I heArT yOu!

Here are a few other activities we did to celebrate Valentine's day this year....
Feb 12 - Here are the kids getting all their Valentine's ready. They were all really excited to do that this year. Logan chose Lego Star Wars Valentine's, Rylee had Tangled and Avery had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They were so quiet and hard at work! It was cute to watch.
Logan working hard addressing his Valentine's with his class list.
Rylee getting her Valentine's ready. She was so funny making sure she picked the perfect Valentine for each person. Hers also came with tattoos and she was very particular about who got which one. She did a great job writing everyone's name on their Valentine and loved doing it.
Avery wanted to be big like the other kids. She would write on her Valentines, cover them in stickers and then attempt to fold them, but she would usually just kind of wad them up.
Feb 13 - Rylee didn't have school on Valentine's Day, so her class party was the day before. She was SO excited!!! She picked out a super cute Valentine outfit!
I don't know why she poses like this... She had a great time at her Valentine party and came home with lots of treats and made this cute bag with a frog.
I was trying to find something for Avery to wear and she ended up picking most of her outfit on her own. She picked her skirt, leggings and shoes and insisted on wearing them! Funny girl! She looked pretty cute! Later that afternoon, we went to a little Valentine party with some friends from Rylee's joy school last year. The girls were really excited to go and see their friends and exchange Valentine's!
These pictures are SO Avery and Rylee!!! Rylee eating treats at the party with her friend, Arita
Avery enjoying her cupcake...
The girls showing off the bags they decorated and their Valentine's after the party.
Avery is so silly with her faces!!!
Cute sisters!!! Feb 13 - And, it wouldn't be Valentine's Day without some cookie decorating! I cheated again and bought the cookies and frosting from Boutiful Baskets, which worked out great! It was a fun FHE activity for us. Rylee gets pretty serious about her cookie decorating!
Avery
Daddy
Avery showing me some of the sprinkles. I think she enjoyed eating those as much as the cookies! Super close-up!
Rylee hard at work
Rylee showing off one of her cookies - LOTS of candy on it! I decided these weren't really cookies we could share... Rylee trying one of her cookies
Logan working on frosting his cookie
That is A LOT of sprinkles on Logan's cookies!!!
Logan laughing about his sprinkles
Some of our finished cookies!

Love, Sweet Love! Part 2

Here is the last of our Valentine's Day celebrations...

This lucky girl got a special surprise from her Daddy!
PINK flowers! If you can't tell, she is thrilled! I actually forgot to take a picture that day, so this was a day or 2 later, but she LOVED them! She has a great daddy!

Next, was on to the cookies. I cheated and bought them with my Bountiful Basket - It was a good choice! No stress and they were delicious! My cookies always struggle for some reason! We invited a couple of friends over to do sugar cookies. My friend, Stephanie, is an awesome photographer and shared a few of the pictures she took with me. They are so great! It makes me want a REAL camera SO bad!!! She is very talented!

Got to have candy hearts! Me and Stephanie were reading some of them before we decorated cookies. I'm not sure they were all G-rated - Some of them were a little suggestive! Yikes!!!

Rylee and Savannah getting to work on their cookies. I'm pretty sure that Rylee ate WAY more frosting than what made it to her cookie. They are cute little friends!

Rylee loved licking the knife! Not the most sanitary part of having kids frost cookies... Isn't this picture great? I LOVE it! Thanks again Stephanie!

And this one, too! So CUTE!!! I love this baby of mine! She isn't smiling because she isn't eating candy...yet! Just wait...

Then Logan and Carter came home from school and worked on their cookies. Rylee loved the frosting and Logan apparently loved the sprinkles. His cookie was crazy with them.

Ok...Now we have to go back to my not so wonderful pictures... Sorry! I don't realize how much different they are until they are right next to each other... Here is Rylee showing off her fabulous frosting job.

Cute girlies - Hallie, Rylee and Savannah

Wow! That is SOME cookie! Looks yummy, right???Do you think she could fit any more candy on this one?

Avery getting a little taste.

The boys hard at workLogan's finished cookie - Like I said, LOTS of sprinkles!!!

Avery covered in sprinkles!

We kind of did cookies in two shifts. Some of our friends came a little earlier and then had to leave and some friends were a little later, so it just worked out that way. After we finished the first round of cookies and some of the kids had left, we were upstairs watching the kids play and my friend, Jenn, and I were chatting away. I hadn't put away the cookie stuff yet, because her kids hadn't had a chance to make them. After awhile, I realized Avery had been missing for a bit... Of course, we found her eating all the candy off the table as fast as she could! And when we caught her, she was trying to shove it all in her mouth before we could take it away! Little stinker!!!Jenn's kids ended up just taking their cookies home. The kids were having way too much fun playing to stop to decorate cookies. Here are Rylee and Madi before they had to leave! Rylee was in a funny mood and demanded some pictures. These two girls are so cute together!!!Rylee also insisted that they take a "girl picture" and wanted all the girls in it! All of the girls aren't looking in this one, but I love it of my girls! Avery never lets Rylee put her arm around her! I love it when they are sweet like this!
Madi, Sarah, Rylee and Avery - What cute buddies!Logan and Morgan

Then, the girls wanted an outside picture, too. Avery, Rylee and Madi. I think Sarah was already loaded into the car at this point.
My Rylee Valentine
My girls - I was taking a picture of Rylee and Avery is my little photo bomber! Anytime someone is getting a picture, she just has to get in! Unless, of course, I want her in the picture and then she is not interested!
Logan with his bag of Valentine's from school! He was so excited to go through them and read them all and for all of his fun treats!
Avery and her pouty face again! I don't know why the face this time, but I think it is because she wants the sucker and I said no.
This must have been before I said no! She is happy!!!
I really wanted a picture of all 3 of my little Valentine's, but they would only do it if we could take it outside, and that didn't really go well...
This is the best one I got and it is out of focus... I love these three SOOO much!
Darren had to work late that night, and my Valentine's gift to myself was NO cooking, so we went and got a heart shaped pizza! The kids' love it!
Logan has been working on a journal for school. Rylee wants to be just like her brother, so here she is hard at work on her own journal. If I remember right, she was drawing pictures of me and her in our wedding dresses. I love this little girl! She is so creative and loves to draw and color!

Darren and I got our Valentine's date the next night. Besides my beautiful pink roses, Darren also got me a gorgeous yellow purse! I was really surprised and I love it! I actually have gotten more compliments on it than probably my entire wardrobe combined! Maybe he should start doing all my shopping! I got him another season of Heroes on DVD. We went to Hamilton's on our Valentine date. The good thing about going the day after is that is MUCH less crowded! It was fabulous! I felt a little bad that I worked so hard on all the fun stuff for the kids and didn't do as much for Darren as he deserves. Sometimes I get a little caught up in all the holiday planning and fun family stuff. He really is the BEST Valentine anyone can ask for! I love you, Babe!!!