Valentines Day

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know we’re a big Valentine’s Day family.  You may also have noticed there wasn’t a Gingerbread Party this year.  I like traditions, but I also recognize when it’s time to change things up.  It wasn’t something we talked about a whole lot, in fact the only kid that asked about it was Kaitlyn.  It just seemed to be the year we all got bored with it.  I had noticed that Valentine’s day fell on a Saturday, so when Kaitlyn brought it up I said maybe we would do a Valentine party instead.  She doesn’t forget a thing, so you can bet she brought it up come February! 

We’ve been talking about doing something more charitable for a few years now.  It just hasn’t come to fruition.  We had already planned a visit Grandma Jackie on the 15th, so we decided we would make cookies and Valentines to pass out to the residents at her place.  It could not have been more fun or rewarding!

Kaitlyn was the only one that had a friend join her, but when you’ve got your cousins you don’t need a lot of extras anyway:) 

The girls decorated a ton of cookies(they did not lick their fingers once!) and then made Valentines to go with them.  All packaged up there were about 50 bags.

Accidental triplets.

Emily ordered heart shaped pizzas for the girls(which is really just an overpriced very small pizza).

We of course had a few gifts!  One being a selfie stick! 

Look mom, I can write hello in Spanish( you mean cursive?).

The next day we loaded up and headed to Grandma Jackie!  She even remembered to wear red!

She’s been asking about Olive Garden for a long time, so we brought in a carry out!  Her place has recently undergone some renovations.  They created a great little room off the dining area that you can use for family dinners.  It was perfect!

  The girls couldn’t wait to finish eating and start handing out their goodies!  They were not shy about it at all, and the residents were so sweet and appreciative to them.

 

Emily and I were so happy we did this!  The kids got so much enjoyment out of putting a smile on someone else’s face! 

We got lots of use out of the selfie stick:)  We said good bye to Grandma Jackie and made a quick stop at Grandma Linda and Papa Curt’s house.   Papa had been in the hospital sick the week before, so we wanted to visit him.  Of course there were a few more presents!

And now I will leave you with this…

Sof’s artistic impression of Grandma Linda.  Oddly accurate don’t you think?