Valentine's Day Wrap-up

From youngest to oldest:
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. Wednesday night Chloe requested waffles with whip cream and strawberries for Valentine's breakfast. Good thing I was ahead of her on that one! She was so funny in the morning, though, with her separate dipping spots for strawberries and whip cream.
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Carmen baked cherry chip cupcakes with pink frosting and marshmallow hearts for her class party all by herself. I helped her carry them into the school in the morning, and her classroom could not have looked less festive with nearly the whole room packed up to move to our new campus next week, but the moving boxes didn't seem to dampen Carmen's holiday spirit. After school Carmen came home so pleased with her friends' reaction to the cupcakes, everyone thought they were delicious and no one could believe she did it all by herself. They didn't even believe she was allowed to turn on the oven, but we do a lot of baking and Carmen is a pro. Carmen was also very pleased with all of the Valentines cards she recieved and all evening on Thursday kept bringing me another one that was so cute. She loves cute.
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Steven wore a red t-shirt to school, which made me think he was somewhat in the spirit of the holiday, but he didn't bring any Valentine cards home: he threw them all away at school after he'd harvested the candy. He's not very sentimental - a couple of weeks ago I found a bunch of ribbons and medals in his garbage can!
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Valentine's Day is a busy holiday if you are a jr. high student. Our school sponsors Box Lunch Socials on both the 13th and 14th. The first day the boys make and bring a lunch for two, and the girls bid on them. Then the second day the girls bring the lunches and the boys bid. The school hires a professional auctioneer, and the students get carried away donating lots of money to the school. They don't know who made the lunch until it is bought, so they are bidding purely on the contents. Jaclyn bought an amazing lunch this year from a boy in 7th grade, and what is great is how everyone is such a good sport and happy to eat lunch with whomever that day, and the positive culture just continues to be passed down to the new 7th graders each year. So Jaclyn's lunch that she bought came with pink roses, sparkling cranberry apple juice, strawberries and a can of whipped cream, lots of chocolate, and a deli tray of wraps and california rolls. The lunch Jaclyn brought to school on the 14th was a Surf and Turf lunch with steak sandwiches and sushi. She also brought Haagen-dazs chocolate icecream, pop and chips, and an i-tunes gift card attached to her Valentine ballooon. These kids go all out and really know how to get a high bid on their lunch. The highest selling lunch this year included a pair of Flames tickets and it sold for $250. I don't know who is letting their 14 year old bring $250 to school! (The money all goes right back into extra programs for the students.)
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Last year Jaclyn did a spicy theme with Jamaican patties and Mexican brownies flavored with cinnamon.
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In 7th grade Jaclyn did a Jack & Jill lunch in paint pails.
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As for Ken and I we went out for dinner tonight, but yesterday I gave him:

If it's good enough for Christmas, it's good enough for Valentine's Day!
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