Valentine's Day 2017

This cake was all I wanted for Valentine's Day.  The cake looked much more polished and professional in the photo from Family Circle, but I bet mine tasted as good or better.  Mostly because I clipped this recipe a week into a seventeen-day sugar fast.  Valentine's Day was a holiday for more than the usual reasons . . .

Now it's back to the grind.

Valenbots were constructed much later than usual this year.  Largely due to Truman and Brigham both having basketball practice and games and merit badge clinics that have wreaked havoc on our everyone-together-at-the-same-time time.

But the tradition lives on, and it was a delightful time, as always, even if we made them two days before Valentine's Day instead of two weeks.

Allen and Mollie taking apart a printer to use for Valenbots
(and Truman's actual robotic supplies)

My favorite people.

Allen helping Calvin with his bot

T&B and Robots

The cutest!  And that robot is pretty cute, too.

Calvin and Harper have been playing better than they ever have.  They have both given Valentines to each other several times this month, and love to build wooden trains together.  Yesterday Calvin asked Harper to sit by him in the recliner while they watched "Chocolate and the Factory"--an appropriate movie for Valentine's Day, with appropriate Valentine behavior.  I love these two little kids.  They got to "help" me make eight dozen sugar cookies before they watched their sweet movie, and I let them put all the sprinkles on, too.

My favorite Valenbabies

Below is a small sampling of the family Valentines we gave to each other.

Calvin laughed every time he looked at his shark Valentine from
Allen.  Truman gave the food one to Cal, too.

This was my favorite from Allen.  

From Allen to Truman

Calvin dictated this one to Allen for me.  I'm keeping it forever.

From Allen to Truman, and from Becca to Truman, because
Truman won a bet about what the REAL line was in the
aforementioned "Chocolate and the Factory."

From mom to Calvin and from Dad to Calvin

Allen surprised me with flowers, new "hot booties"(microwaveable booties for my Reynaud's-ridden feet) and a delightful book, A Study in Charlotte. If my love of getting gifts and surprises makes me shallow . . . so be it.

We both gave each other several Stranger Things-themed Valentines.

My beautiful flowers and hilarious Valentine,
accidentally printed on "D-size" paper

Calvin's adorable friend, Lindy.

Calvin colored these for Mollie

And wrote this on the back.

To Mollie from Mom and Dad

My Grandma Mollie surprised all my kids with
Valentine cards in the mail!

And Brigham got ACTUAL VALENTINES from ACTUAL
GIRLS at school . . . heaven help us!