Valentines Day 2017

We sure love Valentines Day at the Carpenter Casa!  Or maybe I am the only one that loves it, and my guys just play along...  ;)

The little boys addressed their valentines for their classmates.

Drew's class made ice cream sundaes - yum!

My four Valentines got me the most gorgeous flowers!

Then it was time for our annual Pink & Red dinner, or should I say brinner.  Our kids love breakfast for dinner!  Heart shaped eggs, bacon, and pancakes it is!

I am so grateful that my sweethearts play along and make a "Hallmark holiday" fun for their Mama!

Valentine's Day Pink & Red Dinner - February 14, 2016

We enjoyed our annual Pink & Red dinner for valentine's Day this year.   I hope that my guys all know how much I love them!  It is fun to express how much I adore them through fun decorations and a festive meal.  It is one of my favorite days of the year.  :)

First Grade Manners Ball - February 12, 2016

At our little school, our 1st Graders participate in a manners ball in February.  It is such an adorable event!  The kids dress in fancy clothes, practice their manners, dance to a song that they have learned, recite an acrostic poem, and enjoy a breakfast buffet.

 Drew pulling out his partner's chair.

 Cute little line dance.  :)

The kids wrote an acrostic poem using the letters in their name.  Drew used his "long name."  A - Awesome  N - Ninja  D - Dog Lover  R - Really Strong  E - Energetic  W - Wacky

Haha!

 Sweet little table of friends

 All of the 1st Graders in their Sunday best

 The Carpenters can't pass up a good photo booth

 We love our precious Drew so much!

Valentines Day

Valentines Parties

Valentine's Day 2014

It's no secret that I love Valentine's Day.  Our romantic celebrations have kind of evolved into a fun family night over the years, and I look forward to celebrating with all four of my guys.  This year, we had the best of both worlds, though.  We did all of the fun kid stuff before Valentine's Day.  We made homemade Valentines, and I went to the boys' class parties on the Wednesday before Valentine's.  On the night before Valentine's Day, we had our fun Red & Pink Dinner.  Then on the actual day, Wade took me out for a romantic dinner.  It was 3 full days of celebrating, and I loved every minute.  :)

Drew decided to make chocolate play-doh for his school Valentines.  We packaged them with the recipe and a heart cookie cutter.  I thought it turned out pretty cute.

 C-Man picked out store bought sports Valentines with a pencil sharpener and an eraser.  He did concede to letting me put them in a cellophane bag with red baker's twine to gussy them up a bit.  ;)

 Clayton wanted a football themed Valentine box, so we made one.  Thank you, Pinterest!

Clayton's class had a pizza party and made cards for the nearby nursing home.  Those kids were so quiet and worked so hard for almost the entire hour.  This is a such a sweet group of kids - they really put a lot of thought into their cards.

Drew's party was super fun too - they mostly just consumed as much sugar as possible in a 20 minute time period.  Ha!  There were two little girls that actually dumped Fun Dip on their apples and ate them before any of the adults could stop them.  ;)

 Drew was so proud of his Valentines for his classmates and his teacher.

 On Thursday we had our annual Pink & Red Dinner.  I love decorating a fancy table for my loves!

 We got the boys a few little gifts - a superhero belt, Disney Infinity characters, and some small Lego sets.

My Hubby steamed lobster and grilled salmon.  Yum-O!  I made heart shaped pasta with sauce and salad with heart shaped carrots and radishes.  Drew was a lobster eating machine!  He ate all of his serving plus most of his brothers'.  Apparently, he has a sophisticated palate.  ;)

 We had chocolate fondue for dessert.

 Wade & I never exchange gifts for Valentine's, so I was super surprised when he gave me a bracelet that he bought me in Dubai.  It is gorgeous - such a sweet surprise!

Wade took me to Resto Gastro Bistro in Dallas for our Valentine's Day dinner.  It was a really cool place, and the food was delicious!  We had the best night just eating and talking about the future.  I loved having him all to myself.  It was the perfect end to an extended Valentine's Day week.  ;)

Valentine's Day 2013

We had a very Happy Heart Day this year!  I know that Valentine's day is a "Halmark Holiday," but I love it.  I really do.  I think it is so fun to think of ways to show my 4 guys that I love them. 

Apparently, I may have gone a bit too far over the last few years in my attempt to make Valentine's Day into a grand occasion...  This year, Clayton was shocked that it wasn't treated as a real holiday.  He said things like, "I have homeschool work on Valentine's Day???  But, it's a holiday.   I have piano on Valentine's Day???  But, it's a holiday.  I have basketball practice on Valentine's Day???  But, it's a holiday."  Ha!  I guess that he thought the world should stop for the day of love.  ;)

We started the day off with heart shaped donuts & a red velvet cake donut for Daddy.  Yum!

That evening, while the boys were at Clayton's basketball practice, I set the table for our "fancy" dinner.  This is the only meal of the year that we eat on china and drink from our stemware.  Only the best for my little gentlemen.  :)

Each boy got a card and a few small treats.  I found some fun placemats at the Target dollar spot for them to work on between dinner and dessert.

Valentine's fell on a Thursday this year, which is the busiest day of the week for our family.  Between preschool, homeschool work, piano lessons, and basketball practice - we are on the go for much of the day.  I was worried about our menu when my bestie suggested a Papa Murphy's heartbreaker pizza.  Brilliant!  Heart shaped food just tastes better, right?  Add a salad and dinner was done.  :)

All of my Valentines at the same table.  

 

 After the big boys had enough of my picture taking, this little ham stood there saying, "Cheese?  Cheese?"  Ha!

 Mama stole some kisses from her baby

 My original Valentine & Me - photo at Clayton's request  ;)

 We finished off the evening with chocolate fondue.  It was a big hit!

I enjoyed every minute of the evening with my loves.  :)