valentines day~ a trip down memory lane

Valentines day has never been my favorite holiday, but there is chocolate involved so really how bad can it be?

A Rose By Any Other Name has invited us to share valentines memories and I thought that sounded like great fun.

I don't remember really even knowing what V-day was until I was in elementary school. Of course then it was fun to decorate a box of some kind and to trade with other kids in the class. I remember bringing home my stash and taking them to my bed where I would dump the whole thing out and sort through them. I'd look for my favorites. Some of the kids were really cool and "in the know", they would tape candy to theirs. That was fun. Some years I cut out hearts from construction paper and made my own. Other years we'd buy a box. Either was it was fun. We ate cookies and punch at school, which was always a welcome occasion.

When I was a Junior in HS I walked out to my car valentines afternoon and found a dozen roses on the seat with a card from my BF. I thought that was the ultimate in romance! Very exciting.

Valentines day 1997 was a fun one . DH and I had gotten engaged the night before. I actually don't remember what we did to celebrate Valentines but I do remember he bought me a sapphire necklace and matching ear rings. I think he realized the error of his ways because now he had two gift giving occasions one day apart:) He would have been smart to propose the next day!

Last year for Valentines day we went to a dance. On the way we stopped at a boot store and bought his/hers cowboy boots. I love mine and had wanted to get some for awhile. They are kind of expensive so I probably never would have. It was really fun to go together and buy them and it was a thoughtful gift.

One thing I like to do for V day is get holiday shirts for the girls. It's fun to make them treats and celebrate with them. Having kids makes lots of stuff more fun. The first year we lived in TX the three girls wanted to have a party. We decided to do a Valentines party. One of the things we did was paint flower pots and plant seeds. It's one of those things they still sometimes talk about.


Last year H and I threw a mother/daughter party. We invited several of her friends from church. We had a chocolate fountain, made bead bracelets, played games and the girls ran around while them mom's visited.
She wanted to do it again this year but we decided to do a father/daughter Chinese New Year party instead. We are in the planning stage right now for that.
I have a heart shaped cake pan so sometimes I make a cake for dinner that's heart shaped. We've done jell-o jigglers, pancakes and cookies in heart shapes too. Every year it's something different. I always try and do a little something for the kids and for DH too :)