Hearts, Roses, and Waffles

What family traditions do you have on Valentine’s Day? Every year my in-laws host their annual Valentine’s Waffle Dinner. It is so much fun! There is nothing specifically related to Valentine’s Day about it. The waffles aren’t pink or red or heart shaped. But it’s a tradition they have had for years and we all love it. The dinner consists of waffles, of course, fruit, elk sausage (new this year - complements of the mighty hunter Ryan - very delicious), mountain man (a potato, cheese, sausage, onion, pepper mix = delicious), and all the toppings you could want – including ice cream.

The first time I ever saw my father-in-law put ice cream on his waffle I thought he was crazy. Who puts ice cream on their waffles? This was before Ryan’s mission. A few months after Ryan left I did a semester at Nauvoo and one night we had a waffle night. And believe it or not, they served their waffles with all the traditional topping AND ice cream! Buckets of it too! I guess I was the weird one! (The general impression I got that night was, “Who doesn’t put ice cream on their waffles?!”)

During the years that Ryan was on his mission, and later when my brothers were serving their missions, the party always included filling out fun little Valentine's to send to them. Now the tables are decorated with themed table cloths, jars of Valentine's candy, and other cute decor. This year also included cheesy Laffy Taffy jokes and Valentine's/Love Themed trivia.

My in-laws have always been wonderful to include my side of the family, and each year the number of people attending continues to grow. This year between both sides of the family there were 38 people! I hope I counted that right. Lots of people either way.

We look forward to the V-Day Waffle Dinner with great anticipation every year, especially my little sister, Sabrina, who was so excited about it that it made its way to her Facebook status multiple times. And I quote, "Valentine's dinner tonight(: Oh the pleasure it brings to my heart. (:" and "Waffles with ice cream and chocolate sauce for dinner plus candy for dinner.."(: Best dinner ever."

It's always a little chaotic with that many people in one space, but its totally worth it. It's almost always on a Sunday so that as many family members can attend as possible, and therefore doesn't always fall on Valentine's Day. This year we did it the week after V-Day because the previous Sunday we were celebrating my little sister's b-day who is actually a Valentine's Day Baby! I told her that if she was going to be born on a holiday, Valentine's is definitely the best one cause it doesn't matter if she has a significant other or not. She will always have a reason to celebrate and pamper herself! I think that's good advice whether Valentine's is your birthday or not. Just a good excuse to treat yourself to something nice... like waffles and ice cream for dinner.