valentine's day

The Saturday before Valentine's Day, we went on a family date to Olive Garden.  Judging by the look on Colby's face, you can tell it was a big hit, haha.  

He had about a thousand comments to make about how yummy the breadsticks were, the chips with the artichoke dip, and his OWN pizza and broccoli. The commentary was adorable, and it continued when we moved on to dessert,  When our Zeppoles arrived with the berry and chocolate dipping sauces, we were in heaven!  So, so delicious!! It totally reminded me of the scene in "What About Bob?" where Bob is raving about the hand-shucked corn, haha.  Everything was just THAT amazing in Colby's eyes :)

So much of the attention was on Colby and his funny commentary, that I made more of a conscious effort to engage my little girl in some dinner conversation.  Brooke and Colby are at such a great age right now because it's pleasant to be out dining with them in a sit down restaurant :) Dining with kids isn't always easy, but our family dinner date was perfect!

 On the 14th, I had a few little goodies waiting for the kids on the dining room table.  The bag contained Wiki-Stik for the kids to share, and since they are both obsessed with gum lately, I gave them each a bag with bubble gum and a few other treats.  Simple, but enough to know that their Mama was thinking about them.

 Brooke was eager to pass out valentines to her classmates, and although I regretted not doing something cuter for her class, she was proud of the Fun Dip packets she was taking to school in her basket.

 This was the first year she was also encouraged to make a special box for her valentines. I love the way she wrote her name and meticulously placed each felt heart sticker.

 Here's my other sweet valentine :) He was disappointed about not participating in the whole valentine exchange, but we were invited to meet up with some friends at a really cool park!

 We had never been here before, but the whole structure looked like a giant castle/fortress, which kept the kids entertained for several hours.  Luckily we were the only ones there for the majority of the time because it would have really stressed me out if I didn't know where Colby was at all times.  I like to keep a visual on my kids at the park, and with this park, it was nearly impossible.  But since I could hear him wherever he went, I could relax.

Colby spent the most time with his friends Marlie and Whitney, who are both in his Primary class. It's fun listening to them use their little imaginations, but I did have to intervene a few times once new kids showed up and these three were telling them they couldn't join their game.  When I tried to talk to Colby about it, he was adamant that the new kids COULDN'T play with them because he didn't know them.  Clearly, we need to work on inclusion :)

 That afternoon we met another group of friends at the park!  We only planned on meeting the Funderburks there (Evie, Logan, and baby Jack), but Brooke's school friend Zoe was there and the girls ran and hugged each other as if they hadn't seen each other in ages when it reality it was an hour after school.  She mostly played with Zoe, which was a little embarrassing because we were there to play with Evie and Logan...but Brooke did try to include them a few times and they were all just busy playing, so it was fine I guess?  I probably worry about these things more than I should, and hey, sometimes play dates are for the moms, right?  That really was the main motivation behind the park date, so mission accomplished!

 We finished off the evening with a heart shaped (tiny) pizza and a movie with Daddy.  I hope these little ones (and Kevin) know how much I really love and adore them.  I am forever grateful for my family and the chance we have to celebrate our love together!