Because James and I were out of town over Valentine's Day, our family tradition of a special Valentine dinner was delayed until President's Day. Although we weren't around, the kids had a great Valentine's Day with their grandma Marcia and grandpa Dan. They took them to 'Color Me Mine', which is a pottery store, and the kids got to pick out various potted products and paint them then left them there to be fired. After painting, they went to lunch at Cowboy Grub and the reports were favorable that it was a fun place to eat.
Despite their eventful Valentine's Day, they were unwilling to let us off the hook for our traditional Valentine's Day dinner. We started this tradition a few years back when we realized it was too hectic to go to a restaurant on Valentine's and too hard to find a babysitter. We decided to create a restaurant atmosphere at home. The kids each get to pick what they want for dinner and I prepare many different meals. We use our best dishes and usually have candles. This year Luke wanted ribs, Lindsey picked homemade chicken dumplings, Heather went for homemade pizza pockets, and Savannah wanted Chinese food. James doesn't get a choice, he gets to choose from the various choices already made. I get to choose the dessert which has actually become fun for me to find something that seems exotic and surprise the kids. While we enjoy our meal together we share why we love each member of the family. When it was all cleaned up and the dishes put away, I was glad the kids hadn't let us skip out on the tradition this year or we would have missed out on some fun memories.
