Happy Valentine's Day Party!

In the good old days, on Valentine's Day, in good old middle America (aka Centerville, Utah- I know, it doesn't get more picturesque than a small city called Centerville!), we used to painstakingly make Valentine's for our closest friends and then we would go deliver the Valentine's. While making the Valentine's was fun, the delivery was where the Valentine magic came in.  You see, in delivering the Valentine's you could just knock on the door and hand the gift over, OR you could put the Valentine on the door step, prepare for your escape, ring the bell, and SPRINT away hoping no one saw you.  This tradition has been absent in my life for many years, but now, with my little sidekick around, Evan and I are bringing it back!! Yesterday for Valentine's Day Evan and I made these little gems for his cousins:

Yes, they are heart shaped crayons! They were super easy and turned out super cute. (If you would like to know how to do them- simply peel the papers off a big box of crayons, curse the papers by the time you get to crayon number 57 and leave about five different shades of brown in the box (why do they make so many shades of brown anyway?). After the crayons are peeled, break 3 crayons of varying colors into each muffin of one heart shaped silicone muffin pan. Put the silicone pan on a cookie sheet to help keep the liquid wax from spilling all over after it is melted and bake at 250 degrees for about 15 min. Take out of oven, allow to cool, and gently peel out of the pan). 

Evan was so excited about our Valentines and asked all morning when it was time to deliver them. We got some cute boxes to put them in, Evan wrote each cousin's name as carefully as he could, and we were on our way!

The first stop was Mimi's house. The 45 min drive north was totally worth it as Wes was a grump and took that opportunity to get a nap in! We pulled up around the corner and Evan and I snuck out. As we neared her house we had a small heart attack as we saw her front door wide open! We looked for any signs of people and decided to chance it! Evan was so cute as we snuck up to the porch and rang the bell. He had decided it would be best to run to the side of her house and hide behind her garbage cans until we were sure they had gone back in. When we heard the door shut, he ran as fast as he could back to the car and was so proud that we had pulled it off!

The next stop was Jen's. Her house was another story. We were concerned all the way there because it was a sunny day and we knew Owen, Ivy, and Autumn would be outside. (Also, I have done these deliveries a few times for other Valentine's days and for May Day and I have only escaped unseen ONE time. Owen hears the door, jumps over the goods and chases me down!)

When we got there the kids were not outside! Evan and I were so excited. We rang the bell and ran away. When we were safely tucked behind the neighbor's trees, we heard laughing from Greg. He and Jen were the only ones home! What fun was delivering Valentine's to Greg?! So, take two- Jen and Greg called the kids home through the garage while Evan and I waited on the porch. When we heard little voices inside, we tried again. This time: Ring, sprint away, get caught by Owen - again. Maybe next year.

After the deliveries we decided to stay at Jen's. We had both been talking about doing a Valentiney type party and decided to join forces. Our impromptu party turned out fabulous complete with games of twister, marshmallow tosses, opening chocolates with mittens on and drawing pictures while blind folded. We ended the night with a sampling of treats and happy kids! It was an absolutely happy Valentine's Day!!