This is something I forgot to mention yesterday. Thank you to the Stott Family for the yummy Valentine goodies that they left for us. The whole plate was consumed and loved by all. Oh, yes, Toshia, I forgive you for being released today. We will still be friends. Thanks again. And if anyone was wondering, our Family Valentine dinner was delicious. We also had great conversations. We went around the table and said one thing that we loved about each member of our family. The kids loved it, and wanted to keep going. It was a great day.... Start to finish.

Happy Valentines' Day.

So, this day is really not that big of deal for myself or Nick. It is so close to his birthday and our anniversary, that we are just celebrated out. This year, since it fell on Saturday, we thought we would do some family things. Saturdays are precious to us, so when there are no "church calling" commitments, we are together as a family.
Our local pet store was having an open house type of deal with local breeders, so we started there. We are discussing the possibilities of getting a dog, and so we want to see what breeds are out there. This was kind of a flop. They only had two breeders there, and the two dogs were small dogs, and we have already decided small dogs are not for us. So, then we headed into Portland. First a funny story with Dasher.
While we were getting into the car, Dasher said he wanted to buy the puppy. I proceeded to tell him that that puppy cost $600 and we just don't have an extra $600 right now for a puppy. This is the rest of the story.....
D: "we have money though mom.:
M: "you do, huh? but is it enough?"
D: "yeah, remember from the green square."
I did not know what he was talking about, so at this point I was just ignoring him. He repeated it, "you know mom, at the green square we went too, and now we have money."
Nick jumps in: "green square, I get it, he is talking about H&R Block. "
We had our taxes done two weeks ago, and we told the kids that when we get some money, we can buy something neat. Well, Dasher remembered, and thought we could spend it on a puppy. I just thought it was funny that he associated the green square with money. Funny Funny Kid.

Okay, we then went to Circuit City to try and score some sweet deals. NO such luck. We did get a few cheap accessories for the wii though, so that is always fun. Long story short, it was a great day spent with the most important people in my life. I love that we got to spend this day of love as a family. Don't get me wrong, a date with my sweetie would've been fabulous, but then you factor in babysitter money, out to dinner money and blah blah blah, we should've bought the dog.
Anyway, dinner is cooking. Steaks on the bbq, baked potato, grilled asparagus and rolls. Can I say steak house, without the crowd. Happy Valentines' Day.

Today, Nick and I celebrate our 8th anniversary. This is just a little of what we have accomplished in those 8 years. He is such a great man, I can not imagine these last 8 years without him. Happy Anniversary, and here is to the rest of eternity.

Today is Nick's 31st birthday. I love this man more than I ever thought possible. He is such a great husband, father, and friend. He has an awesome outlook on life, and we have yet to find a boring moment in our life. I could go on forever with things that I love about this man, but that would mean sitting down for a long period of time, and I just don't have that time. Here are few things that you might or might not know about Nicholas Paul Durant, the birthday boy!!!!!
** charming.... he knows how to make someone feel better!
** responsible.... he takes care of his family, work, and church callings!!
** hard worker.... see above
** loving.... knows how to speak words of comfort, and love.
** funny, outgoing, handsome, and again, I could go on an on. I love you Nick, and wish you the happiest birthday ever.
one last thing... he is a master at the grill. yummy!!!

We have been having some awesome weather the past few days, and on Saturday, we took the kids up to the church to ride their bikes. Dasher was too fast, and I never got a picture of him, and since I am 7 months pregnant, I didn't think it would be a good idea to ride my bike. Here are some funny pictures from that day. Nick will love me for putting that one of him up. He liked that helmet at first, but has slowly changed his mind. He hasn't found one that he does like, so until then, he gets the "short bus" helmet. Bosston got to take a ride on daddy's bike with him, without mommy's approval. Needless to say, he didn't get to ride long. Emmah, loves her bike and still rides it around the house. She is awesome. That is my stomach, and self profile shot. I though it is was funny, and to prove what great weather we are having, blue skies. Not to often you find those in February in the northwest.

Just some random pictures. Bosston has just realized that peanut butter is good,
and this is how I found him this morning. The picture in the middle is on
Super Bowl Sunday at grandma's house. These three are the best, and WE love them
more and more each day. Counting down to the day where there will be 4!!

Nick got the chance to MC a wrestling tournament on Saturday. I took the kids up towards the end and here are some shots from that day. Nick had a good time, but wrestling is so not a sport our kids will participate in. Talk about a bunch of cry babies. Nick and I agreed that we will teach our children how to win and lose gracefully.
It was a good thing that Nick was there. One of the boys from our ward got injured, and Nick was able to assist the Stake President in giving him a blessing before he left in an ambulance. What a crazy day.