Ok, this post is really late. I had wanted to do it back in February. I wish there was a way to put your entries in a different order. Anyway, we had the most fun ever as a family on Daddy's birthday/Valentines Day. Most of it was thanks to Mom/Grandma Jane who had just moved to Idaho and was staying with us for a month till she got her apartment. She had not spent a birthday with her son since he was real young, maybe 4th grade or so. This party was like 25 birthdays in one! Plus of course we celebrated Valentines with hearts, candy, etc. for everyone.
We decorated the living room with red balloons, each one held a dollar bill. Daddy had to pop each balloon and get the dollar. It was a lot of fun! Then we had our cake and presents. Later on we played games: throw the bean bag through the heart-shaped cutouts and pin the arrow on the heart. It was just very joyful with all the kids cheering, jumping up and down, counting up the points and playing along with everyone.
The cake was an attempt to be "Ace of Cakes" and make a real special design... but it ended up being a heart surrounded by hearts, with heart candies, and lots of frosting! It was fun to do, but I realized those people you see on the Food Network shows really do have to go through pastry school to learn to make these beautiful cakes. It's hard! I even froze my cakes for a while and still the frosting was filled with cake crumbs. It still tasted good. :)
The family picture with all of us in red shirts was also Grandma's idea. We each had party horns and party sunglasses, too, with which we jumped out and "surprised" Daddy when he came home from work. All in all it was a nice evening.
