Insta Friday #4. And More Valentine's Day.

The stories behind this week's Instagram pictures.

I'm @thecircus6 if you want to follow along.

A lot of times when I have to drive my kid to meet their dad in the winter, we are met with snowstorms that make the drive... hard.

I curse the snow on all sorts of levels while trying to maintain that I'm grateful for the moisture that our desert state needs for the summer months.

And often times the storm changes during the drive.  What was snowing and blowing and freezing just an hour and half earlier is clearing up on the return side of the drive.

That leaves me with mountain sunsets like these:

All those pictures where taken on the same drive.  Sometimes the beauty just catches hold of my attention and I can't deny that I love living where there are mountains.  And though driving for 3 hours to meet my ex is not on my top favorite things to do list, I can't deny that my drive is spectacular.

Sometimes I can't tell where the white, snow covered mountains end and the clouds start.

 Our elementary school holds a 6th grade Valentine's dance.  The kids have dance cards where they sign up with partners for each dance (though most of it is just different types of line dancing).  They work for months to learn all the different dances they'll be expected to do on the day.  Elaborate decorations are thrown up in the gym, the kids are told to dress up, and a dj is brought in to play specific types of songs to match the specific types of dances.

This year they even had chocolate fountains for the kids.

Jayme was happy that we showed up (she reminded us about it daily for two weeks) to take pictures (as parents are expected to do for this occassion) but she wouldn't stop to talk to us.  She had partners to find and dances to dance.  She needed to be on target.

The Man and I slipped out for lunch for Valentine's Day and we found this hanging on the front door for us.

For dinner I called in help from the girls who cut and chopped veggies to throw in the dinner pot and dipped strawberries and bananas in chocolate for dessert.

As it goes every year we gathered a number of candles from around the house (that probably only get lit on Valentine's day) and turned off the lights.

Frankly, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the holiday.

Dear weekend, it's going to be a busy one.  Bring it.

Linking up.

Jayme and Brynn Graduate NOVA

 NOVA is a pretty big deal to the kids.

It ranks up there with concert choir and field day.

I'm graduating from NOVA today, you're going to be there, right Mom?

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

So I sit through a two hour ceremony type deal and listen to the police officer (this year it was Officer Martin) talk about how our kids are the funnest and the best and his favorite of all the kids he does NOVA with.  I watch a slide show of the kids making faces at the camera.  I listen to kids read their constitutions for life, about how they won't do drugs and they'll go to college and be good people.  I listen about to the stories of when they made and flew their rockets, and how well the "no TV for a week" challenge went.

Brynn conveniently chose the week when we had no TV hooked up because we were doing the family room floor.

Smart girl.

And then I sit and watch as each and every child is called up for their certificate.

Usually this is a 6th grade thing, but since our school district is changing and putting 6th grade into the Middle School (and subsequently 9th grade into High School) next year, this meant that this year they also included the 5th graders, since they won't be in elementary next year to do it.

What this means for our Circus is that we had not one, but two kids in the NOVA program this year.

6th grader Jayme, and 5th grader Brynn.

Just for the record, they still brag about knowing a police officer.  He's like, their best friend.

They're like this.

I appreciate anyone who makes my kids feel that way.

And I'm proud of these girls for putting in the effort to learn about how drugs and alcohol, and even media can have ill effects on their lives.  And how education can have a significant effect on it as well.

Kids, alcohol will eat your brain.

But college, now there's a way to build it.

Oh, and since there are six of you within five years of each other... get good grades and get really good at sports.  We're going to need all the scholarships we can get our hands on.

Thanks.