my sweet valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

The stars must have been perfectly aligned for us because Dave had the day off today.  It was so nice to sleep in.  Katelyn slept until almost ten this morning!

First, we took our littlest Valentine out for a special breakfast at Billy's donuts.  She calls donuts "nuts" and went crazy saying "nuts" over and over again when we asked her if she wanted one.  She continued chanting "nuts" on the car ride over, as we walked into the store, and after we paid for our "nuts" and sat down to eat them.

We had a wonderful time eating our breakfast and enjoying our late morning.  And then...  We went to the Sprint store because I lost my phone this week and had to get a new one.  The worst part about going to a cell phone store is the haggling.  They kept saying they were giving me "the best deal they possibly could" until I threatened to let T Mobile buy out my contract.  Suddenly, there were discounts available left and right.  It is a frustrating game that I hate to play.

The worst part of going to the cell phone store with a toddler is trying to keep her away from the displays.  In the midst of our negotiation, Kate knocked over an entire display of Otterboxes and then started screaming, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!"  She was very embarrassed about it.  Then, when Dave stopped her from knocking over the next carousel of displays she threw a fit.  Every toddler knows that the only good and proper way to throw a fit includes also throwing yourself to the ground.  In the process of her theatrics, poor Kate bit the inside of her cheek.  We then had a screaming toddler with a mouthful of blood on our hands.  It was a traumatic experience for everyone involved.

We ended up leaving in a hurry and we drove over to my parents' house to try to collect our thoughts.  By this point, tensions were high and Dave and I were pretty grouchy.  That was when my mom offered to babysit Kate so we could get out and see a movie.  Thanks Mom!

Only, when we got out to the car, we decided that we didn't want to spend money on a movie that we could rent later.  It's a treat to go out without Katelyn.  It's an even bigger treat to go out in the middle of a workday.  So I said to Dave, "Let's do something wild and crazy to do like bowling or ice skating or...  That's all I can think of."

And we laughed and laughed and laughed because, really, we know that bowling is not that crazy.

But we had a great time!  The bowling alley was nearly empty and we bowled non-stop for two hours just laughing and enjoying the wild and crazy bowling alley being serenaded by the soothing sounds of crashing pins and songs we might have slow danced to had we known each other in middle school.

And now, we are nice and cozy in our home, away from the crowds, enjoying our Valentine's treats and watching the Olympics.

I don't think Valentine's Day gets much better than this.