Valentine's Day 2026

I have to admit, I had been dreading my first valentines day without my sweetie.

Then Scout and I went to Mo Bettahs for a buy one get one lunch with Curly and his girl.

At 3:00, Scout took me to see Lala Land at the theater. It was a throwback, but there was still popcorn.

Afterwards, we ran an errand and then  headed for the house. Curly was outside and all dressed up in a suit and tie. "Was today the Sweethearts Dance?" I wondered.

Then I went inside.

The kids were there and all dressed up. Sport brought me flowers.

And Curly was an amazing cook. We had chicken parmesan, salmon salad, heart-shaped pasta, green beans, and sparkling cider.

They even got out the china and gold silverware!

For some dumb reason, I rarely remember to take pics. These are from a video Curly's girlfriend took while he was cooking.

Then they made this amazing carrot cake from scratch. Baby Doll helped with the frosting.

It turned out to be a very sweet Valentines Day after all.

Even More Birthday Freebies

My kids did some amazing Valentines day things for me today, but I didn't get the pics from them, so you get birthday stuff.

Curly had his physical for his mission on Friday. It included 2 shots, a tb test and finger pokes. Our outstanding tradition of ice cream after a shot, took us to Sonic for my free small shake. They messed up and he got a medium strawberry shake. Happy birthday to me!

Chipotle gave me free guacamole with purchase.

Einstein's Bagel treated me to a free egg sandwich Curly and Scout enjoyed.

Bath and Body Works offered me a small body care item.

And on our Boise trip, we stopped at Chilis for dinner and they gave me a free chocolate lava cake including ice cream.

That's enough for today. I'm getting hungry...

Ok, just one more. Aerie gave me $10 in free merch, so I got myself a cute t-shirt.

On the same trip to the mall, Torrid's $10 bought 3 things, but since the other 2 are gifts I am giving my girls, I am only going to show you one.

Yeah. It was an amazing clearance sale.

Sorry, that was 2 more...

Guest Blog: Curly's Signing Day by the Dog Walker

This was a super cool moment in Curly's life. On Thursday, Curly signed with Southern Virginia University so that after his mission, if he chooses to play football, he has a place to go. 

Mom wanted to come to it, but she wasn't feeling well, so I got to take her place in supporting Curly. Baby Doll wanted to come, so I checked her out of school for an hour. At the program, Curly set up a booth in the school auditorium. Besides me and Baby Doll, some of Curly's friends and classmates came to watch him.

Curly was the last one to sign. Baby Doll recorded the speech given by Curly's coach. 

Congratulations! Mom's really proud of you, and I'm sure Dad is too.

Traveling Together - Coming Home

After the volleyball games were over  the girls decided to go swimming. 

I ordered pizza and we just hung out for while.

We got up about 8:30, ate breakfast, gathered our bags and got on the road.

Baby Doll was feeling pretty crappy, so other than a few potty stops and hamburgers at A&W, we made good time.

Scout does an amazing job behind the wheel and she did all of the driving. I am so lucky to have her.

And so glad to be home.