Day of LOVE!

Growing up Valentines day was one of my very favorite holidays. Mom made us feel so special. Every year she would bake each of us an oversized heart shaped sugar cookie with our name on it. She would also host a candlelit Valentines dinner where we got to eat off the china in the living room, and drink red punch (always red). The great Valentine would always visit leaving a small gift for the family in the mailbox or on the front porch. She would also write all the reasons she loves us on a heart cut out of construction paper. We had so many great traditions that I want to carry on with my family too.

This year I was preparing for a lonely Valentines because Kirk had to fly to Chicago Sunday thru Friday. But cupid worked a miracle and on Friday Kirk's trip was canceled! Oh cupid I love you! But we decided to go ahead with our Valentine plans on Saturday and celebrate all weekend. Saturday we met my cousin Holli at Calico Basin and did a little hiking. Audrey was a champ and walked up a huge hill, while Kirsten happily refused to leave the carrier.

 

I made the girls heart shaped sugar cookies and they decorated them, then licked off all the frosting. I made Kirk a delicious meatball soup that evening and we cuddled up and watched "Life as We Know It"

 Monday Kirk made heart shaped waffles for his girls, which made us all very happy!

 

 *disclaimer I had just exercised*

Isn't my Valentine the cutest?

 Ok, but really he is a stud!

 

Kirk was super sweet and bought each girl a cute wooden music box. They loved them and carried them around all day!

 

He gave me this pretty willow tree family box. He knows I'm a sucker for these things! He also bought me blackberry and raspberry starter plants instead of flowers, smart boy! AND he wrote me a poem. He is the best!

 In the afternoon the girls and I decorated the house in balloons and hearts. This is Kirsten standing next to the balloon she proudly blew up all by herself. She kept putting it up high so Audrey couldn't touch it.

Kirk made me soo happy when we got a Bertoli freezer meal for dinner. Candlelit dinner ready in 9 minutes with hardly any clean up, that's the way I like it!

The girls had chocolate covered marshmellows for dinner, 

it was a holiday so anything goes!

For dessert I made Kirk chocolate covered strawberries, 

Happy Valentines Day indeed!

 

After dinner we had a visit from the great Valentine. 

He left a present for each girl

 lucky girls!

I gave Kirk his favorite snacks: milano's, trailmix, wasabi nuts, mtn dew, and a box of chocolates.

The girls gave him a flying spinner toy. They had fun playing with it. At my failed attempt to work it Kirsten said "good job mom, daddy's turn". Nice. Also when I did finally get it to work I shot it straight up into the light, killing the lights. I was pretty afraid I had just ruined our light/ceiling fan when Kirk pulled the string and turned it back on. Tricky toy.

We had a fun holiday as a family.  Man I love these three!