Last few weeks

We've had a good couple of weeks of getting back into the groove after our awesome DW trip. It is always nice to come home knowing that long weekends are not far away. I always need to have something small to look forward to, and with Family Day weekend last weekend and Teacher's Convention next weekend it has been really fun.

Some highlights of the last few weeks:

• Valentine's Day. We were invited to a $500 a plate fundraiser Valentine's Gala, can you believe it? Thankfully the cost was covered, as well as the tux rental for Arvid. The last time he wore a tux was at our wedding nearly 12 years ago...I wore a little black dress and borrowed some cute little silver sandals (thanks, B!). After some champagne when we arrived, we feasted on sushi and california rolls as an appetizer. The main course was a very moist and delicious beef with mashed potatoes and root vegetables, and dessert was a chocolate cake with green tea ice cream. With every course they brought out a new bottle of wine (because really, how could the white wine paired with the appetizer go with the beef in the main course? haha). The Opera performed a little operetta, and various dignitaries (mayor, premier, etc.) gave some speeches. At one point they broke into a "For they are jolly good fellows..." song. It was nice to see how the other side lives for an evening, but I tend to like things a little bit more low key.
• Valentine's Celebration - A few days before V-day, Arvid and I had a quiet evening at home. We made a killer good from scratch caesar salad, WHITE (a rare treat) french bread with oil and balsamic vinegar, a tomato cream sausage pasta and decadent brownies with raspberries for dessert. YUM! That was just the two of us...later on in the week we had our annual chocolate fondue with the girls. I ended up forgetting about half of the fruit so we had it again the next night and brought out the other half of the fruit. :-)
• Family Day weekend - we had a wonderfully relaxing weekend. I don't know if it's my age or the age of the kids, but we are appreciating simple weekends at home more and more. Arvid and I spent a lot of hours sitting on the couch and talking. The kids did a ton of playing and colouring, and we enjoyed our time catching up with my side of the family. We also played family games, went skating and watched a movie as a family. Pretty much a perfect weekend and our first Family Day as a family of 5!

Before I sign off I'll attach a few pictures...

(Below) Our fancy night out

(Below) Our annual Valentine's Day chocolate fondue

(Below) Just a small sampling...YUM! :-)