Valentine's Day 2017

Eating at Outback Steakhouse

Sweet treats from Greg 

And a new game expansion!

Dessert Tea Fundraiser

I was recently blessed to attend the 2nd annual dessert tea fundraiser for Open Arms Pregnancy Care Center with a friend.  I was SO impressed by this event!  Being someone who enjoys teas, it was a wonderful experience.  From what I heard, the event has grown quite a bit since last year.  People volunteer to host tables where they are in charge of decorations and food preparation.  The theme was Love Life, and many people took a Valentine approach.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking around and seeing the variety of styles.

I had never participated in a silent auction before, but I enjoyed that part as well.  They had an option for purchasing items outright instead of bidding, and the item I most wanted was purchased that way after only a few bids.  I was disappointed, but I still won another item, a basket full of goodies.  And I got it below it's value price!

Our hostess did a wonderful job.  Her table was one of my favorites, and the food was thoughtfully planned.  Truly a feast for the eyes!  She even made the nametags!

Our table didn't have all it's food yet when I took these pics, hence the empty pedestal.  Isn't it pretty though?

Some of my other favorites.

This was the item I was hoping to win.  After I saw it was purchased, I took a picture.  :)

Our hostess.  :)

This gives an idea of the size of this event.  Look at all the tables!  I took this shot from my spot.  Our table was at one of the corners of the room.

I'm already looking forward to next year's fundraiser.  Maybe I'll even host a table!

Valentine's Day 2016

Boy, am I behind!  I didn't even get the theme on my blog changed.  Well, I can't leave the month of February without a post about Valentine's Day.  I ALWAYS do a post about my favorite holiday.  :)

Valentine's Day was weird this year.  I had great plans, and most of them fell through.  The day before, we planned to play laser tag and use a gift card at Red Lobster.  I even invited several families to join us.  No's from all, which didn't surprise me, because I didn't give much advance notice.  But it worked out for the best, because there was no room at the inn!  Red Lobster had an hour wait even with arriving before the dinner rush; Laser Quest had a two hour wait.  Instead, we went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants, a low key joint that is never too full.  And Trader Joe's let us in for grocery shopping!

The next day, I spent the morning crying.  It was likely due to a dietary problem that has since been rectified.  (Chocolate!  Can you believe it?  My body is sensitive to chocolate!)  That was Valentine's Day.  Thankfully, I recovered enough for us to enjoy a new game purchased for the occasion.  We really liked it!  I also found the box of chocolates Greg always hides.  :)  The following day, Monday, was President's Day.  Greg had the day off, so we decided to try Red Lobster again, at a different location.  We had a great meal.  I didn't make the traditional special dessert, but hopefully soon, since I have all the ingredients.  What a mixed holiday!

Isn't the title of the game fun?!  Castles of Mad King Ludwig.  Greg won twice, Kylen once.  Hope it's my turn soon!

Kylen theorizing about why Greg won and he lost.

Can you spot the box of chocolates?  Hint: follow the arrow.  Not sure if Greg did that on purpose.  I'll have to ask!

Pretty easy to see, but I missed it until late in the day.  And that was with even looking there!  I must have been struck with temporary blindness.

I LOVE the art on their boxes.

My favorite drink anywhere, Red Lobster's virgin strawberry pina colada, well on it's way to being gone.

Lobster Fest.

Homemade 3-D Valentine's Card

For several years I've been participating in Valentine card exchanges with Christian homeschool moms from an online forum.  It's a lot of fun sending and receiving cards for my favorite holiday.  Reminds me of the card exchanges we did in public school when I was a kid.  Anyway, I had to take a picture and post about one of the cards.  This gal makes her own, and I was very impressed!  It arrived flat for traveling through the mail, but it opened up to form a little box with hearts and mail popping out.  So adorable!

Valentine's Day 2015

In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, I kept feeling like we should do something special this year.  I asked the boys for ideas, but their concept of a great time is staying home relaxing.  Not much help!  Then, as it got closer, I kept thinking about some friends we've been wanting to have over.  I was deeply impressed that we should invite them for Valentine's Day, but who does that?  It's a day for couples to be alone, staring into each other's eyes in the dark corner of a restaurant!  (Not that we've ever done that!)  Yet the urge wouldn't leave!  I finally called, and the wife suggested we go on a double date.  LOVED the idea!  Why have I never thought of that?  Their mom was already watching their kids for the day, and a couple of Kylen's friends were able to come hang out with him.  We carpooled from our house around 2 p.m., went to Red Lobster for an early dinner, hung out at the mall for an hour, and headed to Laser Quest to take advantage of a special deal for three games of laser tag.

Aren't we cute?!

Best part of the meal!

The big shocker when we walked into Laser Quest was that the older of my two brothers was there with a bunch of his people.  I hadn't seen him and his wife or kids in over a year, so that was pretty cool.  We all exchanged greetings, and they still had another game to play, so we ended up playing our first game together!  I had an average first game and bad second game. The crowd in our third game was mostly guys in their teens and 20's, so I figured I didn't have a chance.  But things went unusually well, and I came in 5th out of 32 players!  Possibly my best game ever.  I NEVER do better than Greg, and he came in 16th.  It really made my day!  Our friends were Thing 1 and Thing 2, I was Thing 3, and Greg was Thing 4.  (The remaining ranks of 25-32 showed when this screen changed.)

Upon arriving home, I found this on our front door:

A touching card for us and chocolate for Kylen from my other brother!!  Turns out he stopped by while we were gone, and Kylen didn't hear the doorbell because he was out back jumping on the trampoline with his friends!!!

I wanted to do something special with Kylen too, so the following day we went to the fancy brunch buffet at the Coeur d'Alene Resort we sometimes enjoy for special occasions.

A cake in their display case:

View from our seats.

My favorite part of the meal was their chicken masala.  It had a subtle but delicious flavor and lots of mini mushrooms.

After stuffing ourselves, I did a little shopping while Kylen got some driving practice with Greg.

On our way out of town,  I noticed a new art installment.  I'm not sure how long it's been there, but we thought it was awesome!  Gigantic dandelions ready to scatter their metallic seeds.

 

 

Back at home, we exchanged cards, played games, and . . . relaxed, just as the boys like.  It was a great Valentine weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

~Valentine Jokes ~

 

 Q. Why is Valentine’s Day the best day for a celebration?

A. Because you can really party heart-y!

 

Q. What did the bee say to his girl on Valentine's Day?

A. You are bee-utiful! Will you bee mine?

 

Q. How did she reply?

A. Yes, I love bee-ing with you, Honey!

 

Q. What do you call a very small valentine?

A. A valen-tiny!

 

Q. What kind of flowers should you never give on Valentine's Day?

A. Cauli-flowers!

 

Q. What did the boy sheep say to the girl sheep?

A. I love ewe!

Q. How did she reply?

A. You're not so baaaaaa-d yourself!

 

Q. What did the farmer give his wife on Valentine's Day?

A. Hogs and kisses!

 

Q. Why is lettuce the most loving vegetable?

A. Because it's all heart.

 

Q. Why did the banana go out with the prune?

A. Because it couldn't get a date.

 

Q. What is a ram's favorite song on Valentine’s Day?

A. I only have eyes for ewe.

 

Q. What happens when you fall in love with a French chef?

A. You get all buttered up.

 

Q. Who passes out oinks on Valentine’s Day?

A. Cu-pigs!

 

Q. How do you catch a unique valentine?

A. Unique up on it!

 

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?

A. To deliver an egg-stra special valentine.

 

Q. What did the pencil say to the paper?

A. I dot my i's on you!

 

Q. Do skunks celebrate Valentine's Day?

A. Sure, they're very scent-imental!



Kylen is back! :)

 

A beloved tradition: Kylen swaps the "L" with the "V" when I'm not looking, and I swap it back when he isn't looking.  We like to see how long it takes the other to notice.  Takes me longer, sometimes MUCH longer.  Like days.  You'd think I'd be more observant, being the artistic type! 

Valentine's Day 2014

I've had some major changes going on related to my health, but I wanted to do a few belated posts before giving an update.  As I mentioned, our Valentine's Day was pretty relaxed due to me being sick.  The highlight was my brother making a surprise stop at our house!  He dropped off a balloon, candy and card.  I thought that was SO sweet, and it definitely brightened our day.  Poor boy, I shooed him out the door quickly since I wasn't feeling good, but he called afterwards for a little chat.

 

 

Hubby gave me a box of chocolates in a delicious variety of flavors, something we all enjoyed!

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

A very happy Valentine's Day to all my friends and family!

I'm sipping hot tea and occasionally blowing my nose.  Fine time to be sick!  We're having a light day of school - just math and music - and watching cartoons on netflix.  Hubby will bring takeout for dinner, and we'll open our cards in the evening.  Hopefully, I'll feel up to making our traditional special dessert before the weekend is over.  :-)

Strawberry Heart

I was using up some leftover chocolate to dip strawberries and came across one that was a definite heart shape.  Yes, strawberries often have a slight heart shape, but I've never seen one where the shape jumped out at me like this.  I split it with my true love when he got home from work.  =)