Valentine's Day 2022

Valentines Day is usually a low key event here in the Howe house. We don't try to go out to dinner or do anything crazy. Every year I do get the kids a little gift from us. Not a toy, normally something more practical, but also a little bit fun. This year it was animal chopsticks, which were very well received. The big kids also did their exchange at school and the little kids had fun with friends at a Letter Group party. 

Charlie with his heart crown and plate of party treats

Made some heart jigglers to be festive

It was a nice day so we were able to spend time at a park after school

Using their new chopsticks with dinner. Sophie got a dolphin, Davey a dinosaur, Charlie a shark, and Griffin a gator! And yes the Christmas tablecloth is still on in February, but we were still getting random snow storms so it felt appropriate :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day fell on a freezing cold. snowy Sunday. We didn't even have church because of weather, so it was the perfect day to just stay home spend time as a family. I try not to go too overboard on holidays, but did get the kids each a box of jelly beans, some mini M&Ms, and a  giant Squishmallow animal as a surprise. 

I traditionally take a Valentine's photo of the kids. Normally we send it out to grandparents, but this year I wasn't on top of things so they got a digital version instead. The backdrop was just a $1 tablecloth from Walmart that I hung on the wall, and later we used it for our dinner!

The kids with their Squishmallows in front of their decorated doors. I had been adding one heart a day to each door (when I remembered), counting down the days from February 1st to February 14th.

Davey's primary teacher sent these cute heart crafts in the mail

Griffin enjoying a Valentine's nap with mom

We had a yummy enchilada dinner, with strawberries and jello adding some "redness" to our meal. It was really good, although we are counting down the years until Sophie is old enough to start babysitting while Dave and I go out to enjoy a meal in peace :)

Valentine's Day 2020

Valentine's Day was fun this year because Sophie didn't have school! The district gave everyone a 4-day weekend, since Presidents' Day was the following Monday. She was able to do her Valentine exchange with her class the day before, and then had Friday off.

We started our morning with heart shaped donuts from Dunkin for breakfast, and a few fun gifts. We don't normally give presents for V-day, but since there was no school and I had been very successful with my clearance shopping this year, we decided to give the kids toys/crafts instead of candy or treats. Charlie got a big, bouncy ball and the big kids each got a Lego set and a slime kit.

Heart donuts for my three little loves

Our district had no school, but the neighboring one was still in session so we went their library where it would be less crowded. The kids got to decorate heart-shaped cookies after story time was over. Sophie and Davey both loved having unrestricted access to the frosting and sprinkles, and Charlie enjoyed licking a frosting spoon. 

That evening we had a ward Valentine's dinner. While it would have been nice to eat out, this was definitely cheaper and I still didn't have to cook - yay! The kids had fun running around in the gym with their friends afterward and eating way too many cookies and dessert. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day 2019

Normally I take a photo of the kids before Valentine's Day so I can send it out to grandparents with a little note, but that didn't happen this year. We were too busy. Dave had just returned from his grandma's funeral in Chicago, and we had a few church events that week (including a ward party), and we were in the middle of a room remodel for Davey (separate post). A week later I finally went to the effort to get the kids looking photo-worthy, and actually got a really good picture so I'm glad I still made it happen!

Valentine's Day 2019

Our actual Valentine's day was pretty low key. The boys and I went to music time at the library, and Sophie went to school where she exchanged cards and had a little party. That evening we had planned to go to dinner as a family at Texas Roadhouse, but when we showed up at 5:00 the place was already packed! I had no idea it would be that popular, especially so early. We decided to eat elsewhere, even though I was craving rolls, and ended up a deli instead that was offering free kids meals that night. 

We pulled up at the same time as another family in our ward, which turned out to be fun. The adults sat at one table and had a peaceful dinner while pretending we didn't know our kids, who were all having way too much fun at their own table. It's nice when "plan Bs" work out so well. 

Here are a few photos of various Valentine's events:

I took the kids to the Valentine's slime activity at Michael's. They love playing being allowed to go crazy with all the glitter and sequins, and I love that we can just walk away from the mess at the end. 

Davey decorated his slime with a million googly eyes. We went back a few weeks later, the employee remembered him as the boy who made a many-eyed monster :)

Sophie's first shrinky dink art - she was pretty amazed!

Some Valentine goodies I left out for the kids to find - a shirt, a little toy, and a box of chocolates (Charlie got yogurt melts)

We had pink heart pancakes for breakfast

Sophie drew us this cute picture at school - I love my triangle hair

She also wrote us this card. I was touched until Dave pointed out that, depending on how you look at it, we are also the worst parents she has ever had. 

Valentine's Day Photo

Every year I like to take a Valentine's day "portrait" that we can send out to the grandparents to let them know how much we love them. This year's almost didn't happen because we kept getting hit with different sick bugs, but one morning I just stuck the kids in a chair, said "Smile!" and luckily we got a good shot. I'm glad we have it to add to our collection because it's fun to look back through the years to see how they have grown.

2018 - Sophie is 4, Davey is 1

Davey seemed to know what was going on because after I pulled the chair into our room he climbed right up and said "cheese!" even though I wasn't quite ready yet. In fact, he was still wearing sweat pants, but in the end I decided it didn't matter and just left him that way.

A few of the outtakes

I posted the photos from the previous four years below as well, and I can't believe how old Sophie looks in the one from 2016. No wonder people always looked at me weird when I took her places and said she was 2 years old. They probably thought we were just trying to avoid paying admission for her :)

2017 - Sophie is almost 3, Davey is 11 months

2016 - Sophie is 2

2015 - Sophie is 1

2014 - Sophie is 11 months

Roses are Red

We had a very casual Valentine's Day this year. Sophie passed out treats to a few of her friends and Dave made us a steak dinner, but that was it. It was sweet and simple. I do like to take a "Valentine's Day" picture, however, so I have something to use for the February page of the calendar I make for our family each year.

I got a few roses at work from the Parent Organization and decided to just give them to the kids to hold. Easy enough, right?? It didn't go quite as planned, but I still liked the shots I got, enough that I couldn't pick just one to post, so here they all are:

Valentine's Day 2016

Sophie has been really into holidays lately, so we decided to let her pick out some cards at the store a few weeks ago. It took us a good 30 minutes to choose a box of valentines because she LOVED everything on display - the cards, the trinkets, the candy, the balloons, etc... It was like dreamland for her. At first she picked out some Minion cards, but then she couldn't handle the thought that they were to give away to friends and not keep for herself. Instead, we got one special Minion valentine for her, and a box of Minnie Mouse cards to share with others. She helped me put them together and then we delivered them to all her little friends and some family members.

On Friday my school had Valentine's Day parties, which is always half crazy and half fun. I pretty much ate cupcakes, cookies, donuts, and chocolate for lunch because a treat was showing up at my desk every 20 minutes. Baby brother did seem to enjoy all the sugar! On Saturday we met my grandma for lunch in Salt Lake. Derek and Faye were also able to come, which was fun. Sophie had picked out some colorful flowers to give grandma Mimi to thank her for all she does for us. On Sunday we had church and only two kids showed up to the nursery. We had planned a hand print craft, which Sophie loved, so we let her make 5 cards since there were lots of leftovers. After church Dave made a yummy steak dinner. And then the best part was Monday was a holiday so we didn't have to go to work - hooray!

We took a Valentine's Day picture after church and sent it out to her four great-grandmas

Valentine's Day 2015

We had a low key Valentine's day this year, like we do pretty much every year. We said we wouldn't do anything special for this day, but I decided that it was a good excuse to get each other something we were intending to buy anyway so I got a membership to Thanksgiving Point and Dave got an Xbox live account. We also met my grandma for dinner at Chuck-A-Rama. It was fun to eat with her, and it's always a treat to not have to cook or clean!

My cute girl with the flowers we got to give my grandma. Sophie helped me pick these out at the store and of course chose a bouquet with purple flowers. 

At dinner with my grandma -  thank you  grandma for the delicious cinnamon cake you gave us!

And, just for fun, my baby then and now. She has grown so much in just one year!!

2014

2015