Valentine's Day in review

Considering that I woke up expecting the day to be - more or less - a flop, it turned out amazingly well!

I woke up this morning to several messages on my machine from a florist. It seemed that there was a delivery that needed to be made to me and, "When would be a good time for that?"

Eeeee - yay!

I took a shower then, and as I popped out and was getting dressed and stuff, the phone rang. It was a surprise call from the lovely and soon-to-be-famous author Amber - she called to tell me that she just finished her first Draco/Hermione fanfic - wheeeeee! ( Maria, remember how I was *just* telling you last night that she was planning on writing one? Coincidence, I'd say!) Amber and I chatted for a bit about our regular random things, and she ended by wishing me a Happy Valentine's Day. It was so sweet of her to call. :-)

Next, my friend Janiece came by to borrow Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for her and her daughter Kristen to watch. She brought both her daughter and her son David, one of Jack's classmates, so an impromptu playdate ensued. It was a fun time, but the kids were so sad to have to leave. :-(

(And I hear that she and Kristen really enjoyed the movie... hello? How could you *NOT*?! Heehee.)

The boys and I then went out for lunch. They chose McDonald's, but I had Runza. Mmmm, mini corn dogs. After that, we came home to wait on my 'delivery.'

My flowers arrived soon, and they are SO GORGEOUS! See?


Yellow roses from Philip.

Yellow roses have always been my favorite (hey, I'm from Texas, remember!), and Philip never fails me on getting the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. For a little comparison here, you can tell how HUGE this arrangement and the long-stem roses are by realizing that the candle off to the side is a 3-wick candle!

( More rose pictures )

Once the flowers arrived, I took the boys outside to play. Today was absolutely perfect weather - sunny, bright, not windy, not too wet, etc. We had to take advantage. The boys drew lots of chalk pictures on the driveway first:


The boys draw with chalk on the driveway.

( More chalk pictures )

Once they tired of chalk, the boys switched to a new game that A.J. calls 'Near & Far.' Personally, I think it would better be known as 'Yell at Each Other From Across the Yard and Then Quickly Switch Places to Yell At Each Other Some More.' One would stand by our tree, and the other would stand waaaaaaaaayyyy over by our mailbox.


A.J. playing 'Near & Far.'

( Do you even need to guess? More 'Near & Far' pictures behind this cut! )

After their 'game' was over, Jack decided that he'd like to touch Daddy's ribbon on the tree. He was a bit short by himself, but A.J. was more than happy to try and assist him:


A.J. tries his hardest to lift Jack up to touch the ribbon on the tree.

Finally, finally... it was time to come in. It started getting dark on us, and Heather had arrived so that I could give her a Valentine present. (She drove over 'Smooth Cat,' by the way.)


Valentine Day sunset.

Heather stayed for just a short while, and after she left, I called Maria to tell her that her own gift was ready. About 4 minutes later, the doorbell rang. I couldn't figure out why the heck Maria didn't just come on in like she normally does, but I went to the door anyway. A gorgeous chick in a black dress and all dolled up was standing next to Maria with a basket of yellow carnations. Seeing as how I'd already received the delivery from Philip (and plus I'd never seen a delivery person look so good before!), I at first thought that the person must have the wrong house.

(Maria's just standing off to the side, giving the gal a 'who-the-heck-are-you' look, while at the same time giving me a 'what-the-heck-is-going-on-here' look.)

I tentatively opened the door, thinking that I at least needed to let Maria in and tell the one chick that she probably had the wrong address. No sooner did I push the screen door open though, when the gal burst out in a bubbly voice, "This is a special delivery for you from Northeast Nebraska!"

I paused for just a second... *smacks head*

"Oh my gosh, Gretchen! What a surprise! Oh my gosh! Come in, come in!"

It was SUCH an amazing surprise! She came all the way from Newcastle, Nebraska and she brought me flowers! She and her friend were all dressed up to go to a concert tonight, but she'd planned this little surprise all along! They even spent an hour being lost in and around the base trying to find me! I was so amazed and so happy to finally meet her, and to meet her in such a BIG way!

Of course, we had to take a picture to prove she was really here. And of course, I had not done anything to make myself lovely today (because I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this!) And naturally, I got to pose next to the drop-dead gorgeous Gret... :-P


Gretchen and Me!

( And my flowers, of course... )

It was such a surprise! (I keep saying that, don't I?) I only wish we'd had more time to visit!

After Gretchen and her friend left, Maria and I chatted for a bit while A.J. finished up some last-minute homework for tomorrow. Jack fell asleep on the couch before dinner even, so I just transferred him to his bed, and he barely even stirred. I talked to my mom for a long while tonight, thanking her for all of her Valentine goodies throughout the past few days. I also got to talk with Philip for a bit - he called to wish me a Happy Valentine's and to make sure that the flowers had been delivered okay.

Edited to add: Oh, and today's mail brought me another surprise Valentine - this one was from the awesome 'Beanpop' Karen! I'd forgotten you said you were going to send one, so I got another lovely surprise! :-D

A very lovely day indeed. :-)