Most of my Valentine's Day was spent anticipating Jack's 4:15pm follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon and all that it entailed: putting him in his carseat for the first time since the surgery, driving two-hours there and two hours back. There were no Pinterest-y Valentine's crafts or cookie baking or cupcake making, just getting through the day. My our greatest accomplishment of the day was a six mile treadmill run that I did during Jack's first nap. I'm not sure how, but Sophia managed to occupy herself in our basement (without seriously hurting herself) for 54 minutes. First she played "soccer," then she "worked out" then she tried on all of the boots and shoes that sit in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. Hey, it worked. I got my six miles (and my sanity) and no one got hurt. It was a good run. But prior to the run was a gem of a moment that I'll remember forever:

While I quietly changed into my running clothes Sophia piped up, "Where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna run."

"Inside or outside?"

"Inside on the treadmill. I can't leave you and Jack here by yourselves."

"That's OK. I can stay here and protect Jack so you can go for a run outside."

I melted inside. That girl is so sweet sometimes. Best. Valentine. Ever.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving up to Jack's appointment, which went well. Once they removed the old dressings, his back looked a thousand times better and I was relieved by the Doctor's assurance that everything was healing well.

Then my boys and I headed out for dinner, we grabbed Sushi from a restaurant nearby the hospital. And Mark surprised me with a beautiful necklace, since he had to cancel our surprise chef's table reservations at one of my favorite restaurants and because I am "such a great mom." (Although if he really knew what went on around here on a daily basis he might not think I'm THAT great, at least not necklace-great.) All in all, it was a fantastic Valentine's Day, even without the Pinterest-y crafts.

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Valentine's Day wasn't just a day of love and pleasant surprises, it was also the day lottery registration for the Mt. Washington Road Raceopened. The race is a 7.6 mile climb up Mt. Washington, whose elevation of 6,288 feet makes it the tallest peak in the Northeast. Mt. Washington has a special place in our family history (You can read more about that HERE.), which is part of the reason why I want to run it. I'm also, as my sister puts it, a bit of a hill snob. I like running hills and I love racing hilly courses. So why not race the biggest hill around?