Valentine's Day & Birthday Fun

Valentine's Day is such a fun day because it gives us an excuse to celebrate! This year we decided to go to one of our new favorite restaurants, Perini's. We went there for the first time back in December and loved it. We went out last Thursday night for dinner. Before we left he gave me a sweet Valentine's Day gift, a charm for my new Pandora charm bracelet. It's called Everlasting Love. Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner. We started off with the fried quail legs. Then he ordered prime rib, and I got the vegetable plate. I know it's strange to go to Perini's and not get red meat, but I love all their vegetables, especially the hominy, so much! I got their amazing bread pudding for dessert. Thank goodness my husband lacks a sweet tooth so I didn't have to share! I didn't take any pictures at dinner but here is my cute gift wrapped up and what the charm looks like. I'm so excited about filling up this new bracelet that I got for Christmas.My birthday was extra special this year because my class at school did something very sweet for me. They planned a surprise party for me. It was so cute because they had been working on it for a couple of weeks (we're going to have to have a vocabulary lesson on the word 'surprise' because one of my little girls wrote about the party in her journal about a week before so I had a little heads up!). They had been planning it at recess, lunch, and after school. I got silk roses in a vase from one kid first thing in the morning. Then throughout the morning the kids came up to my desk and handed me other little gifts. Right before lining up for lunch they told me 'Happy Birthday' in unison. When I went to pick them up from the cafeteria, the lights were out and they surprised me again by shouting out 'Happy Birthday' and then one little girl handed me cupcakes for us to enjoy later. At the end of the day we had a small party while I opened the gifts and cards they had all brought. We enjoyed cupcakes and cookies that another little girl brought. The funniest part was when I had them go around the room and guess how old I was. The answers ranged from 18 to 72. Yikes-didn't realize I looked that old! (sidenote: this is an example of the lack of common sense I deal with from some of them everyday!) No one guessed my real age and of course I didn't tell them! It was such a special day because the kids planned the party on their own and they really put a lot of thought into it. I have a sweet class and I won't ever forget this party!

My husband finished my actual birthday off with a mint chocolate chip oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen and permission to go on a mini shopping spree. So I finished off the blizzard and then headed to Dillards and Kohls! I also got one more charm for my bracelet. It's a suitcase since we love to travel together. We celebrated my birthday on Sunday since we had just gone out for Valentine's Day the night before. We had a great late lunch at Abuelo's and then rented the movie, Couple's Retreat, which was pretty funny. Then he took me to get ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. As you can see from the picture I just settled for the free tiny ice cream cup they give you on your birthday even though I was tempted to upgrade since I NEVER eat that small of a portion of ice cream! Then we came home and enjoyed some more Olympics. It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday weekend! I love all the little things my husband does to make my birthday special.

And finally, I couldn't resist this cute photo of Charlie all bundled up in his sweater with his favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Valentine. He's ready for the snow tonight!