February is the shortest month of the year, but it has a knack for packing some really awesome weather right in the middle of some dreary cold and rainy days. We were so blessed with some warm days of sunshine that were much needed! We started out February cheering on Emma in her last few basketball games and were so excited to have my mom, sister, and niece come to visit us for a couple of days. We had so much fun! They were in town while Eli’s baseball team practiced and Emma’s softball team had tryouts, so they braved the wind and the cold to come see the Strange kids in action. We also all went down to The Battery and enjoyed dinner at the new El Felix…it was awesome!
Emma’s class did book reports that were due the beginning of February. She chose “Ramona Quimby, Age 8” by Beverly Cleary. I loved talking with her about the book as I grew up loving those Ramona stories too! The cover of the book has Ramona in a white and red striped shirt on her bike. When Emma presented her book report, she wore a shirt like Ramona’s and brought her bike! Too fun!
Valentine’s is fun in our house because it brings up the annual Father/Daughter Mother/Son dance at NCCS. Emma and Clint went to the dance and had lots of fun! For the second year in a row, I let Eli chose between the dance and the region basketball championship game. He chose the game again…two years in a row. Such a treat to have my little guy with me at the game! After the dance and the game, we swapped kids and Eli and Clint went out to dinner and Emma and I went to a concert at school. It was a fun night all around!
We have started a tradition of getting away for a few days with our school’s annual Winter Break in mid-February. This year we headed out early on Saturday morning headed for Charleston. We got there just in time to check in to our hotel and walk down to Hyman’s Seafood for a WONDERFUL lunch! After lunch, we walked miles and miles around downtown Charleston looking all around and enjoying each other’s company. It was a beautiful afternoon! In fact, we walked and ate so much, that Emma and I ended up falling asleep early at the hotel and Clint and Eli walked around the corner to grab a burger and watch basketball. Everyone slept in a little Sunday morning and then we walked all over town again. We really loved all the churches and beautiful homes. We had lunch at Home Team BBQ…thanks to several of you for that recommendation…it was great! We drove over to Isle of Palms and looked around and then came back to go to the Children’s Museum. We got there right at 3pm. They close at 5pm. We were pleasantly surprised that they offer 1/2 price tickets the last 2 hours of the day. Score! After the museum, we ate dinner at a great Mexican restaurant, Juanita Greenberg’s Nacho Royale, and then stopped in a cool ice cream shop called The Republic. We decided to treat ourselves after all that walking! We woke up Monday morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and then meandered our way home getting here just in time to unload and head to a NCCS baseball game to wrap up the break. We had a great time in Charleston and would love to go back!
The last weekend in February, Clint and Emma headed to Jonesboro where Emma competed in the State Math Competition. She loves math and really enjoys learning more! She did well in the competition and has advanced to the region competition with other State winners at the Georgia World Congress center on March 24. While they were at math, Eli and I spent the day at a NCCS track meet and then had a shopping and lunch date in Cartersville. We have the best time when we take the kids out individually. Such a treasure!
We are all ready to pack up our coats for good and turn our attention to spring weather and spring sports!
