Happy Love Day!

Well, hello there, blogosphere!  How've you been?  For quite some time, I was trying desperately to catch up with backdated posts but never could quite get to the present.  So I still want to fill in those missing months, but I think I'll also press on with the present so this doesn't become a permanent problem.

We've had fun celebrating Valentine's Day this week.  Kids make this holiday so much more fun!  I put the kids in their festive shirts several times over the last few weeks to get some wear out of them.  And how could you ever get enough of this cuteness?  This particular day, they insisted on multiple pictures so they'd each have a turn to be in the middle.  Weirdos.

Jake & Mallory worked hard making valentines for each of their classmates...

And Mommy worked hard on some cookies to share with them.  Actually, I was a bit lazy on these, which is why the icing is just zigzagged on there.  Let's just call it a whimsical design & pretend it was my original intent. :)

 

Valentine's breakfast - love those sleepy eyes!

t

Heading to school

 

Jake & Mal got heart-shaped sandwiches in their lunchboxes while Beau had his own festive lunch at home with Mommy.

 

Class party time!  The kids had a sprinkle buffet to decorate their cupcakes, exchanged valentines & made some fun crafts.  I'm so glad I get to have these fun days with them!

 

 Me & my sweeties

 Daddy's plane didn't land until late last night, but the kids & I continued the fun with movie time instead of a nap, spaghetti & meatballs for dinner & sugar cookies for dessert.  It was such a fun day - I love LOVE!

We Love LOVE!

Jake & Mallory were very into Valentine's Day this year, & anticipated their class party with much excitement.  I think that poor Mrs. Meagan had to answer the question "Is it party time?" quite a few times throughout the day.  Grammy was gracious enough to keep Beau all day so I could focus on the big kids.  I attended chapel with them in the morning, set up for the party while they were in music & then got the party started about 1:00.

Waiting patiently for party time while being distracted with a game of memory

Sweet school friends - I can't believe I got all eight smiling! (Well, almost.  Jake isn't really smiling, but he's at least looking.)

Each kid got to decorate a shoe box to hold their valentines, & then everyone delivered the goodies they'd brought for their classmates.

Looking through the loot while snacking on strawberries, pink fruit dip & pretzel sticks that they'd dipped in white chocolate & sprinkles

 

Our party game was musical chairs, & I think it was everyone's first time to play.  Most of them did surprisingly well with the concept of having to be "out," but we did have one crier.

We love Mrs. Meagan & will miss her so much when her maternity leave starts in a couple of weeks!

V-Day was celebrated at home on the 14th with cranberry muffins for breakfast & new red & pink clothes.  Then it was off to Mother's Day Out, equipped with heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch.  We had dinner as a family that night & finished off the day with heart brownies.

Can't you tell they love each other?

Poor Beau.

 

That's better!  I love these three sweeties!  Hope your day of love was lots of fun!

Expressing our Love

Making valentines with the kids was lots of fun this year.  They love making one for each of their grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins.  It's a fun way to feel connected to family members that are far away.

For Jake & Mallory's classmates, Nana found a fun idea for us on Pinterest.  They enjoyed sorting M&Ms by color, filling each heart & especially eating the extras!

Can I help?

 

The finished product