February

Sunday the 1st I took Nina to Kidz Plaza for a friend’s birthday party. It was a little disconcerting since the last time we were there was for her birthday party, but she got over it quickly. She enjoyed herself at the Jewells’ Super Bowl party, but got a little crazy and we left early. Tuesday I mentioned that it’s hard to convince a 3 year old that Lucky Charms are more than a marshmallow delivery system.

Nina

Saturday the 7th we had lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger after gymnastics and Nina let us know that when she and BFF Felix have little kids, they’re going to live far away in South America. After a gorgeous day playing outside Sunday, we took Nina to The Old Brogue for an early show by Beth Patterson and she did pretty well (and we wished happy birthday to Bernard). Tuesday I decided that one great thing about being a grownup is getting to pair a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with beer (also Tuesday we got a new microwave after being without one for a week).

Nina

Thursday the 12th I participated in my first live auction, for props from the Coraline movie. Some pieces went for a lot of money, but I managed to get a pencil drawing of the Apartments, artwork with the 26 different faces of Coraline, and the centerpiece: an early design of the apartments’ porch.

porch

Saturday the 14th Mom came over and we went to the Mosaic District for Valentine’s Day, got a seat at the bar at B Side in 10 minutes (our 1st choice), had a yummy dinner (delicious charcuterie, “pig wings”, and fries) as we watched the storm blow through, then a slippery walk over to the Angelika to see Kingsman (great adaption) before an ok drive home. Lake Thoreau had frozen over Friday, but the wind was so strong on Sunday it blew the ice apart (Nina enjoyed her cocoa and a fire in the fireplace). As a Saturday Night Live super geek, Sunday night’s 40th anniversary show was just about perfect. It was a good mix of clips and new sketches with old characters. I was surprised Paul McCartney blew his voice out the night before and Paul Simon didn’t come out with Miley Cyrus to sing his song. The best moment might have been unscripted – Jim Carrey asking Matt Layer on the red carpet where they were hiding Brian Williams.

Nina Kerry

Monday the 16th Nina put on a concert (including songs from Django Jones and Frozen). There was snow on Tuesday and Nina went sledding, then Saturday we got the most snow of the season and that meant another fire in the fireplace and Nina’s first s’mores. Sunday we built a big snowman together (Jill’s mom Sue was down for a visit and was a big help when school was closed).

Monday the 23rd I had to share a link about why record store clerks are pretentious because the record store I owned with my friends Eric, John, and Steve was EXACTLY like that. That night I went to see Neal Morse at the State Theatre because legendary drummer Mike Portnoy was playing with him. A great performance, but disconcerting because there was a group of guys next to me that must have been under 21 because they had Xs on their hands, and therefore not born the first time I saw Mike Portnoy play with Dream Theater at Hammerjacks (I won’t even get into them covering “Jet”, a 41 year old song).

Nina Jill

Tuesday the 24th I was a chaperone as Nina’s class went on a field trip to my old high school, W.T. Woodson, to see the planetarium. It was very hard to keep Nina and her 2 friends quiet, and odd to see the changes at the school. Saturday the 28th was a movie double header. We wanted to finally seeing Jupiter Ascending, but found out Run Lola Run was playing at the Alamo Drafthouse at a late show (I knew Jill would be up for a late showing because she has 2 copies of the soundtrack). We initially thought just dinner beforehand, then decide on a double feature with an early show at the Googleplex. Jupiter Ascending was worth it just for that shot of the spaceship coming up through the ring. Then we had a quick dinner at The Dons’ Wood-Fired Pizza before Run Lola Run (a fantastic movie that still holds up).

Jill Kerry Nina