HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

My babe has been in the chocolate and feeling much better now!

Happy Valentine's Day family and friends! Hope you had a good one! We did. Greg went on a men's retreat last night with the guys from church so Laci and Caleb and I snuck downtown this morning to The Candy Factory to order a few treats for him. The Candy Factory is oh so awesome, with lots and lots of character too. It's in an old building with wooden floors (that even creek when you walk on them), and it's filled with antiques and candy from the here and now and the bygone days. Yes, you can find any kind of candy ever made in there. Remember the Zebra stripped gum? They have it, and my kids just love it. We have to get it every time we go. The wrapper is in one color, the gum in another color, and then after you chew it, the gum turns even another color. So much fun. And remember the waxed lips with juice inside them? After you finished goofing off with these babies, then you can eat them! I love this place, and I love showing Laci and Caleb all the cool candy we used to eat when we were little (I'm showing my age).

But you can go in there, pick out the perfect Valentine box, and then fill it with any kind of chocolate you like! So we did just that. Remember, this isn't your typical candy store, this is the old scene where the counter sits in the middle of the room, and all those assortment of chocolates are baked fresh and sitting behind the glass for your choosing. I had a hard time deciding what would go in this cute little box. I finally told the lady to just pick half of it for me. And she was glad to.

Aren't they cute? They're all wearing red and it wasn't even planned! But do you see the cute little stripped bag Laci is holding? The Candy Factory gave it to us today with our purchase. And here's the scoop. They have a little contest going on down there at the candy store. Whoever travels the farthest location with this little bag in tote wins a $25 candy shopping spree. The catch is you have to come back with a photograph of you and your bag with some sort of proof in the picture that you were where you say you were. In other words, if you tote your little bag to Paris, it would probably be a good idea to have a photograph of you and said best friend bag in front of the Eiffle Tower. Get it? So Laci wants us to play the game. We've actually been trying to decide where we would like to go on vacation. Maybe this could be our inspiration. Greg and Laci sure have their hearts set on $25 worth of candy.

Now to some real fun. Laci and Caleb's Mimi and Granny are such sweet women, but I had no idea they think so much alike!

They both sent her the exact same Valentine's card, all the way from Mississippi!!! Hey, did you two go shopping together, or what? We had taped one card up on the wall, later came the other card, she opened it, ran over to the wall, and said, "Oh, my gosh, Mimi and Granny bought me the same card!" She thought that was hysterical. Note the mouth wide open with laughter in the picture. I just had to photo her.

And Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave sent their Valentine's. Laci opened the card and said, "I cannot believe it. Aunt Carol sent me this card last year."

I said, "Are you sure, Laci?"

"I am positive."

So I had to take a look. And sure enough, it was the exact same princess card, same stickers and all! (Yes, the girl has a memory like an elephant. She remembers things from when she was 2 years old.) I would have never remembered that, and I actually had to look the card over and then it all started coming back to me, but she remembered it as soon as she saw it. Sorry, Aunt Carol, we love those stickers anyway!
What fun! Love our crazy life!

Oh, and I wanted to tell you about my little girl. While Caleb and I lay in the bed this past week, too weak and tired to lift our heads from the flu bug, my Laci girl got up Thursday morning, quiet as a mouse, made her bed, brushed her hair, cleaned her room, and then brought me breakfast in bed (a slice of bread with Nutella smothered on top, and water). And then she quietly fixed herself something to eat. I just love her! (Bless her heart, it's all she could come up with because WE HAD NOTHING IN THE HOUSE TO EAT! She even used the last piece of bread.) But by afternoon we all felt much better!