Valentine's Day 2010

We had a pretty laid back day with the family this Valentine's Day. Zach and Ella went to church, we had lunch, naps, and then a cozy night at home. Since Z's birthday was Monday we waited to celebrate until then. It was the first time for us to leave both girls and go out on our own! They were in great hands though with their Moni and Granddad. :) Zach and I got to enjoy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, shopping at North Park and then dessert at La Duni. Mmmmm, Tres Leche!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's day!

Ella's Valentine...


Emerson's Valentine...


Honey dropped off some fun gifts for us too! Thank you, Mom!


Ben, Karen, and Hallie came over on Friday to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and we made homemade pizzas. We are in love with the Paula Deen pizza crust that we made for the Super Bowl and had to do it again. (recipe below) It is very easy to make and so delicious! Daddy even made Ella her very own heart shaped pizza to kick off the V-day weekend. :)


Paula Deen's Basic Pizza Crust

1 3/4 cup warm water
1 (14 ounce pkg.) dry active yeast
2 tsp. salt
4 1/2-5 cups flour
3 T olive oil, plus more for bowl (We also brush it on around the crust before cooking)
Cornmeal, for pan (we left this out)


Directions:

Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.

Measure out 1 3/4 cups warm water (it should be pleasantly warm on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow it to activate, about 10 minutes.

Put the salt and 2 cups of the flour into a food processor. (we used a blender) Pulse 5 times to blend. Pour in the yeast and water and pulse 5 times. Add the olive oil. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, pulsing and scraping the sides of the bowl until well blended. As soon as the mixture is combined, dump it out onto a well-floured board and knead for 15 turns, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size, then punch it down. Divide it in half; each half will make 1 (12-inch) pizza.

Place on a cornmeal-dusted pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet. Roll up edge slightly to create a ridge around the pizza. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until crust is light brown.

Cook's Note: If using only half dough, freeze the other half. Place the dough in a resealable freezer bag. To thaw, remove the bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Roll the dough out while cold then allow it to come to room temperature before adding toppings.

Oh Happy Day

Valentine's Day was extra special this year! We had so much fun celebrating Ella's last first holiday with friends and family. We started the morning off at Melissa and Macey's house for a Valentine themed playdate with all Ella's BFF's. It was so much fun to see all of them together again and how much they have changed! While the babies played, we had a wonderful lunch with chicken salad, dips, and cupcakes. We also exchanged our Valentine cards and gifts, and man do we have some very talented babies in our group! :) Thanks Melissa for making our heart day so special.

Ella Grace and Camdyn...I promise E is not hitting Cam with the ball. :)
(Also, the only pic with a bow on her head...she just won't keep it on anymore!)


Barrett and Cam


Amy calling their attention with the goldfish. Ha!


Mrs. Collard was so sweet to give Ella a ride on the horsey. :)


Look at all the fun goodies we got in our box!!!


More treats from the family.

Valentine's night was celebrated with a dinner at our house with family. We had a yummy dinner of tenderloin, mushrooms, corn, mozerella/tomato salad, homemade macaroni, and rolls. For desert I ordered a fabulous cake from Baby Cakes by Angie. This was a special cake because it celebrated 3 things: Valentine's Day, Zach's b-day, and my sister, Melody's, engagement! That's right, she was one of the lucky ones who was proposed to on Valentine's night. They made their way over to our house after their date to show off the ring and to celebrate with cake and champagne. It was such a special night to celebrate with the one's that we love the most!



The cake...check out Angie's blog; she is so talented!










THE RING!


I could not think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day!

'Twas the Night Before Valentine's Day...

We have such a fun weekend planned! Valentine's Day is packed full of fun things.

We are SO looking forward to our playdate in the morning at Melissa and Macey's house . Today was spent making Valentine cards and treat bags for everyone. We also decorated a cute little box to put those that Ella receives into. I felt like I was back in the classroom today, minus the kiddos hyped up on sugar running around! :)



Ella even got to open her Valentine gift early so she could wear her heart pj's to bed tonight. :) She loved her pink puppy dog and cross too!

She was not in the mood for pictures tonight, so this is the best I could get of her in her new pajamas...

After all the festivities tomorrow for Valentine's, Sunday is Zach's birthday. The big 3-2! To celebrate, we are having dinner with family at Kyoto, and Ella will be along for the ride. Wonder what she will think of all the hibachi madness??? Should be interesting! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day with those that you love!