Dot the Map

M&R
Date #21
Dot the Map

This date was actually really fun. We sat down at the table with our world atlas and dotted the map with all the places we have been together. It was fun going back through our 7.5 years together and reminiscing about all the places we've been.

It doesn't even need to be said, that we are by no means world travelers. We definitely need to get out of the states, and also our dots are heavy on the west side of the country. The top three places we've been are:

(1) the Big Island, where we actually hiked (in the rain), over all the jagged, hardened lava, and stood within yards of the hot flowing lava. It was crazy and the air was so toxic. That was an experience that we'll never forget.
(2) honeymoon cruise in the Bahamas. We kayaked with huge sting rays gliding through the crystal water underneath us. We almost got attacked by swarms of jellyfish on our snorkeling excursion (think Finding Nemo. Okay maybe that's a little dramatic). We snuck into the Atlantis hotel and R wheeled and dealed to get us into the aquarium there, where we saw the 1,000 lb. manta ray named Zeus (seriously, he was amazing...google him).
(3) San Francisco. Though not very exotic, we had the best time there together a couple of years ago. It was a surprise trip that I planned for R's 30th birthday. We had so much fun running around and exploring. We wore ourselves to the bone and had so much fun doing it.

There are many many more places we have yet to check off on our "travel bucket list", but it was fun remembering all the places we've been together already.

Delightful Dinner Date

J&D

Date #22

T&D

Date #22

We decided on a double date this week.  We were going to do one thing, but it was not meant to be, so we decided to hit up a local Thai restaurant around the corner.  We had the entire restaurant to ourselves (seriously, no one else came in to eat - can't understant why - it was really good!) It was delicious and the best part was that we had lots of time to just sit and talk.  Sometimes we don't have enough time just to socialize when we go out and we feel we are often rushing back to relieve the babysitters.  But this date was all about laughing and chatting and enjoying a couple hours away with nothing to fill the time but great friends.  I think more dates should be just getting together with friends with nothing in particular planned.

Self-Defense

B+C

Date #13

Self Defense

I took this six-week self defense class (organized by the police department) and all of the material that we covered over those six weeks came together for our very last class, when our husbands got to come! My first thought? DATE NIGHT!!

Maybe it's a little unconventional, but it fits my criteria- an activity without the kids.

To be honest, I was really nervous about this last class and really anxious to get it over with. My husband is not a weak man. I've had enough experience at home, playing around, to know that I WILL get hurt if I really try to fight him. So, it was with a bit of reluctance, that we dropped the kids off with the babysitter, and headed to Date #13, but I WAS excited to spend some time with him and to show him what I had learned.

{Katty and David}

We started out with the guys holding the pads and the girls punching and kicking in 1 minute intervals. After the 5th time through (the instructor was TRYING to wear us out, to make it more realistic) I was exhausted. THEN we switched, and B punched and kicked ME!

Oh. my. goodness!

I was doing everything I could just to stay on my feet. I had to get a little angry at B, and tell him to back off. He looked at me like I was crazy and said he was only doing it halfway!

Whaaat! Thank goodness he's nice to me. That's all I have to say.

I felt a little more confident when we did the REAL fighting, where he had me on the ground and I had to get him off of me and stand up, but I was sooooo exhausted by the end of the night and still have bruises on my shoulders from some of the 'on the ground' stuff we did. We were used to doing this with other girls, so it was a big change to go against a man.

Not to mention, I think the other husbands were being a little nicer to their wives. I'm just sayin'.

We ended with a couple rounds of the 'circle of love'- one person is in the middle and everyone else is in a circle with pads. The one in the middle throws in punches, kicks, elbows. . . .anything they want, at each person, but at any time, someone can come out of the circle and attack you. It's safe to say that i was completely out of steam after the second round of that. Thank goodness the class was over!

Despite getting a little beat up, I had a lot of fun doing something physical with my husband. This was definitely not an activity we've ever done together, so I really liked trying something new, that took us out of our comfort zones. And I think he was proud of me for doing it. ; )

Out to Lunch.

T&D

Date #21

Busy week - so we decided that we needed a lunch date.  Had a friend offer to take the girls during the day and I jumped all over it!!  Picked up D at work and headed down the road to Magelby's.  Thanks to CityDeals - we had a great gift certificate and paid regular restaurant price for a much NICER place we don't normally go.  It was well worth it!!  We got two lunch buffets (wanted to try it all) and it was DELICIOUS!!!  D loves the Roast Beef they slice right in front of you.  I really liked everything I tried, but was not completely satisfied until I ended the meal with a slice of chocolate cake with fresh raspberries and cream.   Most people rave about the cake, which was good, but its the raspberries and cream that I will probably crave.  :)  Perfect little mid-day date to brighten up an otherwise cold and rainy day. 

Backyard Plans

M&R
Date #20
The Backyard

Last week we kept things pretty low-key and simple. Hubby and I sat down together and made up a plan for landscaping our backyard. We're not quite ready to get the ball rolling on utilizing these plans (due to issues that are not in our control) but we thought it would be nice to have an idea of how we want it to look.

We kept it pretty simple for now. We just wanted the basic layout. For the most part we want to keep a lot of open space for the kids to be able to ride their bikes, throw balls around, and run freely without too many obstacles.

Sigh, if only it could be done tomorrow!! I could just see us laying in a hammock together, planting/weeding the garden, or sitting by a fire on a cool summer night.

We're trying to be patient in the meantime, but we'll get there!!

Two Nighter for a Two Wheeler

J+D

Date #21

My oldest son informed us just a few days before his 4th birthday that all he wanted from us was a "two-wheeler bike."

Whoops. We hadn't thought of that.

So when our friends informed us that they were going to take a tiny bike to DI, we asked if we could claim it and transform it into something great for our son.

It took two nights of priming and painting:

Both nights, though it was by far our MOST informal declaration of a date yet, we turned off the TV, silenced our phones, and closed our books, and had a fun conversation and evening together.

We always have a great time working on projects together. Our best project yet is our marriage.

Our son LOVED his "new" bike and the sweetest part about it was that the bike was relatively free (minus the transformation supplies) and now, from the birthday presents we didn't end up giving him, we have most of his CHRISTMAS presents all ready to go now. :)

Play Date. . . .

B+C

Date #12

Blickenstaff's

When you're married with children, there's a certain amount of adult-ness that you have to maintain. I mean, the dishes HAVE to get washed, the kids NEED to be bathed, the bills MUST get paid. . . .

So I decided it was time for a little child's play. Just for one night.

We went to Blickenstaff's- an adorable vintage toy/candy store.

I wasn't sure how much of a success this date would be, having never been there before, but all of my worries were soon brushed aside, when I walked in the door and stepped into every child's dream, complete with train tracks suspended from the ceiling, candy-lined walls, giant teddy bears, a Christmas tree completely made of candy, and a monstrous rocking horse in the middle of the store.

bonus: There was a PHOTO BOOTH!

Can I just say how much I L.O.V.E photo booths!!

There's a special place in my heart for these machines. Every time I'm with B and we see one, I get all excited and giddy. We still have a photo strip from about ten years ago, pre-marriage and kids. We just couldn't pass it up (even if it was a little overpriced).

A little keepsake from our date together.

We had so much FUN being kids again, discovering new toys left and right, and we found all kinds of things we'd like to go back for around Christmas/birthday time. But we couldn't leave THIS time, without getting a few treats and some toys for our boys. It turned out to be a GREAT DATE.

DRIVEby Dating and BACKYARD Date

D&T

Date #19 & #20

Another week of double dates!  We are getting good at this!  :)  Ok, Date #19 was planned, but we got lucky with #20.  Here's the story:

D wanted to go look at cars for our date this week.  I obliged cause it was FOR SURE his turn to pick.  We have been going back and forth about getting a new car and I had recently called off the search.  But I literally went along for the ride cause D was so excited about this car on KSL and I actually love just driving in the car along with the hubby (and FREE dates rock!).  Turns out, it will probably go down as the most expensive date for us ever - past and possibly future (although the actual date was free, so that's what the label will be).  We LOVED the car!!  Had everything we thought we NEEDED (all wheel drive, more room for peeps - 6 passenger, good gas mileage, great price) and everything we WANTED (dual climate control, leather seats, DVD player . . .  etc).  D is one smart guy and he said he knew I would love it and he was right!  So we bought it (the actual purchase took a couple days, but the decision was made on our date).  Something exciting about major purchases that brings you closer together - and we will be reminded of this date night every time we get in the car! 

BACKYARD date:

Second date of the week was a random last minute invite from D's little brother to join his planned first date with a girl we sort of set him up with (he lives in the basement, her family is in the ward).  He took her to dinner and then they came back to our place.  I missed the game of Croquet getting the little ones in bed (D played for both of us) but plugged in the monitor outside and made it for the movie projected on a sheet on the side of our house.  We broke out the fire pit and had smores (I had Ritz Crackers with a roasted marshmallow cause its the BEST) and cuddled in the camping chairs while watching The A-Team (funny, entertaining, good flick) and had good conversation and laughs.  We loved being there to watch the connection of the first date couple (with such HIGH HOPES it will work out for them - and grateful we are done with FIRST dates :)!!! 

Had a great time - and to J&D, M&R, and C&B - it is a MUST to do again with our dating groupees!  SOOOO much fun!!

 As we were going to bed, D turned to me and said - "Isn't it so great we had TWO really fun dates this week!"  I love that he knows and he CARES about our dating efforts (even if the planning effort tends more often than not to fall on the side of the wife, its the CARING part that is important to me!) - and I think my fellow dating ladies would same the same of their husbands!

Just Getting Out...

J + D

Date #20

Just getting out....of a funk, that is.

The date funk must be contagious because this week was -my- turn to feel it.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go out with D, I just didn't feel like planning anything or dolling myself up to go out.

But Tuesday was the only day available for a date this week, so I put on a happy face and tried to make the best of it.

And actually, the date ended up being SO MUCH FUN!

We dropped the kids off with M +R and ended up lingering there for much longer than anticipated (thanks for not shoving us out the door, M!) and then as we left, we just laughed and laughed because we still had NO IDEA what we were going to do on our little "date."

We saw some little league games being played at the park and thought that might be fun (but it was too windy and cold outside)

We saw crazy people walking out of Walmart and D thought it might be fun to just go walk around Walmart to go people watching (I nixed that).

With every store we passed we thought about going in and figuring out what we could do in each one. We are so dorky. Its so funny.

But we ended up feeling a little hungry, so we found a hole in the wall Mexican Restaurant (I can't even remember the name now) and talking and laughing over our chips & salsa.

You can't go wrong with Chips & Salsa and a hot hubby in front of you, you know?

We hurried back to get the kids, stayed longer than anticipated again (we love hanging out with you guys, M + R!), and then headed home to put the kiddos down.

Then, to finish off the date, we pulled up a blanket, popped in a redbox (Country Strong---it was okay; not our favorite-definitely won't need to ever see it again),

and then fell asleep knowing that we can have fun doing anything even if its just driving around laughing together. The key was that we were determined to make time for US by just getting out...

....and that was just enough to get me out of my funk.

Dinner with the Dark Lord

B+C

Date #11

Dinner and a book

{What a dorky title} ; )

Boy did we need this date! It's been too long. We're lagging behind on our

dates, but we're going to try and start them up again.

Tonight we got dinner at Flour Girls and Dough Boys.

With Brad's work schedule, sometimes he doesn't come home for days, and sometimes we don't even get to talk on the phone, so these dates are really important to us. We both felt like we hadn't seen each other for a week, so it was REALLY good to sit WITHOUT the kids and catch up on what we've missed from each other's lives the past three days.

We sat outside, where we could be alone.

We ate. We talked. I showed him some of the moves I learned in self defense. He told me about the things he saw and did at work the past few days. I caught him up on what the kids have been doing and saying. We really needed that time to RECONNECT.

We hadn't been to Flour Girls and Dough Boys for probably two years and it was SO. STINKING. GOOD!!

I don't know if I was just REEEALLY hungry, but everything we ordered was DIVINE. B and I LOVE to eat, so we ordered a few things to share: Meat pie (yum yum YUM. the crust was so good), a turkey/cranberry/brie sandwich, a blueberry/apple/walnut salad, some pumpkin cake, and a shortbread chocolate chip cookie. oh

my heavens, it was good!

Then I read some Harry Potter to the husband. We're on the fourth book and loving it, of course.

Thanks for babysitting, J+D!!

Fore!!

M&R
Date #19
Bucket of Balls

Hubby's date of choice was a visit to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. It was a good call on his part. We both loved it. We went and hit a bucket of balls once when we were first married, but never again since.

We first had to have a lesson on how to hold a golf club (I had no clue!). At first I couldn't hit that dang ball, but once I started to figure things out, it was kind of addicting. I hit just past 150 yards and Hubby hit way further than that.

Perfect date--spending some time in the sunshine, being active, laughing with (at) each other. Hubby is ready to take me on the golf course. Now that would either be really comical, or end up in major frustration. It's definitely something new to try together though.

We shall see.....

CHOCOLAT

D&T

Date #18

We had a strangely busy week and I was in "the date funk" as we have named it on our blog.  Sat. was a super busy day so we were exhausted on top of a lack of planning for the week.  We did get a neighbor girl to come over for about 30 min. after we put the kids to bed so we could hold hands in the car on the way to Maceys and pick up a few groceries.  We saw B there - from B&C - and my apologies for being sort of socially awkward, I was having a serious avocado dilemma - which sounds silly, but it seemed like a really big deal at the time (did I mention being in a funk?)  Then we came home and had a movie night.  D was sweet and let me pick the movie and I had one in mind - borrowed from J - CHOCOLAT.   It was perfect.  Intriguing and intense at times and sweet and funny and romantic.  Not too chick flick cheesy for D, and I LOVED it, for sure on my list of top 5 (had seen it before I realized, but not for YEARS).
GREAT suggestion - thanks J!!

Little note for those just following the blog and not participating (is anyone out there?? :).  It may seem like our "HOME DATES" are kind of a cop out. There have been plenty of weekends that D and I have put the kids to bed and then fallen to the couch and put on a movie or turned on our favorite show - heck, that can happen a few times a week.  But when we know we need to DATE and we call our alone time a DATE, something changes. There is just a different feeling and a different sort of communication that goes on when both parties know its that "special time" for the week, whether its out of the house on a planned evening or just spending the time in the house with kids in the back room sleeping.  I just wanted to write that down, in case I ever forget. 

BATTLECREEK FALLS

J+D

Date #19

BATTLECREEK FALLS

The stars were against me when putting together our original plan for date night this week.

We were supposed to visit the temple, but

the kids were ornery all day

which put ME in an ornery mood all day

(sorry C, for having to see that)

the traffic was horrific which made D

as well as Juju (aka my mom--aka our babysitter for the night)

LATE

which put all of us in a mood that was not sufficient for the needs of the temple.

So, to blow off steam and get away for an hour

D & I threw on our tennies and our camelpack and headed for the hills

D and I have ALWAYS loved to hike together. If you made an excel spreadsheet of all of our dates before we were married, hiking would take up a majority of the list.

So, on this date, we knew just how it would go:

PERFECTLY.

Battlecreek falls is in Pleasant Grove, UT just south of the "G" on the mountain. Its a great hike, easy enough to take the kiddos, easy enough to march up it as fast as you can in an hour, but hard enough to get a nice little sweat out.

Its gorgeous up there...

...and since D and I were really rockin' the speed factor, we made it up to the upper falls, which we had never done before.

Unfortunately, the camera's batteries ran out of steam before we did, so we didn't get any pictures from the hike. So, I thought I'd dig up some old pictures of us hiking from the pre-marriage days.

Aren't we cute?!

....And though we had originally hoped to get to the temple,

being up on the mountain is just about as close to God as we can get outside of the temple!

So we felt like we had accomplished that part of our plans for our date night!

:)

Lady's Choice

M&R
Date #18
Lady's Choice

Well, what do you do for date night, when you don't have a babysitter lined up, and you're itching to get out of the house?

For me, there is at least one simple solution:

IKEA!

Free babysitting for an hour so we can browse this home decor dreamland without kids? Yes, please!?

I'll be honest-this probably won't top the charts on hubby's ideal date night ideas, but he was sweet and played along.
I was kind of in the zone (since we only had an hour). We didn't buy much this time, but we made a list of furniture and decorating ideas that we will work on, one at a time. This place is my cup of tea.
We definitely got some chocolate and Swedish goodies after our browsing was done.

SCUBA DATING

T+D Date #15

M+R Date #17

J+D Date #18

SCUBA DIVING

Thanks to GROUPON, all six of us were able to have an INTRO TO SCUBA DIVING class early Saturday morning provided by PADI up at SCUBA UTAH. It was a blast.

First, we all spent Friday night up at a family member's empty home and stayed up way too late eating junk and playing games together, then early the next morning we packed up and headed to the dive shop where we received basic instructions before jumping into the pool (and into love with Diving) in our scuba gear.

Here, we anxiously await jumping in to get wet...

NOTICE THE DIVING IS FUN SIGN BEHIND US.

So true.

Next, we practiced drills with our breathing mechanisms, hand signals, and BCDs (Breathing Control Devices)

And then we got about half an hour to go play, play, play at the deep end altogether. We did flips, threw torpedoes at each other, and J+D even snuck in a deepwater kiss.

*these underwater pictures aren't actually us.....they are pictures we found on google for the sake of explanation of our date

But the toppest and bottomest pictures ARE of us. :)

This picture is after our "dive"

Now we all can't wait to get Scuba Certified and actually go OUT into the wild blue waters.

It was such a fun date!

It was such a fun DAY!