40th Birthday, Valentine's Day, and Our 17th Anniversary

 We have had many basketball practices and are seeing improvement for each of the boys

I woke up on my birthday to some fresh snow

I hit the big 4-0

The new snow (which we had been getting for several days) was very welcome because Kim took me skiing for my birthday

It was a beautiful day with lots of fresh powdery snow

The temperature was great but some warm chili for lunch was still welcome

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day of skiing

What an awesome gift!

Kim made a delicious German chocolate cake for me

She made me a delicious dinner of honey lime enchiladas and street corn salad

After basketball practices I got to open up some gifts

Got some great hugs

And then cake

Kim took the boys to the sledding hill the next day with some friends

They had lots of fun

The next day the boys had basketball games

Nixon got to go out for a burger after his game

Nixon had a primary activity this week where they learned how to decorate cupcakes (Mason had to miss it because he had a basketball practice)

We woke up on Valentine's Day to some very thoughtful love notes from Kim

Check out what Mason made for his valentines

Mason doesn't like to wear his coat...

Some yummy Valentine's dipped strawberries and pretzels

We had more games yesterday

Nixon had a very good game and was really aggressive and got his first two baskets of the season

Kim and I went out last night for our 17th wedding anniversary (which is actually today)

We had delicious food and a good time out together

We had to share our celebration with Lyza, who attended her first youth dance. It started out with fear and trembling but ended with exceeding joy

Katie (and others) were so kind to take her under their wings and help her feel comfortable and have a wonderful time. In fact, when Kim picked Lyza up she said this: "I can't believe I was scared to come here. It was SO much fun!"

When Lyza got home she was glowing and so happy. We are relieved she had such a great time.

I am not sure we knew what we were getting ourselves into 17 years ago when we decided to partner up for time and all eternity

But I am sure glad we did! Happy Anniversary, Kim

Have a great week!

Finally Time for Basketball

The boys have been so excited to start playing basketball and they have finally gotten their wish. Here is Mason playing some locked in defense at practice

Henry playing a game while waiting for a brother's basketball practice to end

Nixon handling the ball during practice

Henry and I had fun playing mouse trap together one day

Kim got together with friends for a birthday party

Henry helped Kim make some chocolate chip cookies

Kim and I decided that we want to go on a cruise so we invited some friends and we had a meeting where some of them made some proposals on which cruise line, destinations, etc. February 2026 should be fun!

Go Fish for the win

Nixon and Mason got to go to the archery range for their primary activity

They both did very well

Bullseye!

I took Lyza out for dinner this last weekend to celebrate her amazing grades

The boys had basketball photos yesterday

Henry and I had our second game and we won! You can see Henry here watching the shot and hoping he doesn't get hit with the ball ;)

Here he is playing some intense defense

I won't mention all the sickness we have been fighting over the last couple of weeks. Instead, I choose to focus on the positive.

Have a great week!