February Favs

Valentine's Date. I love Valentine's Day. I am a self proclaimed sappy romantic and love the day set apart to celebrate love. With that in mind, Robert and I go on a lovely date every year. Ok, so last year was spent at the hospital having just given birth (thankfully not on Valentine's Day--I'm a little selfish that way).

This year our date was to Piccolinos where we dinned on Calamari and pasta---what could be better? After a scrumptious meal, I took Robert X-country skiing. I have been going quite a bit and wanted to share my new found hobby with my husband. Robert proved his amazingness once again by out skiing me even though he has not skied in over a decade. It was a blast. We skied on the beech lake trails and the snow was perfect. It was fun skiing with my honey. After quitting the trails we headed to Starbucks for some spicy hot coco and steamed milk. It was so nice and a lovely way to celebrate us.

Battle of the Books. Hannah participated in the Battle of the Books again this year. I love this competition. It takes me racing back to my childhood. In this competition, children read 15-20 books and memorize the titles and authors. They are then put on teams of 3-4 and they represent their grade levels and schools in a district wide competition. During the competitions the teams are asked questions that all begin "In which book..." the teams huddle together to come up with the correct title and author. The winners of the district competition go on to the state level competition. Hannah was chosen to represent her school for the 3-4 grade level. They performed well at the competition, but did not win any ribbons. I was very proud of her dedication and enthusiasm.

Bobby's Birthday. I did a previous post on Bobby's special day, but I can't leave Bobby out of my February Favs. Bobby celebrated his first b-day on February 13th. We celebrated with friends and family by sharing a meal and and dessert. I made pork tacos and all the fixings. They were quite scrumptious. I got the recipe for the pork (karnitas) from a friend. It is cooked long and slow in the crock pot. We invited Nan and Papa, The Townsends, The Bundys, The Moncurs and the Lows. It was so nice to be surrounded by friends all of whom love Bobby.

We got Bobby and very nice large set of wooden blocks for his birthday. They were a hit with all the kids at the party and I know they will bring many hours of enjoyment to come. Hannah and Winnie kept making tall towers for Bobby to knock down. It was so sweet. He is very loved by his big sisters.

Our New Wood Stove. After a chimney fire last winter we decided to replace the wood stove along with the chimney. Yes, we heat our home almost entirely by wood stove and no, not everybody in Alaska does that. We love it. I love having my home at 75 degrees. It is so cozy and so beautiful to sit and watch. It is also great for emergency preparedness. When the power goes out we don't have to worry about staying warm. When the power went out for half a day on Christmas day day we stayed nice and toasty by our stove. When we first got the new stove this fall, I teased Robert about having a mistress because he spent more time with her than me. Yes, our stove is a female--hot, fiery and needs some coaxing now and then, but keeps you oh so warm at night!

Downhill Skiing. I finally did it after living in Alaska most of my life. I went downhill skiing for the first time on the last day of February! It was so sweet. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and about20 degrees. We were up at Alyesksa and they were not many people because it was a Monday. Robert and I went there on a date and he was the best skii instructor--handsome too! I fell several times, but I really think my x-country skiing skills really helped me take to it. The picture above is us on the ski lift.

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. So I am in a Biggest Loser competition with the rest of the DeKay clan. We are getting ready for a family vacation to Kauai. I have lost 12 pounds so far and would like to lose 10 more in time for our trip the second week of April. At the recommendation of a friend, I started doing this 30 day Shred video about 8 days ago and it is kicking my tail! I really like it because there are 3 levels of work outs. I know when I stop being sore I am ready for the next level! Hawaii--here I come!