Le Jour de Saint Valentin

You can enjoy my stuttering French about my Valentine's day, or you can read all about it in English. :)

We had a wonderful Valentine's day, Jake and I! I am still glowing about it a day later! In the morning, we indulged in a small bit of commercialism exchanging letters and gifts (flowers and chocolate for me, Starbucks card for him) before heading to Lake Patagonia for a nice afternoon picnic. We packed quite a spread!

We had turkey pesto sandwiches with cheese and crackers, a couple of apples, bruschetta, and for dessert: cookies! As we were hauling our gigantor bag of food down to the water, I said, "At least it will be lighter on the way back!" But I packed so much food, that even after eating til we were bursting, the bag still weighed the same afterward!

Then we came back to the house to watch Sleepless in Seattle. Oh. My. Goodness. It was my first time watching it (Jake's recommendation) and I cannot believe I have not seen it before! It was soooo good! I loved it! Granted, I nearly cried by the end (#emotionallycompromised) but it was in a good happy kind of way. Jake always teases me for getting so emotional over silly movies like that, but deep down inside I think he finds it charming. ;)

After the movie, we joined up with some friends at a Valentine's Open House party! Apparently they have one every year with a chocolate fountain and an assortment of fruit and cookies for dipping! I wasn't sure what to expect as we went up the walk (social engagements can be a mental battle sometimes) but Melanie and Carly caught us at the door and welcomed both of us so warmly! We all ended up playing hide-and-seek in the street with the twenty kids or so that were there. It was definitely a throwback to our childhood.

At one point, the four of us were hiding in an outdoor bathroom in the yard. The round was over and the kids were calling for everyone to come out, but we didn't want to give away our hiding spot. "Round's over!!" they called over and over again. It soon became apparent that they were not going to start the next round without us. Puzzling over how we could somehow all sneak out of the bathroom, Carly suggested, "I know! Melanie. Flush the toilet and walk out like you were going to the bathroom and tell them they can start the next round without us." Without missing a beat, Melanie leaned over, flushed the toilet, and walked out of the bathroom nonchalantly. We were laughing so hard! I was squeaking. XD

The Valentine's day party was the perfect end cap to an awesome day. I realized afterward that it was the first time in a while that I'd fully relaxed, giggled a lot, and forgotten about work. What a blessing! I think we may've started a few new Valentine's day traditions!