WallyBall BonAmie

D&T

Date #44

We got a last minute invite to go join a group of friends for Wallyball and we JUMPED on that!  (thanks to the in-laws for being so available to babysit!).  We had a BLAST with 3 other couples we had really never hung out with before . . . but we love making new friends.  Had dinner at Cafe Paesan after (the italian version of Cafe Rio) and we really like eating there!   I am failing in the picture taking category, but its the date that counts.  :)

Trying New Thai

D&T

Date #42

We had a restaurant.com certificate to a Thai place in Sandy and decided to use it.  Dropped the kids off at D's sisters on the way up there.  Although - I forgot the gift certificate, so we had to turn around - and it took us over an hour to get to Bluffdale cause traffic was so bad.  Not a great start to our date . . .  but D was SUPER patient and once we were at the restaurant it was all okay.  We were starving and really enjoyed the food - as always - but tis not our favorite Thai place for sure.  Always fun to try something new!

Not E---But Outback.

J + D

Date #32

For D's birthday dinner, we had planned on eating at the E Cafe (a place I had bought another Groupon for--a place that, if you look at the site, looks super yummy) but when we got there, it was closed for Labor Day weekend still. Laughing.

So, instead we went next door to Outback Steakhouse and shared a meal. In our nearly 7 years of marriage (9 years of being a couple, 22 years of knowing each other), we have learned that we do best when we share a meal. We like the same foods, neither of us are huge eaters, and if we are still hungry afterward, we can easily top it off with dessert. So that's what we did tonight!

We had so much fun! We didn't mention the kiddos once (we love to talk about the kids but try to keep them out of our alone time), we laughed non stop, and by the end of the evening, we thought we were a young dating couple again. It was a blast!

"Just" going out to dinner is sometimes "just" what we need.

Happy Birthday, D!

Love you!

Furniture Fix-up

B+C

Date # 17

Picking out paint

One of our favorite things to do together is furniture projects. We've built a few pieces of furniture together and it's a lot of fun to do the cutting, assembly, sanding, and painting/staining as a team.

Yesterday, we went to the antique store as a family and found this cute high chair. Today, while the boys were at a birthday party, we ran to the hardware store for some paint.

And the little one came along. She IS the one who has to sit in this high chair, after all.

We picked 'Waffle Cone'. It's a very very subtle green.

While the paint was being mixed, I got some of the free popcorn and B and I hung out with the babe.

I was really hoping to have some 'AFTER' shots of the high chair. The plan was to paint it after the kids went to bed, but the sun was already going down by then, so we opted to watch a movie instead- 'The Dilemma', which, by the way, is not nearly as funny as you might think, with who's in it. Maybe next week's date will be a painting date.

I love dates where we get to enjoy each other's company, while also checking something off of the to-do list. It feels good to be one step closer to completing a project, and I'm glad I got to do it with my Hub.

Picnic in the Park

B+C

Date #16

Picnic and a movie

B's birthday is on Monday and, since Father's Day is the day before, and he will be working ON his birthday and the day AFTER, I figured the best time to celebrate would be the Friday BEFORE.

I had plans for something, but B thought we'd be too rushed, since it was in Salt Lake and we have a nursing baby who would need mama home on time, so I'm storing that idea away for a future date.

So, I just kept it simple and relaxed this year. I picked up some Kneaders (surprise, surprise! We really like Kneaders) and packed a bag with a blanket, a candle to 'set the mood' : ), some fun drinks, the laptop, and a redbox.

We ate our dinner in the shade of a huge tree, and watched our movie, snuggled up under a blanket.

I sang 'happy birthday' to my man and we shared a piece of burnt almond fudge cheesecake.

A beautiful night shared between us. I thought the date turned out perfectly. I love that man and I'm thankful I get to share every birthday of his with him, forever after.

Porter's Place

J+D

Date #24

D and I typically try to steer clear of spending our date nights just sitting at a restaurant...and this is for three main reasons.

1--we make pretty awesome food at home for a fraction of the price of going out

2--we really want to do things that are active (aka burning calories instead of consuming them)

and 3--though we have great conversation over a meal, we prefer to chat without food in our mouths

BUT, sometimes dinner is what we want to do for date night, and that was the case for date #24.

So, we found a restaurant that we had heard of and wanted to go check out, and we WENT.

Porter's Place is a restaurant once owned by Porter Rockwell, himself and is located on Lehi's Mainstreet. I had looked up the menu, and studied reviews and thought it looked like a perfect place to spend our evening---but when we got there we discovered it was a little different than we had expected.

We thought it would be a little classier, busier, and cleaner

AND

We thought the food would be fresher, more flavorful, and more authentic

But we still had a good time.

D liked his food just fine and I was glad to finally see what the place was all about, but we both agreed that we probably wouldn't need to ever visit Porter's Place again.

Lucky for us, we have other options for a date out to dinner.

But MOST lucky for us is the fact that no matter what we do together, we seem to have a great time.

Yay for dating.

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.

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. 

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!

Delizioso

M&R
Date#15
Terra Mia Ristorante

Well we just weren't feeling too creative about date nights with these sicknesses and long work hours and crazy weather. All we wanted to do was indulge in a delicious, carb-filled dinner.

So we did just that. We indulged and we enjoyed doing it. I can't say that I know authentic Italian food because, sadly, I've never been there, but I would say this seems more authentic. We didn't get the pizza this time, but their pizza is 'delizioso'. And the gelato? Well just look at it..... Need I say more?

One of our bucket list items together is to visit Italy. We dream of getting lost in Italy. Stumbling on a charming little Italian pizzeria just off of an old, cobblestone street. The street will be lined with tall dilapidated buildings with clothelines strung randomly and filled with drying laundry, flower boxes hanging out every twentieth window, and overhearing bits of Italian conversation that we might be able to translate, "ciao!" "buon giorno!" " benvenuti!".

Hubby and I have been making some major effort to put us in a financial position where hopefully in not too many years, we will be able to do that. Take a trip to Europe, with all the frills, and none of the debt guilt. That will be our ultimate date. It is going to happen.

I'm happy that I have this hubby of mine to plan with in the meantime. Love him more and more everyday.

Under the lemon trees

J+D

Date #14

La Jolla Groves Restaurant

(Riverwoods, Provo)

You guys (I'm going to speak to you as if you're all my bestest friends)

if you haven't been to La Jolla Groves for dinner, you MUST.

It has "insanely good food, with healthier ingredients"--just what we like.

This place as become one of our FAVORITE spots to run away together for dinner, so for date night, we decided to visit here again since a-we LOVE it and b-we had been given a gift card to spend. Yay!

One of our favorite things about these weekly date nights is how creative we have been getting about what we'll do together--and in all the creativity, we haven't just gone to dinner together in a couple months.

Though going to dinner isn't very creative, being able to have a quiet, decent, and thorough conversation face to face is one of the most creative (and often productive) things a couple can do together.

So we talked. And we laughed. And we ate. And after we licked our plates clean, we headed over to the Provo Beach Resort to watch some wannabe surfers try at the indoor wave.

I think the indoor wave will be our destination for NEXT date night.

We can't wait to jump on that wave...

I'm glad its only a week away...

Make 'Em Laugh

M + R
Date #11
Wiseguys Comedy Club

I've never been to a comedy club before. This was new for us both. We got there and found our seats, ordered a little something to snack on during the show. There was a host, and middle act, and then the main comedian.

It was so so funny!!! I don't enjoy overly crude humor, so we got lucky and this comedian kept things pretty clean. Though Hubby and I didn't spend this whole date talking, it was good to try something new and LAUGH a ton. I love to hear my husband laugh. Really-watching him laugh is entertainment in itself. We both really had a good time and definitely plan on a repeat with this date.

After Wiseguys, we walked around Trolley Square. There are lots of dreamy stores, like Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, Restoration Hardware, and Williams & Sonoma. Then a stop in Whole Foods....and then back to reality and my poor screaming baby. She did not enjoy her first time away from her mama for more than 2 hours. We're going to have to work on that.

the THAI date

T+D

Date night this week ended a bit earlier than planned, but still great to get away for an hour just D&T. We ate at our favorite Thai food place - SPICY Spicy Noodles for Dane (don't understand how you can even taste it with all that HOTness) and Massaman Curry for me (SOOO delicious - the night of and cold for breakfast the next day!!). The plan was to then stop at Recreation Outlet and price out equipment for Rock Climbing - since it my new favorite hobby that I don't do often enough to even have it considered a hobby. :) D and I both really love it so we wanted to start dreaming about starting our rock climbing plans and collecting gear. However, the store was closed. Who closes at 7pm on a Sat night? Rec Outlet. Next time - along with some browings the internet to start the search.

AND - I need to do better remembering the camera for pics of our dates (and not just use it for pics with the kids) although I did try to put up pics of our favorite thai entrees, and that's not working either. So just imagine. :)

Date 3, Let's SKI!

J+D

Date #3

Skiing Tahoe!

My hubby is a hottie no matter what he does, but when he's wakeboarding or skiing, he's so hot it melts me.

Laughing. You wanted to know that, right?!

So, being able to spend a few hours with him on the slopes ALONE (with the gorgeous view, of course) was pretty sweet. It was a switch-a-roo (which most date nights are thanks to the bestest friends ever) where we got to go have a date while "they" watched our kids and then "they" got to go have a date while we watched their kids.

That's the best deal ever.

And skiing with him was a great deal, ever....we got buddy passes and got to split the cost with Dust's Sis & Brother in law. It was a steal.

So is my hubby. :)

It was nice to remember that if ever I need a boost in memory of what a HOTTIE D is, all I have to do is go ski in the COLD with him. Cold water OR snow! :)

What a treat!

J+D

Date #2

MASSAGES and DESSERT

You can tell we've been worked...

Our muscles, that is.

For our second date, D & I found this chiropractic office that gives the public half hour massages for only $12 dollars......so we called some friends and invited them to come along.

Not only were the massages inexpensive, they were AWESOME. This is a must-do-again date.

After we all recovered and the circles around our faces (from the massage table) had gone away, we headed over to Kneaders for a little treat and some good, hard laughing.

We went away from the date thinking WE WERE SO SPOILED TONIGHT!

What a treat the whole evening was! Especially since we got to do it all together!