February 5

Sweetheart traveled to BYU this week to spend time recruiting for Raytheon and as a bonus got to spend time with his siblings and my Grandpa H. He had a bunch of memories come back to him while at BYU. He said that he saw about 3:1 ratio of mechanical engineering students to other fields. He would recommend prospective students to look into the market and pick a lesser known major like acoustics. He loved the time he got to spend with his siblings. He said they spent time talking about how they grew up, funny stories about their parents and their experiences, and the hopes each of them have for their futures. He brought home slinkies and LED flashlights for our boys. He also brought back truffles which Hurricane found and ate 1/4 of the stash. When Hurricane wants something he'll go get it. Determination is something for amateurs. Hurricane is unstoppable.

Underfoot and Hurricane are great buddies. They love to be together and will stick by each other in most situations. Recently, Underfoot has started expressing anger by punching Hurricane. He has spent his fair share in the corner while Hurricane has spent his fair share crying. They come back together like nothing ever happened.

We went for a ride to share some Nutella for World Nutella day. Sweetheart was talking with my brother, A, and Sweetheart makes the comment that Underfoot has his finger out the window and is shooting the air. My brother told me the experience and said, "Just shootin' the breeze, uh?"

Yesterday Sweetheart had a rough day and so to cheer him up and flirt with him a bit, I would tap him in the bum with my foot with a sideways kick while we were shopping at Costco. At one point Sweetheart decided to kick at the same time I did and took me to my knees literally while knocking the breath out of me. (He fell down too!) I am sporting two lovely black bruises on my kneecaps. I didn't know that kneecaps could bruise. It rattled my body to my shoulders. When I got up this morning, I felt as if I had been doing push ups because I was sore. It was just sore muscles from hitting the floor so hard. Next time I flirt with Sweetheart, it will have to be a non-contact sport like batting my eyelashes.

We finished making the tomato sauce on Monday. Hurricane and Underfoot got to play with friends this week. We went to an American composers symphony night with a couple from our neighborhood. The composers were Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Conni Ellisor. Ives wrote early 1900s and wrote his music with a lot of quarter tones (not notes). Copland was wonderful. Ellisor wrote the music for this concert. The piece was made mostly for Mountain Dulcimer. The performer was very excited to play his instrument.

We also celebrated the Chinese New Year at a party. We enjoyed Lo Mien, sticky rice, stir fry veggies, almond cookies, and fortune cookies. The hosts had red envelops for everyone, and we had a great time!

We hope this finds you safe, happy, and well.