How We Do V-Day in AZ (and how we do the Amazing Race, too)

Valentine's Day...starts with me making heart-shaped waffles with homemade whipped cream, red sprinkles and pink milk. Then Evan makes this face because he doesn't like whipped cream (I guess) but has forgotten how to tell me this before I serve him and then refuses to speak until I remove the offensive substance (because it has a texture he doesn't like) completely from his field of vision.
Grandma comes to visit so we play hopscotch outside on the driveway (because having Grandma around reminds me of the oldy-but-goody games we can play that I sometimes forget).
We make "interpretive Hopscotch" courses...Evan's has hot lava and a square that you have to dance in.
(Evan dances his heart out, not caring whether cars are passing by or not)
Annie strikes a weird pose (I think we were practicing freezing for when cars pass by--see, sometimes I can be safety-minded!)
Then we go to a birthday party at the Library.

"A birthday party?" you say...
Yes! Arizona's 100th Birthday Celebration, of course.
(Evan is behind these girls....he may have gotten his picture in the paper because the reporter asked me for his name and permission to use his picture, but seeing as no one actually reads our paper, I have no idea if he is famous or not).

(that's our state flag on the cake, FYI. I guess they decided that one candle was more appropriate for the preschool crowd than 100)

We partake in more traditional Valentine's Day activities, such as exchanging homemade Valentines with friends and neighbors.
Annie and I wear matching outfits for the second time. Is that totally cheesy? I know what Jeremy will say.
And here's our Amazing Race party we had recently with some friends, just because. The boys (the little ones, definitely not Jeremy) and I threw it together one morning because some friends were coming over for dinner that night.

Team Cornelius and Team Lundgren at the Pit Stop. (If you see Sam, tell him he did a good job with the Pit Stop sign...he was very proud of it.)
Reading clues torn out of envelopes like in the real show. It was a little stressful for our 7-year-old readers to read my cleverly-worded clues. Next time I'll stick to "Go to the Pit Stop." instead of "Make your way to the blah blah blah, warning, the last team blah blah blah"
Obstacle course with clue hidden in it...much more difficult than I anticipated (as the garlic bread for dinner burned in the oven)
Clue found!
"Flying" to the next location on our silly little globe game...
In "Spain" teams participated in a Bullfight Detour and a Flamingo or Flamenco Road Block...
(The fathers looked on in bewilderment as to why we would put so much effort into a silly game when dinner and dessert should have been the main event)

So we stopped to eat...
The kids made chocolate-dipped marshmallows that looked like little worlds (or Frankensteins).
More frenzy of activity as they traveled to China and had to build a lego car for their Chinese dolls and choose between Chopsticks and Chopsticks.
The last leg was in Egypt where they searched for a camel, chose Excavate or Build, and raced to finish a snack of carrots and a tall glass of water before they crossed the desert to their final Pit Stop. The Corneliuses were the winners of a plastic trophy and everyone got silver chocolate coins. And Christy donned appropriate headgear for every pitstop but sadly, I only got one picture to embarrass her with.

I know, I have far too much enthusiasm on my hands. You don't have to try to understand it.