Happy Valentines!

Wes left us all some goodies when he left for work this morning.  Yes, that is my 2 lb bag of Twizzlers.... he knows how to speak to my heart.

Valentines kind of snuck up on us and with a busy weekend this past weekend, making Valentines for classmates was put off until last night.  On a scale of 1-10, my creativity was a definite 1.5, but at least they got done!  There's always next year....

We've decided for a romantic meal of pizza tonight (at least I won't be cooking!) and might even watch a movie as a family.  Good stuff!!  Happy Valentines Day from Maurer Party of Five!

Grandpa Pete is 98!!

Sunday we celebrated a very special birthday with a very special man, Grandpa Pete.  Grandpa Pete turned 98 and he doesn't look a day over 85 :)  The entire family went to church with Grandpa, a church that brings back such great memories of my grandmother.  The church is very informal, everyone feels welcome and their love for Christ and each other is evident.  Before every service, they have anyone who has a birthday coming up that week stand at the front of the church and the congreagation sings "Happy Birthday" to them.  There were several with birthdays this week and when they got around to Grandpa Pete to ask how old he was going to be, his response was "a century minus two!"  Then one by one, the entire congregation stood to applaud him.  It brought tears to my eyes because I knew they weren't applauding an age, they were applauding the man.  Grandpa Pete is one of the most honest, loving, Christian men you will ever meet.  

Caleb(3), Austin (5), Grandpa Pete (98), Avery (5)

We decided not to put 98 candles on the cake this year!

Grandpa's cow cake made by my cousin Jennifer

We celebrated with lunch at Grandpa's house, the one where he still lives alone.  He's still getting around at 98!  He drives to church... though I'd hate to be driving behind him if I were in a hurry.  He goes to the farm daily with my Uncle Jimmie to give his expertise in how things should be done.  He even helped cooked his own birthday meal.  I hope I got some of his genes! 

Penguin Play

A special day for Kindergarten Kingdom is Penguin Play day.  For two weeks the kids learn all about penguins and then tell parents, friends and the rest of the school all about the tuxedo birds.  This years play was postponed due to the storm that I blogged about a few posts back, you know the one where we were stuck in the garage.  In the end, the Penguin Play was a huge success and our two penguins did a fabulous job!

 Kindergarten Penguins

 Avery Penguin - she wore goggles because she was a "swimming" penguin

 Swimming Penguin Austin

All smiles after their performance.

After the play, we had to measure the kids and order their Kindergarten Graduation gowns.  I was kind of taken back at the idea of these two graduating from Kindergarten already.  Pretty sure I'll need tissues that day.

Bella Vista Cottage

Wes & I opted for a short weekend away to the Hill Country to celebrate our anniversary with plans to book a summer getaway to somewhere beachy where we can lounge in the sun all day.  Our weekend away led us to Fredericksburg, a place we haven't enjoyed in a few years.  We were pleasantly surprised by all the new winerys.  Our biggest challenge was finding a place to stay.  We were looking for a B&B, no hotel since that is what the area is known for.  We wanted something to ourselves, nothing where we were sharing a house with someone else.  We also knew we didn't want to be surrounded in quilts and antiques, nothing against it... just not our thing. 
Wes found Bella Vista Cottage on one of his first internet searches.  The pics blew us both away and it was exactly what we were looking for.  The price was a bit steep compared to some of the other places, but as we continued to search, we knew we'd just be settling if we chose another place.  After almost booking something else, Wes called to book Bella Vista for our stay and found out that they run a special in the months of January and February - book two nights, stay a third night for free! 
I HIGHLY recommend this place for a couples getaway.  It's a good drive into town, about 20 minutes, but so worth it in our opinion.  If you love to cook they've got a kitchen you will love and the Master Suite is everything you could ask for in a romantic getaway.  The views are beautiful and deer can be seen roaming the property. 

http://www.bella-vistacottage.com/

10

10 years ago I said "I DO".... best two words that ever came out of my mouth.  I'm not sure that God put us on this earth specifically for one another, but I sure am glad our paths crossed and we fell for each other.  We've had our share of ups and downs, but I always know that our marriage is stronger than anything that tries to break us apart.

Wes-  Thank you for being my friend, my husband, and an amazing father to our children.  Thanks for putting up with my quirks and forgetfulness.  Not many men would have stayed around with a woman who still lets the water boil over the pot on the stove or someone who consistenly leaves cabinet doors open.  Maybe I"ll get it right by year 20.  I love you with my whole heart and look forward to another 10 years.

Jamie

Our monkey

One of the highlights of turning 5 for Avery was that she was now allowed to do the monkey bars at school.  In fact two days after turning five she came home with large blisters across the inside of her hands.  The culprit - the monkey bars. 

This girl loves to climb on just about anything and her upper body strength gives her the ability to cross these bars without any hesitation.  Good thing she has an awesome dad who loves to do projects, especially those that allow him to build.  This past weekend these were put up in no time and our little monkey was swinging away.  

Magnets wiped the hard drive...

It's true.  Sat afternoon the kids and I washed my car while Wes painted the new monkey bars that he built for Avery.  It was a beautiful day.... pleasant temps and bright sunshine.  After washing the car I stayed out to vaccuum the inside and the kids went in the house.  When I came inside a little while later I found 3 large magnets that the kids got as Valentines gifts, ones that sizzle when you put them together, sitting on the computer.  At the time I was exhausted... I had done 9.5 miles that morning, played a game of laser tag, sold Girl Scout cookies with Avery and washed the car.  I wasn't thinking really clearly and my mind was set on laying down for a bit and taking a nap.  Fast forward a few hours to after we got home from eating out and Wes attempted to turn on the computer... no luck, just a blank screen.  He wasn't very happy with me when I told him about where I found the magnets.  Looks like the magnets wiped our laptop clean.....