Valentine's Day Nowak Style

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

OK so our day started off quite nicely...Charlie and I slept in...yay us since he has had a cold for a week and mine was in full swing for the last two days.  An extra hour or two makes a difference.

Before we went to bed last night we put these little Valentine's goodies out for the kids.

Brooke got a Littlest Pet Shop and Miles and Zach got new Wii classic controllers

I got the idea for these Valentine's sodas from the 2cleverblog (check it out, those ladies are creative) and the kids LOVED it...I rarely let them have soda at home (usually reserved for eating out) and definitely not red soda.  I have to say it was pretty tasty.

After we got up and got moving we headed out to the zoo.  We have the zoo pass, Miles has an upcoming project on the endangered Golden Tamarin monkey

and it was kind of chilly today so we thought there would be no one at the zoo.  Well, we thought wrong.  We had to park in the back forty and walk FOREVER but we didn't have to wait in the LOOOONNNNGGG lines.  Oh yeah... that zoo pass has its privileges. Brooke was our map reader/navigator today. She did an excellent job of getting us exactly where she wanted us to be....please allow me to present our version of 

Salmonella Saturday...

ahh yes...the petting zoo.  Gross...eeeek..bleck!!!  I was in charge of the camera.  I try not to put a damper on the fun and I certainly didn't deter everyone else from petting the animals but seriously we washed and double sanitized after this excursion.  And can I just say..that goat just leaned against Charlie for the longest time. Thank goodness my washer has a sanitize setting.

Since we left the zoo around 1:45 it was way past lunch and we were all starving so we headed to Mamacitas.  I know you are all surprised. Let me just say, it has come to this...we requested our "favorite" waitress Carmen and maybe I can show you Carmen in a future post..you know when she's not so creeped out by our requesting her section when we don't really know her and all...or possibly when she forgets that I'm the lady who consumes mass quantities of green dip.

We headed home for a lazy afternoon.  By lazy I mean I took a two hour siesta.  I took some cold medicine last night and almost twenty four hours later I am finally not feeling groggy and weird. Charlie took care of dinner which was yummy.  

The rest of our evening was spent as follows:

While I was making these for dessert...

Oh yum yum yum!

The kids and Charlie were doing this....

a full on Nerf gun fight upstairs.  I heard Brooke upstairs yelling "RETREAT" and I had to go and see for myself.  There was a full on assault happening and there were barricades and all kinds of things going on.  Can you see the zillions of Nerf darts littering the floor?

Brooke, who I'm pretty sure will win mother of the year one day, was using her American Girl baby stroller for cover.  Can I just say...they LOVE this.  There is much crazy laughter and screaming like "STOP my gun is jammed"..."TIME OUT"...to "hey you kids gave me the bum gun that doesn't shoot".  When all is said and done there will be the four of them swaggering down the stairs, covered with sweat, recounting their stories of how THEY got the best shot in.  I have to say...we aren't into guns but this is a great family fun activity...and I'm totally participating by providing the snack and the gentle reminders from downstairs to "settle down...just a little."  

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!