valentine's day

Eva had her preschool Valentine's party on Wednesday. She had to wear her red polka dot outfit, red shoes, and valentine ribbons. She could not have been more thrilled with the whole experience. (She handed out Posh Puppy valentines, which included stickers for decorating the puppies, thus making them even more posh. It was all very Fancy Nancy.)

Lucas's party was on Friday (after a cross-country skiing field trip). He decorated his valentine box in true Lucas-style: covered with gray paper with writing all over.

On Saturday, Emily & Charlotte came over to make sugar cookies. We made Denise's recipe and Miranda's recipe. (Denise's were my favorite. I just like the thinner ones best. I do enjoy not having to chill the dough, however. Plus, I think I did something wrong with Miranda's recipe, because I had to put in a LOT more flour than the recipe called for.)

Anyway. It was fun to make two different kinds, but we made a lot a lot of cookies! So many, in fact, that Charlotte & Emily had to leave before we did anything more than basic frosting. That, combined with the fact that I ran out of powdered sugar (despite having 2 2-pound bags!) meant that I didn't do any fancy piping this year. Oh well.

Having Charlotte & Emily around is so fun, for a lot of reasons. First of all, they are just great company in their own right. Secondly, it is almost like having Denise around. They have her sense of humor, and even their arms and hands look like hers!

I love that Emily brings her knitting everywhere she goes. So that's how she gets so much done! (Although we did agree that we are not okay with taking knitting to class or to church...)

We made white, pale pink, and slightly darker pink frostings. The frosting is definitely my favorite part of sugar cookies. To me, there's just no point in eating them without frosting.

Eva went hog wild with sprinkles, but then was highly disturbed with the stickiness of her hands. She took multiple hand-washing breaks.


I made these heart bean bags for my Primary class. I gave them all instructions to perform an act of kindness for a member of their families and then to place the heart on that person's pillow. We shall see.


Yesterday, Marc gave me a new Lisa Leonard necklace for my valentine gift. The man knows how to choose a great gift!

I gave him a homemade valentine and a booklet of love coupons. I have good intentions, but not as good on the follow-through...

We got a package from my mom today. Everyone was so excited! She sent several different kinds of candies, Hello Kitty valentines for Eva (as well as a cute notebook and heart post-its), iTunes cards for the boys, and coasters and to-die-for bowls for me.

She knows me so well! You can't really tell the scale, but these are tiny, like prep bowls. The cutest prep bowls you have ever seen.

You've gotta love it when a holiday lasts for a week or so instead of just one day.