Celebrating Valentine’s Day at home is so much nicer than being in an airplane like we were last year. Becca used raisins to make hearts on the oatmeal in the morning. Josh was in Ban Lung for the morning and brought back roses for the ladies and KitKats for the boys.

We made heart shaped cookies and decorated them in the morning. Each kid personalized a large heart for dessert. We made heart-shaped pizzas for supper. It takes a very long time to bake that many pizzas, as our oven only fits one pan at a time. Josh read to the kids while we waiting for the pizzas to bake. We had salad and soda along with our party meal. After eating, we exchanged cards. Everyone makes special cards to give out. It’s a fun tradition that Maria was really into this year.

For over a week there’s been a carnival in town, just a block from our house. It’s actually quite annoying, as the loud dance music goes until about midnight. We’re hoping they will end soon, but we’ve been told that as long as people continue to sign up to “khmer fight” against each other for prize money, the carnival will stay. We took the kids last Friday for the little rides. It opens at 6 every night, but doesn’t get really exciting until after 8. When we arrived, we had the carnival to ourselves. The kids enjoyed the trampolines, bounce house, and round-about rides. We ate cotton candy and caramel popcorn and arrived home before 8. It was a success! Note – in the picture Maria looks unhappy, but she really loved this ride. She was so upset when it was over.

Dad and Mom Jensen were in Cambodia the last half of the month to visit with EMU missionaries. They ended their visit with a stay at our house. We enjoyed spending time with them. One day we took a trip to a waterfall and another day Josh took his dad to see the river. Saturday morning Josh and I took a bike, while the kids played at home with Dad and Mom. Josh drove his parents 9 hours to the airport Monday morning. We had a good time together.