The First Half of February (Plus One Day)

Our February is off to a good start.

On Saturday the 1st, Ashlynn had a great soccer game.  Her team didn't win and she didn't score, but her team worked well together, and we were proud how Ashlynn worked hard, stayed focused, and kept a positive attitude (something that is tough for her when she feels discouraged). 

She is an especially good offensive player.  For half of the game, she played left forward, my old position back when I played AYSO as a kid.

 She took her turn sitting out for a quarter.  She made the most of it by watching the game and trying to see what she could learn from her observations (this is also not always the case, so I was proud).

On the evening of the 1st, Eric and I went out on a REAL date.  He had given me tickets to an a capella festival as a Christmas gift, so we made the most of the night out by first enjoying a nice dinner in Old Town Pasadena.  After, we drove to the site of the concert, USC.  Yes, USC.  It was my Bruin husband's first time on the campus.

We really enjoyed the concert, which featured the group that won "The Sing-Off", Home Free.  They are so talented and put on a fun and impressive show.

I knew the concert was only a few step away from Tommy Trojan, USC's mascot statue, so after the concert was over, we went over and took a few pictures.

 Mature, huh?

Since Carter is in kindergarten, he learned all about Groundhog's Day, so he was excited when the day came.

 What he wasn't excited about was taking a photo wearing his headband and holding his groundhog puppet.

February 3rd was the 100th day of school for the kids.  Carter had been eagerly anticipating that day since about the 40th day of school.  Fortunately, it fell on my volunteer day, so I got to be a part of the celebration.  After school, I insisted on documenting the big day for my big kindergartner with some photos.

 See, he made 1-0-0 with his hands and mouth.

 My cute boy

On the second Saturday of the month, the kids and I went to a science presentation at the library.  I had high hopes that the topic, stars, would be enjoyed by my space loving kids, especially Ashlynn who says she wants to be an engineer, maybe at JPL.  The presentation was okay (not really kid-friendly), but the kids didn't seem to mind.  The highlight of the time was getting to look at the sun using a special telescope. 

On Sunday we went to the movies.  For most people, that is a common activity, but for our family, it was a big deal.  Seeing Frozen was Ashlynn's third trip to the movie theater, and it was Carter's FIRST movie in a theater.  Carter has a bit of a phobia about movies.  Well, really anything with drama.  He pretty much refuses to watch movies, even in the comfort of our house.  Sometimes he gets nervous about the dramatic parts of books, like when he knows Curious George is going to get into trouble, he gets all anxious.

So, Carter survived the movie.  To be honest, it wasn't easy.  He seemed anxious from the moment we got in the theater and the sounds was loud.  At many times during the movie he wanted to leave, but we stuck it out.  We felt like as a five-and-a-half year old, we needed to work to get him more comfortable with watching movies.  Being a parent is tricky; it's hard to know how much to push them to overcome challenges and encourage growth.

February 12th was Abraham Lincoln's birthday, so Carter walked out of his classroom looking like our 16th president.  

While taking the photo of Ashlynn and Carter, one of Carter's classmates, Samar, came over and asked to take a photo with Carter too.  Random, but okay!

 Isn't he cute?

Valentine's Day fell on a Friday, so that meant school and work for all of us.  The kids had their school's walk-a-thon that day, so that added to their fun.  However, the day was filled with many emotions because a very close family friend (of my parents), Henry, died suddenly on Valentine's Day morning.  My parents had double-duty as they took care of our kids (outside of school hours) and provided support to their dear friend of over 35 years, Linda.

Here's Carter as he checked out his valentines:

 Before dinner, Eric had gifts for the kids and me (oops!  I hadn't done any shopping, so nothing for Eric).  The kids both got little Lego sets and I got the pair of Converse I had asked for at Christmas and didn't get.

 After dinner, I found Ashlynn climbing the door frame.  The kid hadn't even had sugar!

On the day after Valentine's Day, Carter was a bit of a sad grump, declaring that this year's Valentine's Day was not good because we didn't do a few of the things we usually do, like making valentines for each other.  In response (and probably out of guilt), I made some ridiculously pink and ridiculously sweet strawberry pudding cookies (some with chocolate chips). 

In the evening on Saturday, after a pretty lazy day at home, we got out of the house with my parents and drove down to LA to Phillipe's for dinner.  Yum!

 I hope your February is going well!