February was a fun month, despite the cold and snow hanging on for so long. It's been the coldest February I've experienced in Vernal and we still have so much snow. Not very much of it has melted and we just keep getting more. I'm hoping March starts melting the snow and warming up!
One of the funnest parts of the month was that cousins came out for the month from North Dakota! It was so fun to spend so much time with them. We did a late birthday celebration for Ben and surprised the kids with their cousins showing up. They were so excited (I wish I'd videoed it).
The boys are old enough to play together some and it's cute!
Giant Uno!
They sure love their Uncle Dalin!
Oliver was so mad when he realized he couldn't get through the gate.
They love creating together, with origami or playdoh or drawing or Perler beads or crocheting.
We love having cousins here!
We did a little "Valentine's Dinner" with cousins the day before Valentine's Day. I made heart-shaped pizza.
And heart-shaped cupcakes with strawberries on top.
And I tried making ice cream cake in hearts for Rylee. The kids loved them, but the cake part didn't work and I didn't love them, but at least the kids loved them :)
The girls and I also went to a local "Mommy and Me Tea Party". They had treats and crafts and lots of areas for free play. The kids had a ton of fun. Oliver got to stay home with Dad for a nap.
This is our main Valentine's Day tradition. My mom did this for us growing up and now my kids know to expect it. I love the simplicity of it and that it makes them feel loved!
Oliver loves the tradition already!
I also made chocolate covered strawberries and we ended up having a "chocolate" themed homeschool date. We learned all about chocolate (the science and history of it) and then made chocolate with cocoa butter. The girls then got to dip all the strawberries themselves, which they loved.
We had a short spell of being sick, with it going through all the kids. It hit with a fever, but didn't last long.
Oliver loves wearing hoods and I think it's adorable.
Oliver loves babies and it's my favorite thing.
Two bottles at once 😂
I love these moments with him.
Oliver is so cute when he plays.
He also loves drinking out of everyone's water bottles.
And he loves to be wrapped up in blankets.
Oliver is such a ham!
Me trying to eat my lunch while Oliver climbs on me.
One of his favorite things to do is wear other people's shoes.
Something Oliver learned this month was building with the magnet blocks. He was so excited every time it worked!
He also learned to say his name and I can't get enough of it. 😍
Seriously, I can't get enough of this little boy.
Ben was getting ready to help his Mom and Dad move an organ. Oliver saw his hat and got his own, because he wanted to go with Dad 💗
I tried to get a picture of Oliver "feeding" his baby doll with the bottle, but as soon as I pulled out my phone, he came over wanting a selfie 😂
Parker loves Oliver and all babies 💗
Oliver also discovered that magnet blocks stick to the dishwasher haha
The end of January/beginning of February, we studied a lot about China and the girls had a lot of fun with some of the activities we did.
For Ben's birthday, I got him the stuff for Pickleball and had planned a date to go play together. Our babysitter had sick kids, though, so we rescheduled for later in the week (which ended up being February). It was a lot of fun to go play and we want to go again.
I don't know if this was Parker or Rylee (or a combination) but I thought it was too cute to not take a picture.
We do Breakfast for Dinner each friday and one week, we did donuts. They turned out so yummy, I'm really happy to have perfected my recipe.
Ben was also in the mood for some toppings on our ice cream, so I figured out a homemade chocolate syrup and caramel sauce recipe. Both are super easy and yummy and go great with our homemade vanilla ice cream. I also love eating apples with the caramel sauce.
Oliver balancing on the small box while Ashtyn balances on the bigger box.
I love how Ashtyn reads to her siblings 💗
Ashtyn also got a haircut! She is super happy with it and I think it turned out super cute!
When Ashtyn asks for my phone to take a picture of what she built, I always end up with a lot of pictures/videos 😂
This was a "bug trap" that she built.
I was really hoping it would warm up in February, but instead we just kept getting more snow. That meant baking days and movie nights (when we weren't with cousins).
This chair accidentally got left outside when it first snowed, so now it's how we tell how much snow we've gotten 😂
Parker's note to me 😍
Parker writes all the time right now and it's my favorite.
Oliver gets tucked out from church! We have church from noon to 2, so he always gets a late nap, and I end up having to wake him up so he will still go to bed at night. He loves nursery though (it helps that I'm in there with him as a nursery worker)!
February was a great month and we loved being able to spend so much time with cousins. That time is such a blessing to us. We will miss them as they go home soon. We are really looking forward to warmer weather (hopefully soon, please!).
