Valenitnes Day

We hope that you all had a great Valentines. We had a quiet, nice productive day, which are pretty much my favorite kind of days. We went out to Winchell's donuts for breakfast and then drove over to a city called Mead/Longmont to look at what houses were available and to check out this new school that we heard they were building. With all the recent budget cuts we wanted to see if the school was just started or almost finished. It looks really nice and this is encouraging to us because it shows at least a little economic growth. So we did that and then made these really cute heart shaped carrot cakes.

When Mark and I got married we registered for these great heart shaped dishes. They were one of my favorite gifts that we got. Unfortunately I have hardly gotten to use them at all so this year I decided I was going to make carrot cakes in them. It was a lot of fun. Mark always jokes when we move about how it wouldn't be a big deal if they got broken. I would be so sad. I can't wait to have a little girl one day who wants to have little tea parties and we can put stuff in them. So I made all these cakes and then we took them to some friends for Valentine's day.

Aprillee with the big and little cakes. The big cake was for us.



They tasted delicious too!

Mark and I decided to make dinner at home and have a fancy candle-lit dinner this year. We made this delicious tortellini and had sparkling cider. We used our fancy goblets from Egypt and just had a really nice relaxing day. After we ate we met up with some friends to watch what we thought was going to be this really cool hot air balloon show but it turned out to be a bust. That was too bad. It was advertised as the Loveland Lights and we thought it was going to be all these hot air balloons all lit up in the sky. It wasn't. It was one balloon tethered, and 3 baskets on the ground without balloons that would occasionally make the flames go really high. So we only stayed there like 15 minutes and then went to our friends house to play a game. The balloons (or lack of) didn't really matter though. We had a really nice day together which was the goal.

So, since the hot air balloons didn't turn out this year, I decided I would post some pictures of last years Valentines Day when Mark took me on a surprise trip to Luxor down in Southern or Upper Egypt and we went on a hot air balloon ride. It was amazing. We had such a good time! I have always wanted to go on a hot air balloon so it was really sweet of Mark to arrange it all as a surprise weekend getaway! We looked at prices here in Colorado and it was 250 dollars per person to go on a ride. We got to go on our balloon ride over Egypt for 50 dollars a person. We had the best travel agent in Egypt, its funny because here we don't think we will ever have a travel agent! It was like the best weekend in Egypt throughout the whole 2 1/2 years we were there.

Balloons being blown up, this is what we thought we would see in Loveland.

Mark and April, 6:00 AM watching balloons be blown up

Waiting the in Balloon Basket



Balloons taking off as we are taking off



Aprillee with sunrise and balloons in the background, this is like one of my favorite Egypt pictures. It was so amazing!



Balloon over Temple in Luxor



April and Mark after we landed

Thanks for the most amazing Valentines ever Markus!

Happy Valentines Week!

"Loveland, the city known for LOVE in Northern Colorado."
(Loveland Chamber of Commerce)

When we were driving back from the Sculpture Park in Loveland I noticed all these red hearts on the lampposts on the main street in Loveland. It turns out that people can order personalized Valentines and then the Valentine gets hung up on the lampposts on the main street downtown. I think that is so cute so here are some pictures I tried to take real quick.

The top one says, "Andy loves Tabi, Mostest"
And the bottom one says, " Gary Judy, 50 years"

I think this is such a fun idea!

There were 4 Valentines on each lamppost, its so cute! Good old Loveland!
Sorry the pictures aren't amazing but you can get the general idea.

Loveland also does a really cool "Valentine Re-mailing Program".
"Every year, hundreds of thousands of Valentines are packaged inside larger envelopes and sent to Loveland, where volunteers hand-stamp them with a Valentine's verse and send them on to the intended recipients." (wikkipedia-its funny but even on this blog I feel like I will get in trouble if I do not cite my source, must be all those history papers I had to write)
So people from all over the WORLD send their Valentines to Loveland where volunteers re-mail the Valentine's! Apparently Loveland has been doing this for over 60 years. Mark and I went to the Post office today and there was this box that said, "drop off Valentines here to have them sent from Loveland." Unfortunately today was the deadline, but next year I will be all over that, assuming I remember...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S WEEK!!

Loveland Co Sculpture Park

Loveland, CO Sculpture Park

Today Mark and I wanted to go out and enjoy the sunshine so we decided to drive over to Loveland (its like 15 minutes West of Greeley) and walk around the sculpture park. This park has lots of really neat walkways and sculptures all over the place. Loveland is just east of the mountains so whenever we go there I finally feel like I am in Colorado since I can see the Rockies. We have driven by the park a couple of times but have never stopped. Every summer the city of Loveland hosts an event called "Sculpture in the Park" which from what we have heard sounds really cool. This is what the website said about it.

"Heralded as one of the finest outdoor juried exhibitions of three-dimensional artwork in the United States, Sculpture in the Park features the work of more than 200 sculptors from around the world. The event is majestically staged against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and attracts thousands of art lovers and collectors from across the country to Loveland's Benson Sculpture Garden. The second weekend of August, Benson Sculpture Garden is transformed by the Loveland High Plains Arts Council and their volunteers from a park into a beautiful setting for this outstanding exhibit."

So if we are here this summer when it is held then we will definitely go check it out, but it was really nice to go today when it wasn't so crowded. It probably looks prettier then since the grass would be alive and the lake would not be half frozen. I really admire the creativity and talents of these artists. I am so glad that there are so many creative people out there who share their skills. I also think its really fun that Loveland has made a space for people to go enjoy being outside and be culturally enriched. Its also really cool that they support the local artists. Here are some of our favorite pictures. There's a lot of them!

"Crocodile Dandy" (my favorite)

"Potato Man"

Mark with Bunny Scuplture

Kids on Bicycle

Aprillee by Turtle Sculpture

Dancing

"Sun in Colorado"
(Don't mind the mostly frozen lake)

Ring Around the Rosy..
I love all the details on the children's expressions.

Mark and Old Man Sculpture

"All the World's a Stage"
Shakespeare Sculpture.

As you can see from these pictures there is a wide variety of sculptures and these were just our favorites. It was really fun to walk around and check them all out. We are glad that we finally went.

Happy Groundhog Day!

This is just a silly post to remind you that today is Groundhog Day.

The official verdict from Phil in Pennsylvania today is 6 more weeks of winter. It has always confused me as to why there would be more winter it the Groundhog saw its shadow. If he saw his shadow the sun was out so it would seem things were warming up because the sun was out in February when it should be cloudy. But I am not in charge. I am glad there will be more winter, there has been hardly any snow this year so I say bring it on!

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course.

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

No! Phil's forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese"(a language only understood by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world.

The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887.

So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br'er Groundhog.

And here are some of his more famous or "noteworthy highlights"

During Prohibition Phil threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn't allowed a drink.

In 1958 Phil announced that it was a "United States Chucknik," rather than a Soviet Sputnik or Muttnik that became the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth.

In 1981 Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran.

Phil traveled to Washington DC in 1986 to meet with President Reagan. He was joined by Groundhog Club President Jim Means, Al Anthony and Bill Null.

Phil met Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburg in 1987.

In 1993, Columbia Pictures released the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

Phil appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995.

In the years following the release of the movie, record crowds numbering as high as 30,000 have visited Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney!

In 2001, Phil's prediction was shown live on the JumboTron at Times Square in New York City.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the ceremonies, making him the first sitting governor ever to do so.

I do actually enjoy learning about holidays and their origins since I love holidays so much, even the small ones. For FHE one evening a few years ago Mark and I sat down and wrote down all the fun things I wanted to do for all the holidays in the year and he had some fun ideas too. I will have to come up with some good Groundhogs day ones too. My kids are going to think I am crazy but hopefully they will think its fun too.

For more information on this exciting holiday you can visit:
http://www.groundhog.org/about/
That is where I got the above information it is the official sit for Groundhogs day.

25 Random Facts About Mark

So I tagged Mark in the 25 random things on Facebook and he said he wouldn't do it so I told him I would help him do it and so drum roll please....
Here are 25 random facts about Mark. (Ahh, the power of persuasion, I think he secretly did want to do it but did not want to appear interested.)

1. I can't believe I'm doing this... (just shows how much I love my wife) (or maybe not- by April)
2. I've never been to a professional basketball game, but would love to go.
3. I've been to 18 foreign countries.
4. I am very lucky to be married to my sweetheart of a wife (Aprillee).
5. I served a mission in Brazil for 2 years.
6. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream.
7. I'm incredible at reading maps.
8. I broke my left leg in an ultralight crash.
9. I enjoy playing ultimate Frisbee
10. I haven't gained more than 10 lbs. in the last 10 years.
11. I love to travel.
12. I like to barbecue.
13. I've ridden on an elephant and a camel.
14. I enjoy reading historical fiction books.
15. Tucanos is my favorite restaurant.
16. I speak 4 languages.
17. I have a masters in Middle East History.
18. I love limes!
19. I enjoy working on my family history.
20. I have 28 nieces and nephews, but no children of my own (although I can't wait to be a dad).
21. I love huckleberry!
22. I enjoy playing "Ticket to Ride" and "Settlers of Catan".
23. I try really had to do romantic things for April.
24. I don't own a microwave (I hope Steve doesn't change this).
25. I can't believe I finished this in 10 minutes (thanks April!).

Seeing as how this is a blog about our lives I just thought he should be included even though he has never posted on here and probably won't any time soon which is fine I just wouldn't want him to feel left out.