Scenes from Valentine's

Valentine's Day was pitch-perfect.

Here's how we celebrated...

I got up extra early to make Jacob a Valentine's breakfast of pink heart-shaped pancakes with buttermilk syrup and bacon. If anything can make Jacob happy it's bacon. Usually we are rushing early in the morning, and I have to eat a quick bowl of oatmeal in the car on the way to the train station. It was special for us to actually sit down together for a sweet Valentine's breakfast.

Maybe you noticed the jar of Tostito's nacho cheese on the table as well? That was one of Jacob's Valentine's presents. I'm a mean wife and never let him buy it—so I thought it would be a good way to show my love. Forget about candy. It's bacon and nacho cheese for my man.

The valentine I made for Jacob—we really like pugs.

For dinner we went to Maria Bonita's, our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Maria, the owner of the restaurant, greeted us when we came in—she remembers us because we gave her a picture of us dining there the night we got engaged. She about exploded with happiness when she saw my baby bump. So happy that she kissed it! Surprisingly, I was okay with this.

Valentine's is CRAZY, by the way. The last two years, we "ate-in" for our Valentine's and so we didn't realize how packed the restaurant would be. We had to wait a bit to be seated and to get our food, but it was so worth it. Delicioso.

Jacob kept reminding me that we needed to be back by 8:30 for my "surprise." We rushed home after dinner, but there was no surprise to be found. I heard Jacob suspiciously talking on the phone with someone in the other room. He returned and informed me that the surprise was running a little late. Therefore, we should go out and get some dessert. Fine by me!

I decided that a raspberry + brownie milkshake from Sammy's sounded divine. I was afraid that the place would be insanely crowded on Valentine's—because Sammy's is ALWAYS crowded. To our surprise, the place was almost empty. I guess it's not a very fancy joint if you're trying to "woo" your woman or whatever. But the milkshakes are top-notch.

We headed back home, and after waiting just a little bit longer—look who showed up at our doorstep! A little lab puppy named Dexter! (This also just happens to be the name of my favorite childhood dog)

I was so giddy and speechless when I saw little Dexter running around the house. Turns out, there's a "Puppy Rental" service now operating in Provo, and Jacob had "rented" this lil' buddy for us to play with for an hour. BEST SURPRISE EVER!

squishy face Dexter

Dexter had us laughing all night. He was the perfect puppy. Playful, rambunctious, and adorable. In fact, he was having so much fun playing and exploring that it was hard to get good pictures of him!

After a good forty-five minutes of rambunctious play-time, the cutest thing happens. Dexter suddenly pounces on Jacob's belly, nestles in his arms... and then quickly falls asleep. Puppy cuddle-time. Jacob and I were in HEAVEN.

At this point I think Jacob says, "See I'm gonna be a good dad!"

We took turns holding and cuddling with this pooped puppy, who continued to sleep until his caretaker came to pick him up. I was so sad when I heard that knock on the door. Can I have just 5 more minutes? Pleeeaasse? I wasn't ready to let my snuggle-baby go!

Here's a cute video we took of Dexter copying Jacob's "head tilts." He was doing it for so much longer. I just caught the very end of it. SO ADORABLE.

Delicious food. Adorable puppy. A loving husband.

A perfect recipe for a perfect Valentine's.

Love you, Jacob!

p.s.

If you were wondering why Dexter arrived so late, it's actually a funny story. Apparently one of the puppies (not sure if it was Dexter) accidentally locked the keys and THE PUPPIES in the car while the caretaker was doing something outside. I guess he used his little paw to push the lock down. Pretty hilarious.