out with the end of Anna's basketball season.  Their team was younger and smaller than most other teams and didn't have the best record, but they really worked hard, hustled, and improved a lot over the season!  We are very proud of Anna for trying a new sport that isn't easy to play.  She even had to play in a face mask the entire season and didn't complain once! 

I enjoyed a moms dinner with school friends after Anna's last game on the 4th while Bob and the girls celebrated at Culver's!  Sunday the 6th, the girls altar served together and we enjoyed a yummy family dinner out at the Angus Barn, courtesy of my birthday money from both sets of grandparents.  It was wonderful!  

The week of the 7th was more of the usual, including a fun book club evening for me and Anna's basketball team party that Friday.  

I had a great birthday weekend, including a family hike and picnic lunch (with Finley!) at Raven Rock State Park on Saturday the 12th, followed by a dinner at Outback that evening.  Sunday was cold and rainy, so we mostly relaxed at home, which was very nice too!  Monday was Valentine's Day, and the kids got to dress down in Valentine's colors, while I helped with a teacher treat that day.  Anna was pleased to leave school early on Tuesday to attend Laney's Harry Potter birthday party.  It was a blast!  

Bob had a wild night at Dads' Night Out on Thursday the 17th, and I had a yummy lunch at Tazza Kitchen with friend Tina on the 18th.  

Anna's YMCA soccer team started up on Saturday the 19th...spring sports start early in North Carolina!  We'd rather be outside in 40s-50s than in 90s, so no complaints here!  It just so ended up that Logan was at Wake Tech for a robotics meet and Uncle Chris offered to take both girls back to Concord that evening so they could hang out with Ansley for Sunday before we were planning to go on Monday.  So, Bob and I got a surprise 2 nights alone at home with Finley!  We didn't know what to do with ourselves!  The girls had a great time at Ansley's house, then at church and her volleyball game in Fort Mill SC, Mexican lunch out, then back to her house to visit with Cole, Cooper, and Vinny who had arrived in NC the evening before for a fun week visiting!  Meanwhile, Bob and I made trips to 2 different Costcos, went to dinner at Hickory Tavern, went to church, I went to cycle class at the Y, then I took Finley for a 4-mile hike at Harris Lake and read a book.  It was a very relaxing weekend, but weird to not have the kids here!

Monday around 10am, we were reunited at Stars and Strikes bowling alley in Concord, where the kids bowled and played arcade games.  They had a blast!  We then went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a yummy pasta lunch with banana pudding for dessert!  The boys played football while the girls and little guys played in the backyard, the kids made some sand art crafts, and we all had a great game of kickball.  What a fun visit!

The girls were also off on Tuesday for an extended Presidents' Day weekend, so Anna relaxed while Erin had friends Vera and Elena over to do some yoga, eat lunch, and be outside.  Erin then had her piano lesson while Anna and I had a soccer shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Wednesday was back to the routine for a short week.  Anna went out for the school soccer team and has really been enjoying it so far!  Their first game is this Thursday.  It was a big decision for her, if she could do both her Y team and the school team, but she is going for it!  She will have a couple of breaks during the season for trips and then spring break, so hopefully it won't be too bad.  So far, so good!  Anna has been such an athlete this year!

Erin had her piano mock recital on Saturday the 26th, which went well.  Otherwise, that weekend was fairly quiet.  And today has been a normal Monday!  So, that was February.  The porch project continues, slowly but surely.  We now have all of the decking installed and nearly all of the ceiling panels and trim.  The hot tub was moved back in place on the 11th.  I believe the next step is to paint and then install rails and windows, and that will be it!  We haven't heard anything about windows yet, so hopefully they will arrive soon.  It's been going well and we are excited to have it finished!

Looking forward to a busy and fun month of March, complete with overnight school field trips for both kids separately (Anna going to Sound to Sea at the coast from March 21st-23rd, and Erin will go to Washington DC from March 29th-31st).  Anna and I also have a little trip of our own to Universal Studios in Florida from the 17th-19th.  We are super excited about that!  Fish fries are happening, albeit drive through, so Bob is excited about that.  Bring it on!

February! (Erin typed)

Erin took over the blog this month!  Thanks, Erin!

Well, February this year was an unique month because of COVID. Groups 2 and 3A people in those groups got their vaccines and will get their vaccines. The governor finally announced that more people can be outdoors and indoors, so that's great! We were busy during February: school, ballet for Erin, piano for Erin and Gina, starting soccer for Anna, and OFTN and fish fry for Bob. Finley also has been busy, too inside our house and outside. Erin is also starting YAA recording videos for piano. They have to record 2 videos to the judges to rate their videos. 

                                                    

On the first week of February (1-7), we had a very relaxing week. At school, the students, faculty, staff and administration celebrated Catholic Schools Week. Each day they had a different theme, like "We Celebrate Faculty". On Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl on tv and the Buccaneer's (with Tom Brady) won. Erin also had Dance Theatre that day, as well.  

The next week was getting ready for Gina's 40th Birthday. She was excited, but nervous to turn 40 and to be in a new decade. On her birthday, started at 7:30 with breakfast, waffles (made by me), hash browns and bacon. Then, we helped Bob with the produce and got a Starbucks treat after. The rest of the day we were just relaxing and Gina was enjoying her presents. We also had a great Valentines day by having Erin altar serve and just relaxing at home with Erin having Dance Theatre at 2. 

                                                                                                                                     

 

On Monday and Tuesday of the next week, the girls (Erin and Anna) had off school and we were just relaxing, like always. We got to do a couple hikes, which were very nice. Erin and Anna went back to school on the 17th, and was great as always. We ordered some Valentine's pictures for Finley at the Pooch Pad. He is so cute in the pictures! Wednesday is also Ash Wednesday, and we started doing family rosary each night except Sundays. Saturday, we got to clean out A LOT and we have a lot of space in our playroom, which we don't know what to do with that extra space! 

    

Erin also got to altar serve again on the 21st. Then, Bob was called to do jury duty on Wednesday and they didn't need him after all. Anna's class and the rest of the 5th grade homeroom classes got to go to Mass in person on Thursday. On Friday, Gina got to go get her first dose of the vaccine, which was very exciting! The staff let her get the vaccine because she works in the cafeteria every day. Saturday, we were busy! Erin had her mock recital at 11:30, which was great. Then, Erin got to go over to Olivia's house for a little bit that afternoon. Anna's soccer practice got canceled because of the rain we had on Friday. Bob had to do meals, as always. We made it through the day! Sunday, we went to church and did some paintings for Dance Theatre. 

February

February always goes by so fast - maybe it's because it's a shorter month, or maybe it's because I don't want the hot weather to come back!  Nonetheless, it flew by again as usual and was a great month.  We started out with a day of Science Olympiad meetings for Anna on Saturday the 1st, followed by a super fun day trip to Concord on Sunday the 2nd for Ansley's birthday!  Finley got to go as well, and we all enjoyed the sunny day and lots of family fun, then back home to watch the Super Bowl.  The week of the 3rd was fairly status quo, including my turn to host neighborhood book club on Monday night.  The book we read was about Cuba, so I attempted a couple of Cuban desserts.  That Saturday was our friend Al Martin's funeral at StMM, and Erin was an altar server for the mass.  After that, the ladies went to Nina and Lily's birthday party, followed by a pasta tower meeting.  That was a busy day!

Sunday the 9th, Erin served again (what a great weekend for her - serving two days in a row!) and Bob worked the pancake breakfast.  He went to Boston the following day for 4 days.  I had a fun mom lunch on Tuesday and a really nice birthday on Thursday! 



The girls helped me make a yummy cake, and we ordered pizza for dinner.  Friday was Valentine's Day and the girls got sugared up on candy from their classmates and then Anna crashed at friend Natalie's birthday sleepover.  Saturday brought some microwave and oven shopping at Lowes followed by more pasta tower building.

Sunday, Erin managed to altar serve again as a sub for someone, Bob left midday for Vegas (for work), and Anna's friend Maddy came over to play.  The kids were off Monday and Tuesday for winter break, so Monday we ladies took Finley for a nature hike at Crowder Park,



followed by taking Finley for a nail trim and then Erin trying a new ballet class at a different dance school.  She hasn't said much about it, but we will let her decide where she wants to dance next year.  We ladies had a Moe's dinner out after Erin's class! 



Tuesday, we did a little painting at Wine and Design and I hemmed our new living room curtains. 



It was nice to have a longer break from the school routine!  It was also nice to have a short week of school, which ended up being even shorter than originally planned due to a little bit of snow that came our way on Thursday!  The school dismissed at 11:30am and the snow finally started around 3pm or so. We ended up with maybe an inch of wet snow and a day off on Friday. 





We were able to sled a little bit on Friday before it melted.  Then, Sarah came over to hang out before dance class.  Saturday, Erin had her winter piano mock recital and reported that it went well.

Sunday was another pasta tower meeting, and Monday and Tuesday were fairly routine.  Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, so we are now into Lent.  Friday, I ended up with the flu but thanks to Tamiflu, was feeling better by Saturday morning and almost back to normal by Sunday morning.  That stuff is wonderful!  Unfortunately, I had to miss The Sound of Music at Middle Creek that we had gotten tickets for on Saturday evening, and Grandma and Ansley weren't able to come up for it due to the germs around here.  The good news is that nobody else has gotten it and I am hoping that they are all in the clear by now.

So, that was February!  It was a fun month and we did manage to get a tiny snowstorm.  This might be it for this year, but at least we saw some!  Erin and I also practiced our crochet skills last month and have learned a lot!




Now it's on to March which will bring the big Science Olympiad tournament and hopefully lots of fun! 

February!

February was a great month, with the highlight by far being welcoming our new puppy Finley to our family!  A few other things happened, too...

We had a super fun weekend in Concord over the 2nd-3rd for Ansley's birthday!  The girls had a great time at her friend party on Saturday night, and we had a fun family lunch on Sunday for her, too.  The following week was fairly routine with all of the usual activities.  Erin had a short-lived stomach issue on Tuesday night that bought her a day off of school on the 6th, but she was still able to go to ballet.  The girls hand a busy day on Saturday the 9th, beginning with piano/voice mock recitals, watching Ruby, modern dance class for Anna, roller skating party for Natalie's birthday for Anna, and then, the culmination of the day, the annual Daddy-Daughter/Sweetheart dance at school!  They had dinner with Olivia's family and then partied hard.  Olivia came over to stay with us after the dance, which made it even more fun!





Bob went to San Francisco the following week and we ladies had a fun week with the third grade Valentines' party, Valentines Day, and a dress down day on Friday.  We also helped check on neighbor friend Ms. Mona while the rest of her family was in Disney World, and we got to know Sniffles, their new guinea pig, as well.  We had a fun reunion lunch at Ruckus with Praveen and Sushma and their beautiful girls, Shreeya and Sneha.  It was so great to see them while they were in town!  Erin and Anna were off on the 18th-19th for Winter Break, which was nice.  Anna and I enjoyed a fun outing to the DPAC to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Sunday night.

We went bowling with Ellen, Sawyer, and Dawson on Monday and then met Daddy at Saving Grace to meet Mr. Finley (formerly known as Kansas) and all of his brothers and sisters, plus lots of other dogs!  We had so much fun playing with the dogs and decided that Finley would come home with us.  We had a celebratory dinner at Moes and then a shopping spree at Petco.  He was ready to go on Tuesday, so Bob picked him up after work while we ladies handled the activities and borrowed a crate from a neighbor, since ours hadn't arrived and he was ready to come home sooner than expected!

He was so happy and excited to come to our house, and made himself right at home with his toys and his dog bed.  He did great other than going in the crate for the first several days.  Each night got better, and then we moved him to his bigger crate and started putting his dog bed in there with him, and life has gotten much better.  He now sleeps 8 hours most nights and is not even in a rush to get up in the mornings!  He loves to be held and likes to stay warm.  He is doing very well with the potty training and is (we think) very smart, attentive, and alert.



My schedule has been very different in the 2-1/2 weeks that we have had him.  I'm trying to only have him in the crate for 2 times a day, around 2 hours at a time.  So, that means pretty much taking the girls to school and running and errand or going to the gym in the mornings, then school pickup + one activity run.  We are getting into a new routine and it is working out pretty well.  I do miss helping in the cafeteria and recess, but hopefully I will be able to get back to that fairly soon.  A lot of my days have involved holding him, cleaning up potty messes, walking him, and generally puppy-sitting.  It is a lot of work, but I hear it goes fast and is worth it because we can train him how we want from the beginning.  Time will tell!

Finley is growing very fast - he gained a pound in his first week with us, and we can tell that he is taller, longer, and heavier!  The rescue and the vet both project around 40-50 pounds, so he shouldn't be a giant dog (hopefully).  We did a dog DNA test on him and are eagerly awaiting the results.  He was grazing on his food but is now eating more regular meals, which has helped the potty situation as well.  He had his first vet visit on Friday the 22nd and all checked out great.  He did not appreciate the 2 shots that he had to get, though.

Anyway, the rest of his first week home was kind of a blur, and then we had a nice weekend with some beautiful weather on Sunday, which included zip-tying a plastic mesh to the fence so he couldn't get through it.  Once that was done, he was very happy to have freedom in the backyard!  We will remove the mesh once he's a little bigger.  Grandma and Grandpa A. came to visit him on Saturday, and we had a really fun time playing with Finley, eating spaghetti, and playing Life.

Anna enjoyed a gamer party at Mateo's house on Sunday the 24th, and the last week of the month was basically the usual.  I enjoyed parent participation week for voice and piano lessons, and Bob was busy preparing for the annual fish fries with the Knights, and he also got to go to Jimmy's Cub Scout meeting on Thursday to help him learn how to use knives while Tom was traveling and Pam was sick.

The last day of the month saw more excitement as Anna was found to have a fractured the end of her radius in her elbow!  She had fallen in PE the week or two before and was complaining on and off that it was hurting her, and then tripped and fell again on Wednesday the 27th.  We went to a very nice orthopedic urgent care on the 28th, and they indeed saw a tiny fracture on the x-ray.  She got a neat brace made of this stuff called Orthoglass that he got wet and molded to the underside of her arm and dried in the shape of her arm.  It is wrapped with Ace bandages, and she is to wear it in a sling at school or when being active.  She is also supposed to elevate the arm as much as possible.  We go back on Monday the 11th and hope to graduate to the sling only for 2-3 more weeks if all looks good.  She has been doing fine with it and is able to do almost everything that she usually does except for some of her modern dance and PE class, but that is just fine with her!  She is still able to continue her weekly dog-walking gig, and Finley has joined us the past 2 walks.





So, February was quite eventful for us!  It was a good month and we are looking forward to watching Finley grow and learn to listen better (hahaha!).  He is definitely teething and gets wild and crazy in the evenings, which the Internet tells us commonly happens to puppies when they get overtired and overstimulated, like babies/toddlers.  This is all coming back to me from the kids!  He is also very social with people and is getting more brave in meeting new dogs.  We are working hard to socialize him so he will be friendly with everyone (well, humans and dogs...any other animal is on their own).

Happy March!

February!

Another month is behind us!  February is always a fun one with a few extra celebrations.  We started out the month by finishing up Catholic Schools week which was full of special dress down days that the girls appreciated.  On the 3rd, after Erin's ballet class, we all went to Concord for Ansley's fun birthday party!  The girls continued the party with a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's, and then a fun family lunch on Sunday.  We just watched the Superbowl at home that evening.  Anna had her first reconciliation on Tuesday the 6th; after much angst leading up to it, she said it was "fun".  May all of her confessions be fun!  We had a fun ice cream outing to celebrate after dinner. 

I had a new experience on the 8th of getting my first crown on a tooth.  Due to lots of acid reflux during pregnancy and some tooth grinding during the stressful time of nursing school/pregnancy/newborns, I had worn down 2 teeth.  The crown process was easy and they were able to make it in the office while I was there.  I was a-ok to sit and watch tv for 2 hours!

Saturday the 10th was the big Sweetheart Dance at school.  The girls and Bob had a blast, and I had a blast running errands, eating Chinese food, and cleaning the house alone! 



Olivia came over after the dance for a quick sleepover before meeting back up with her family at church the next morning. 



The following week was Spirit Week at school which meant 5 more days of special dress-down days in celebration of the middle school basketball teams going to a tournament in Charlotte.  I had book club that Monday night and parent observation at piano lessons on Tuesday, which was a fun way to spend my birthday!  I also got to volunteer in Anna's class and help with Erin's third grade Valentine's Party that day, plus a yummy lunch out with Bob and pizza for dinner.  What a great day!

The rest of the week was fun too, with Valentine's Day and Jimmy's science birthday party on Friday!  We had a busy weekend starting with ballet on Saturday, then neighbor Nina and Lily's trampoline birthday party at Defy Gravity,



then Sarah came over to spend the night with Anna!  It was a fun rainy day. 



Sunday the 18th we had our friends the Lorenzetti's over for dinner which was lots of fun too!  The girls were off the 19th and 20th for "winter break"...Monday, we had Sawyer here, so we went to preschool storytime and Target to please everyone.  I went to Anna's First Communion parent meeting that night.  Tuesday, we ladies went to play with Enzo, Luke, and puppy Mel at their house and then the 3 of us went to Gonza for lunch before resting at home, taking a walk, and then piano.  It was a nice long weekend.  Anna started back to tennis that week as well, and she was happy to get back in the swing of things (see what I did there?).

The rest of that week was fairly uneventful with Bob coming to the aid of the Knights regarding a fish fry software disaster.  He and others had a few meetings, divided up some code, and were able to rebuild what was broken.  Whew!  We did a little science fun after school one day.



Saturday the 24th we met Liz and David for lunch at yummy new Cristo's near our house after ballet, and then we 4 went to Brier Creek for our staycation at a Residence Inn!  Bob had a voucher for a free night expiring at the end of the month, so we found a hotel with an indoor pool.  We all had fun swimming, going out to dinner, and having hotel breakfast.  Cheapest vacation ever!



This week has been a good one too - Bob spent 3 days in San Jose/Santa Clara for a conference, and the rest of us are doing the usual things.  It's been rainy and tennis has been canceled both days, but hopefully next week will be better. 

So, that was February!  Spring will be upon us soon, if not already.  The week of the 18th, we had some highs near 80 degrees, which I did not appreciate.  Thankfully, we're back in the 50s-60s this week.  It's too soon for the 80s!  We are looking forward to another month of work, fun, and nothing too crazy before the late spring rush hits!