LOVED the fun family weekend PART ONE

The Valentine's Day weekend was super duper fun for everyone. We planned on a few of our goofy little traditions and added a couple of adventures to the mix. Nothing too over the top, but spending time together and having fun and not spending the 3 day weekend pulling weeds. (Which always seems inevitable but Steve has kept up on the weed spray and yard maintenance so we didn't have to touch a single bit of the yard! Thanks Steve!)

Saturday morning was delightful. We had gone to bet kind of late the night before so Kate wasn't waking up early and the big girls let us sleep in! They spent the morning making valentines for everyone while we slept. When I got up at about 10:30, I made heart shaped eggs on toast, fresh strawberries, and "fancy orange juice" (OJ and Sprite) for breakfast. A fancy or novelty breakfast is such a fun way to break from the normal routine.


Lindsay had a party to attend that afternoon. A family from school was hosting a Valentine's Party for school friends and everyone was supposed to bring items to benefit a local dog/cat rescue group. Lindsay was thrilled to buy cat food and a cat toy to bring. Crafts, friends and fun - it was a great time! Caroline and I ran an errand or two and we went to pick up tickets for our next surprise of the day.

Caroline has been asking to see Coraline for a couple of weeks now and Steve and I had been planning to take the girls to see it for Valentine's day. We almost never go to movies because it costs so dang much money but we planned for a matinee which made it easier to swallow.

My Caroline really identifies with Coraline on so many levels - the hair cut, the love of the color blue, her name; in fact Coraline, much to her chagrin, is repeatedly called Caroline in the movie. It was a fun story, beautifully made, the 3-D effects were amazing. Sure, it was a little creepy and had its scary moments but for my girls who watch Star Wars, the creepiness was the least of my concerns. Like it seems all movies these days, it was one of those that was "soooo good, except for that ONE LITTLE PART" that was inappropriate. Dang. But, we had so much fun seeing the movie together, wearing the 3-D glasses, ooohing and aaahing over the effects.

Dinner - heart shaped pizza of course! This year Steve wanted the pizza from Papa John's. (It was nothing to write home about - IMHO.) We totally went all out for fancy dinner - everyone got their own can of soda - no sharing! Big treat!

Valentines...now, there was big pile of gift bags that made it look like Christmas or something but inside were the sweet little Valentines the girls made for us. Lindsay made hearts and wrote a love sentiment for each of us. Caroline drew me a picture frame and for Steve, drew a sack of money. Huh? It was cute and clever. Lindsay made a paper set of initials for each of her sisters to hang in their room. Mommy wrote each one a love letter and each got a t-shirt and a little box of chocolates, Daddy got the girls roses and Hannah Montana and High School Musical boxes of candy. Mommy and Daddy exchanged candy and tulips.

Then we decorated a heart shaped chocolate cake with their Valentine's candies. Yum!

Off to bath and showers to get ready for Sunday. We had a delightful day. More fun to come Monday!