Who forgot to post the Valentine's Day pictures?  Oh, yeah.  That was me.  The girls had a blast giving and getting valentines at school.  I cut out lip and mustache shapes from craft foam and stuck a Dum Dum through the middle so it looked like you had big lips or a mustache while you ate the sucker.  That's what the girls gave as their valentines.  We had to make a set of lips for everyone here at home too.  Yes, I make my kids dress in red and eat ham cut into heart shapes, garlic mashed potatoes tinted pink, strawberries, and broccoli.  No, broccoli is not pink, but it is good for your heart!

Ben left February 21 for two exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.  The federal government was kind enough to schedule a three-day weekend in honor of Presidents' Day right before he left.  We told the kids we would take them bowling on Monday, and they we so excited.  When we got to the bowling center on base, the parking lot was ominously empty.  I checked the hours and discovered that the are closed on holidays.  The kids are just about to freak out, while Ben and I deperately search the GPS for another bowling alley.

We found one in Sedalia, so off we went.  We had planned to get pizza at the bowling alley, so with the change of plans, we now had to find somewhere to eat.  We settled on Golden Corral, which was right across the street from the bowling alley.  We kept looking out the window while we ate at the empty parking lot at that bowling alley as well, and tried to quietly decide how to appease four kids who wanted nothing more out of the day than to shove heavy balls down highly polished floors.

At noon, cars started pulling in and parking.  We were saved!  We packed up our well-fed and kids and headed over.  We walked in, and I nearly walked out.  It smelled so bad!  It was like 50 years of smoke and foot odor had collected and never been give an chance to escape.  Even the kids were complaining.  I asked if they wanted to leave, but they insisted they could handle it.

We gathered our cracked balls and headed for our lanes.  Tyler nearly got hit in the face a couple of times when he tried to follow me or Ben on our turns, but other than that, the kids had a great time.  It was the dumpiest bowling alley I'd ever seen, and our balls could constantly get stuck at the end.  We would have six balls rolling around behind the pins until someone would go down and clear them again.  I would never go back there, but for that afternoon, our family was happy.

That evening, while Ben was packing, I woke up with a monster of a head cold.  I had been sleeping for two hours and came stumbling out of the room in search of meds.  Ben apologized for waking me, but I assured him he had nothing to do with it.  Ten hours before he leaves for six weeks, and I'm sick.  It made for a rough first week, but nothing this Air Force wife couldn't handle!

Sydney participated in her 2nd grade music program on March 1st.  This was the best picture I could get with my camera and kids.  The first video shows her saying her line.  There was supposed to be a second video showing the last song of the program.  That kid was so tired.  Tyler was climbing on me the entire time, so at least you'll miss that.

There isn't much else to report.  I tend to keep the adventure to a minimum when Ben is gone.  Saves the sanity.  Although this week is shaping up to be a doozy.  Tansy's birthday is Wednesday, her party is Tuesday, plus we have Kindergarten screening, two doctor appointments, and a couple of other appointments, all while I am getting ready to go see Ben in Las Vegas!  My mom will be staying with the kids while we enjoy and early anniversary trip.  We are celebrating ten years and plan to have a blast.  Yeah for us!