Bon Voyage, PT Cruiser!

Here are my valentines enjoying our pink Valentine dinner.  We are starting a tradition for the more laid-back holidays to have a fun picnic dinner while we watch a movie or show together.  The goal is to watch something along the theme of the holiday...we'll see how long that lasts. :)

We spent Roy's birthday weekend in Williamsburg.  Zwahlen family tradition, at least when it pertains to Roy's birthday, is to celebrate a birthday for as long as possible.  Roy stretches it out as long as he possibly can--this year was Thursday through Monday, possibly an all-time record.  We took the kids to the Bouncy House with their cousins and everyone had a great time.  Even though Sam ended up getting hurt and limping for several days, he was still in tears when we left.  This was the first time I haven't played in the Bouncy House with the kids and while it was still fun to see their faces as they came down slides and around obstacles, it is nothing compared to seeing their triumphant faces when they climb over an obstacle, discover a great corner for jumping as high as they can, or beating me as we race through the obstacle course.  I just wasn't willing to push my body that hard this time.  I'm too close to my due date to risk pushing myself so they'll have to save the taunting and winning for next time.  

The kids discovered the wonder of the jets in Grandma and Baba's bathtub.  Zach was not a big fan initially, but once he tried it for 10 seconds, he loved it.  Jets make a milky foam out of bubbles and all three kids giggled about being all milky, having milk hats, and any other milk reference they could come up with.

Grandma is always willing to read bedtime stories!  She somehow had space for all four big kids to sit on their recliner and they ate up the cuddle time.

It snowed the night before we left.  Abby and Sam played it in for about 5 minutes before they decided they were done.  We came home to nice weather and sunshine and even escaped to a park in the afternoon.  I am loving this winter weather! :)

Abby and Sam are the best little helpers right now.  Abby especially loves to help and enjoys having things clean when she is done.  If Sam can have fun while he is doing it, then he's all there, especially if it involves creating another mess.  We washed both cars after Roy got home from work one afternoon this week and Sam ended up soaked from head to toe, dumping the soapy water bucket prematurely, and polishing the drivers' side door area until it could not possibly have any more dirt.  Abby cleaned every tire, wiped down mirrors, and directed us to extra dirty spots.  It was a fun family moment!

The day has come when we must prepare to say goodbye to the PT Cruiser.  Roy would probably do a better job at doing a nice tribute to this car that carried him from Williamsburg to Provo, was the transportation on our first date, the envy of my sister, brought us and a trunk packed full of belongings to and from CA when we got married, got filled again a month later to travel to VA via Houston, carried us through 3 years of law school, traveled to Wise with us and made us new-to-towners even more distinctive and recognizable, brought two children home from the hospital, became a receptacle of goldfish, lollipops, and Happy Meal food, and has been a reliable, fun car.  It seems silly to be sentimental about a car, but as we have cleaned it out this last week, both of us have been flooded with memories of the eight years it has been in Roy's life and the journey that it represents in our married lives.  It's been a good road, PT!