Ben and I celebrated early! We finally went to the amazing Tree Room restaurant at Sundance the Saturday before V-Day and it did not disappoint.
We had our traditional fondue dinner the Sunday before V-Day...
followed by dancing...
of a sort.
I made Rice Krispies Treats Kisses again, and everyone got a gift bag with a pair of V-Day socks, a little chocolate bar, and a pack of Bluey fruit snacks.
Not pictured: heart-shaped waffles
Luke was adamant that his Valentine's box be a tank. But he refused to hang a little sign that said "Tanks for Being My Valentine." (Other possible sign verbage could have been "My Heart is Exploding for You" or "You've Invaded My Dreams"). Without the sign, I'm afraid the box was a bit... psychopathic. Is that too harsh?
While everyone was out for the day I took myself out on a little hike. I love the peace and stark beauty of hiking in the winter.
Jack, Liza, and Luke had their solo recital and festival this month and they did a great job! I love hearing them perform, and recognizing how much they've learned and progressed. Luke even won a spot in the winner's recital at his festival!
I was able to attend both the recital and the festival competition performances for Liza and Luke, so I chose their best performances to share here. I couldn't be at Jack's festival performance so he only got one chance at a recording to be memorialized on the blog.
Also, this was Jack's last recital with Sarah's studio. Ahhhh, the end of an era.
Luke's pieces were "Spring" by Vivaldi, and "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev:
Liza's pieces were "Arabesque" by Burgmuller and "Le Coucou" by Daquin.
Jack's pieces were "Golden Leaves" by Minov and "Study in d minor" by Heller.
Ben was out of town for work, but Suz was in town for work, which means the kids still had two supportive adult figures at their recital and post-recital dinner. Thanks for joining us Suz!
It all started because I wanted to have a dance party. I suggested the advancement committee I've been helping with at Jack and Liza's school put one on as a fundraising event during the 22-23 school year. The idea gained no traction. I asked Ben about having one for our 20th anniversary in May of 2023. He didn't love the idea. So when I realized that I could just throw one for myself for a certain milestone birthday I had coming up, and I didn't need to run it by anyone else, I went for it.
I rented a venue. I found a DJ. I set up a caterer and ordered a variety of Nothing Bundt Cakes. I designed invitations. All of those things could be done in advance, which worked out great because I didn't want to be stressed on the day of the party. Thankfully, Cool Aunt Suz was in charge of the set-up and decorating, and she did a wonderful job. It all came together so well!
Set-up crew
Suz did so much planning and prep before she even arrived!
We had a few games set up for the kids to play, in case they got tired of dancing.
I loved that Liza and Andy did an encore performance of their "Ice, Ice Baby" duet from the December reunion. They killed it!
Watching this video makes me so happy.
Several of Liza's friends came and they were dancing the whole time!
Val & Chelsey
Jo, Desiree, Jen, and Megan
Beau, Erin, and Emme
Ali
I loved seeing family and friends, talking and catching up, dancing, and just having fun! It was an awesome way to celebrate 40 years of life.
We received this cool wooden carousel from Pops as a Christmas gift. For a few days, Luke was completely absorbed with putting it together.
Ben helped a bit, but Luke did at least 95% of it by himself.
Michael fixed our Wii! The kids had fun playing it again and trying out some new games Michael loaded onto the disc.
a fun movie for the kids = a good nap for me
The snow in this picture looks like a filter but I promise it was real.
Jack learned how to make the Nutella mousse recipe he fell in love with a few years ago.
We used the Nutella mousse to top chocolate waffles we made using the new waffle iron I got for Christmas.
Homework time
Saturday night bowling! Per Luke's request.
Luke's Sacrament Meeting Doodle
Brownie Batter Bread Slices
Saturday morning colorful waffle experiment.... not very successful.
We met M&K's family for dinner at R&R.
Liza made two cool fleece hats during the MSI sewing class. She gave one to a designated charitable cause and kept one for herself.
At Winter Fest Ms. G showed off the finished quilt the 8th graders made in the sewing class. Liza's square is the Bluey square on the bottom left (the Bluey square on the right was made by another Bluey fan).
For his Dungeons & Dragons Winterim project, Jack drew a scene from his quest.
Holey Naruto Socks, Batman!
Luke and all his fellow 5th graders spent a day at Junior Achievement Biztown. They'd been preparing for this for months. They learned about the job options and narrowed down their preferences, applied for a few jobs, were chosen for their jobs, and then prepared for their jobs with their future coworkers. Luke was the director at the movie theater, and his friend was a producer. They were pretty excited to work at the theater together.
Luke's job was to use a tablet to take pictures of all the businesses in Biztown, then use a film trailer template to create a trailer about their day. He loved it.
Some of the businesses posted advertisements around town. The blue one says, "Go to Target River we will ADVERTISE your ADVERTISEMENTS." One from Lending Club (not pictured) said, "Give us our money that we gave you."
Ironic that the two people you can see best in this mirror selfie were not shoping for a suit.
If you don't see it right away, give it a second.
Six weeks before his State Report presentation, Luke wanted to make sure he had a trifold board. And the day we brought it home from Staples, he cut out a spot for the Chromebook and drew a TV around it so that it could be like Liza's Wax Museum board for Lucille Ball (as seen in this post).
He's also training for the circus.
The art teacher at Luke's school put on an entire glow-in-the-dark art show. Here, Luke is showing the flower petal project he contributed to.
Smaller works of art and a big dragon are in the background, with a big mural of an underwater scene one of the grades worked on. There was even a glow-in-the-dark dance a group of students learned, and they performed it multiple times during the art show.
That night, Liza and Jack played hard at a just-for-fun volleyball tournament at the school.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
