Valentine’s Day has changed a lot over time.  From the early years of black dresses, perfume, high heels, red roses, table-for-two… to something quite different…just as sweet but very different.  It’s become a week-long celebration with the kids, home-made valentines, pink and red M&M’s all over the house, class parties, and a not-so-quiet meal with all of us squeezed around our kitchen table eating home-made pizza and chocolate cake.  The evolution of a love story; our love story.

The week began with some valentine crafting.  The kids each planned and created valentines to share with their classmates.  Miss E has a very small class she chose to give her friends strawberry sodas with fancy straws.

J wanted to make his valentines completely from scratch.  He hand-drew Minecraft cards to staple onto small bags of candy.

G is crazy about bubble gum, so he gave each of his friends a long tube of gumballs, with fuzzy Valentine critters stuck to the ends.

Every year I get tulips for the kiddos’ teachers, I think tulips are the perfect spring flower and they’re usually so reasonably priced, especially compared to roses.

I made Miss E a special skirt to wear to her class party

On the morning of Valentine’s day Justin woke the girls up and took them to get doughnuts at Mr. T’s. 

He came home with a beautiful bunch of flowers for me, his mom, my mom, and a single pink rose for each of the girls.  He’s amazing…

I dirtied every pan and bowl in my kitchen to make a double-layer chocolate cake.

Later that night after we got all the kids in bed, Justin and I cooked a delicious dinner of steak, creamed spinach and chocolate mousse, which we enjoyed by candle-light.  The romance isn’t dead it’s just delayed

With Valentine’s day came Spring.  A streak of 70 degree days and suddenly the world around us was full of blossoms, flower sprouts, open windows,…

…and long walks down the canal with blossoms arcing over our heads.

The kiddos have been eating their lunch picnic-style on the back lawn.

We did some spring cleaning too.  J volunteered to scrub all my kitchen cabinets.  Big kids are awesome!

We even spent the day at the beach with cousins, swimming until the sunset.

In completely unrelated and un-valentine’s day news; Miss P is potty training.  Her older siblings are her biggest cheerleaders. Miss E keeps her company while she sits, and her big brothers are always ready with high-fives, fist-bumps, and a hearty “Way to go Pearl!”.    

Speaking of Miss P; last week she woke up from nap just in time for a fresh loaf of bread to come out of the oven.  I sliced a thick slice, smeared it with butter, and handed it to her.  The girl loves her bread and butter…the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

While I was snapping her picture she suddenly took an interest my camera lens. 

She got up real close so she could see her reflection in the surface of the glass. Man I love this kid.

Summer seeds arrived in the mail last week and I am daydreaming about a summertime garden and flowers all over the house.  I agreed to give up a small portion of the garden to Miss E who really wants carrots, tomatoes, and squash in our garden this year (the sacrifices we make for those we love ).

I hope your Valentine’s day was just as sweet, and thanks for stopping in  ~April