Part II of Valenine’s Day was even more enjoyable than part 1. Originally I had the notion to take the family to Desert Shores to picnic out on the grass by the water and feed the ducks, but we canceled that idea and just opted for a picnic in the backyard instead. After our little picnic, and Isaiah got home from school, we decided to go to Aliante Park to feed the ducks! The kiddos had sooooo much fun!

Following the fun with the ducks, we let the kids expend some extra energy at the Discovery Park, also at Aliante. We watched the sun set and headed back home to make dinner. The hubby helped me make filet Mignon, green beans, baked potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. We ate by candlelight with our kiddos. The grownups had red wine and the kids had pomegranate juice, which looks pretty identical to wine.

For dessert, I made some carmelized bananas and fresh strawberries atop shortcake with three mini scoops of vanilla bean ice cream. Delicious!

These are some of my most favorite appetizers /snacks ever! Prosciutto-wrapped stuffed dates! Yum!Our second tapas on the menu was slices of artisan bread, drizzled with olive oil, sheep-milk brie, roasted red peper, and organic sliced turkey meat, sprinkled with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.Arielle LOVES stuffed dates!Here’s our little picnic set-up in the backyard.Daddy snapped a shot of Mommy and Arielle enjoying one another’s company.Daddy posing.This rose lemonade that I picked up from Whole Foods was such a treat! I loved the actual rose flavor!For dessert, Whole Foods has an amazing dessert counter, and I picked up a couple of treats! Oh, wow, super duper yummy!Arielle was beside herself with anticipation to try the treats! Had fun feeding the ducks at Aliante Park. (Didn’t see the ‘no feeding the birds’ sign until afterwards though.)Dinner was great! Our first attempt at filet Mignon prepared at home. Thanks for the recipe Ina Garten! It was delicious! Dessert: shortcake with caramelized bananas, fresh strawberries and mini scoops of ice cream. A sweet ending to a sweet day! 🙂