Valentine's Day Pictures

Let me start by saying, Cory and I have never been really big celebrators of Valentine's. We usually give each other a card and call it a day. I even tell him NOT to buy me flowers. I just can't appreciate something that costs twice as much as usual and will die in a week. I also am not a big sweets fan and I certainly don't need anything else that will add to my waist line. So, instead of making it a big deal between the 2 of us, we have chosen to do more celebrating with our kids.

Still, we have not done a whole lot in the past. But, this year I think we just may have started a new tradition. After breakfast, we passed out a small paper bag to each kid and let them decorate. This was going to be their very own collection bag. Then, we hung up each bag on the wall and gave them the opportunity to make Valentine's for each other and put in the bags. They loved the freedom for creativity and I loved the lack of hit to our budget.

We spent a good part of the afternoon at the park and ate heart-shaped sandwiches (not nearly as crafty as my cousin's cupcakes).When we got home, we started making Valentine's for grandpa that we took to the hospital (update... he is now recovering at home. He still has tests and treatments ahead).

While we were gone, daddy got flowers for his girls, picked out matching dresses for them and wrote them each a note about getting ready for a date with him.We decided to let all the kids (and grown-ups) get all dressed up for our very own, homemade candlelight dinner. the girls LOVE to dress up...especially when I let them wear my makeup!

Jordan was my date. He picked me up at my door with flowers...
and all 3 girls got to be daddy's. He picked them up at their door with flowers.We used our best dishes and cloth napkins.We had a great dinner where we learned how to use our best manners... you know, no burping, no farting and chew with your mouth closed. That's fancy for us :)
The girls were all giddy over the evening and Jordan really enjoyed being a gentleman. He even told me a line from one of his favorite movies (Ice Age). He looked straight at me and said, "Mommy, you have beautiful eyes!" Oh my, have I got a heart breaker on my hands!