Carving Out Some Fun!

Despite all my whining about February, it has been a very fun month! Last weekend, in between my Paperworkapalooza, Mike, Molly, and I managed to escape the dreariness of Illinois to take a quick day trip to the dreariness of Michigan! In between, was a side stop in very sunny Indiana. St Joseph, MI had their Ice Carving Festival going on and it was fascinating to watch the huge chunks of ice being sculpted and carved into works of art! The place was mobbed! The streets were blocked off, parking was at a premium, and we have never seen so many dressed up fashionable dogs, and people with cameras. With all that and the piped in music and snow flurries, it was like a scene out of the movie Groundhog Day. It was a lot of fun wandering around, visiting our favorite stores and looking at all the ice carvings and handpainted snowmen that were stationed around the downtown area. Seeing and visiting "my" beach and seeing the waves (break along the snow and ice covered shore) made me yearn even more for spring and summer which I know are just around the corner (right.).

The weekend was capped off on Sunday night with a Surprise Birthday party for Mike at a local pizza place! He turned 50 on Superbowl Sunday, which we actually did celebrate at a party on that day, but I wanted to do something additionally for him. I think he was surprised and it was a great time! I wanted to recognize the other February Birthday Buddies too- so I got candles, flowers, and crowns for Jaine who turned 7, Bri, who turned 16 (on Mike's b-day) and Chrissy whose birthday was Feb.13. Lots of kids, adults, pizza, and cake- what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day!