Valentines Day of Love

This Valentines day was filled with love, family and friends!

The celebration began when Lisa, Jenni and I left Saturday morning at 6:30 am to head to Austin and spend the day at the houseboat. When we arrived to the boat my sweet dad had some gorgeous flowers just for me! He picked pink roses and hydrangeas in a really fun pink vase, my absolute favorites!! Thanks Dad! You're my favorite Valentine! :)

My parents took us on a cruise around the lake while mom fed us a tasty lunch of pork roast, potatoes and green beans, yum! The weather had been freezing on the drive to Austin so we were really happy when the sun came out and it was nice enough to be outside.

Willow really loves the boat, she lives to sit on the front deck and feel the wind in her fur!
My parents left Saturday afternoon so my dad could prepare for his flight to Ohio the next day, so it was just us girls on the boat that night. I decided pretty quickly that although I felt safe there I didn't enjoy being there as much without my parents! We had some fun girl time making dinner and watching a beautiful lake sunset! Later we sat up on top of the boat with blankets to watch night life on the lake, but it's pretty quiet this time of year so we headed to be pretty quickly.

When we woke up the next morning someone had loved our boat! There were two balloons, a carnation and a sparkly heart on a stick tied to the front deck! I have no idea who did this, but it was incredibly thoughtful and a great start to a day of love!
We left the boat at 5:30 AM to head downtown Austin because my sister in law Gina was running the Austin Marathon and we wanted to be there early to cheer her on! I got to watch Gina run her first marathon almost two years ago, and I was so proud and inspired by her that I couldn't miss watching her do it again! We met her several places along the course with signs, cowbells, and one super cute baby cheerleader to cheer and encourage her as she ran the race! She was so positive and had a big smile each time we saw her!

Here's Gina somewhere near mile 15, doing great! She had some foot problems the week before the race and we all prayed God would heal her feet for the race, which He did! Praise Jesus!

Here's our cheering squad, me with Ava (rocking the Run Mommy Run shirt and a Team Mommy jacket I made her)! This girl is the cutest motivation we could have brought! I also brought along some posters and we whipped out the cowbells from her Big D marathon in 2008! Here are Gina's parents holding Ava somewhere near mile 10.

Doesn't Ava look so cute with her daddy? Just waiting to cheer for her mommy! She had fun waving each time Gina ran by and just wanted to chase after all the runners! Maybe someday we'll be cheering Ava on in her own race!
And finally we have Gina crossing the finish line after 26.2 miles of running! Looking Good Gina! The finish line was right in front of the state capitol and there was plenty of encouragement. As you can see the finish was lined with support!

I'm so proud of my sister! She's so dedicated to her running and is proof that with determination and discipline you can do anything! I'm now super motivated to get back on track with my 5k program!

After the race we headed home to Houston get ready for a dinner party we had been invited to by the guys in our Sunday School class. Last week the guys showed up to class with a rose and handmade invite for each lady inviting us to a Valentine's Day Dinner!

We were excited to see what the guys had planned, and were definitely not disappointed! As we arrived to the host home we were offered a choice of drinks, then seated at nicely decorated tables complete with red table cloth, candles and miniature menu's at each place setting! There was even a Cinemark gift card for each of us, an especially nice unexpected surprise!

Our Valentines menu included:
French Bread with Toasted Garlic and Olive Oil
Mandarin Baby Spinach Salad
Stuffed Chicken Fettucini Alfredo
Parmesan Tomato Halves
Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
Black Russian Chocolate Cake A la Mode
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Everything tasted so great and looked just as impressive as it sounds! We were treated like queens!
After all was said and done we were stuffed and ended up just hanging out and listening to some Mitch Hedberg routines. It was so thoughtful that the guys wanted to treat us to a nice evening and spent so much time cooking and preparing for the evening!

All this goes to show that Valentines Day doesn't have to be miserable if you're single! I felt very loved and cared for over the past few days and hope that the people I love in my life know how much they mean to me! Happy Love Day!