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...

Bike Ride

M&R

Date #12

Bike Ride and Hot Tub

I imagined and was hoping for a bike ride at the beach on some beach cruisers for this date. Time and weather circumstances just weren't on our side though. We made it a point to steal away some time one morning during our weekend visit home (Southern California) to do something together though. I borrowed my niece's beach cruiser that was too small for me and looked like a teenager. Hubby borrowed his nephew's mountain bike, and we were off.

I am SO out of shape. I did good on the downhill, but on the uphill? Well, let's just say, I almost had my first asthma attack in YEARS. I had to get off and walk because my chest hurt so bad. Hubby waited for me at the top. Yes, I am a wimp, and yes, I am now determined to work out my leg muscles for our next bike ride. Now we both want bikes!!

Perfect way to start our day together and it put us both in a really good mood.

Later that night, after we got all the kiddos in bed, we snuck out to the hot tub with my hubby's brother and his wife to chat and relax. It was so nice and I wish we could do these kinds of things everyday!

Perfect way to end our day.

Dollar Store Date . . .

D & T

Date #10

We did not realize till Sat that we had not planned a date this week.  So we quickly got a babysitter and decided to "go out".  We were going to possibly get a treat or something, but we couldn't resist the girl scout cookies before we left the house so we did not need anything else in our tummies.  We got in the car with absolutely no plans.  D suggested we each pick one place to go and look around.  He chose Best Buy.  So many fun electronic things to look and and drool over . . . and add to the wish list.   I picked the Dollar Store.  I forgot how much I love the Dollar store and D and I were pretty entertained by the randomness in there.  We found some treasures that brought back memories (cookies from Canada - the mission - where we met) and I decided I need to shop at the dollar store more often.  We did buy the sunglasses, cause mine just broke and I am not allowed to have sunglasses that cost much more than $1 at the rate I lose or break them (but the date still counts as free cause I would have had to buy new sunglasses anyway). 

It was a very fun spontaneous date!!

Friendly competition . . . . . and chocolate. MMMmmm!

B+C

Date #7

Wally Ball and 'The Chocolate'

For date night this week, we challenged some friends of ours to a game of wally ball! We headed over to the rec center and played for about an hour and a half. It was my first time playing, and I had a blast. It was so much fun just letting loose, being goofy, and screaming to be heard over all of the echoes on that little court. We had a good time.

After working up an appetite, we balanced all that exercise with some dessert at The Chocolate.

Can I just say I'm in LOVE with this place? The setting is an old, renovated house with lots of little nooks to sit and enjoy your treats with friends. I liked the music, too. While we were there I heard some Regina, Priscilla, and Ingrid. Good stuff.

But enough about how it looked and sounded. how did it TASTE?

If this 'AFTER' picture is any indication, pretty darn good.

Erica had been there before and recommended the lemon curd cupcake, so that's what I got and, I'm telling you, it was DIVINE!! We also got some chocolate cake and a mint brownie because we just couldn't choose. I loved that chocolate cake, too. Can't wait to go back and try something new!

I'm the type of girl that really DOES like to get all dressed up to go out, but I'm really enjoying dressing DOWN for once and doing something a little more creative.

This was a good date.

A really good date.

The fun factor was HIGH. The money and fuss factor? loooooooow.

Home Movie Night

J+D

Date #13

I had an awesome date planned for this coming Saturday.

I had the babysitter all lined up.

I had my schedule all line up.

But I didn't have D's schedule all lined up, nor my nephew's.

Turns out D has to work Saturday and my nephew has a birthday party, and though neither of those are BAD things, they just put a damper on what I had in mind.

But we can't just NOT have a date night....

So, yesterday I decided that this week we'd have a movie night after the kids went down and make up for Saturday's date next week.

By the time the babies went down, I had the REDBOX movie all picked out (one that D really wanted to see), the blankets all ready to be snuggled under, and the remote ready at hand.

And we snuggled and enjoyed the movie together until it was much too late for my little early-to-bed self.

It was nothing fancy or unique, but it was so fun to just BE together.

Just snuggling without worrying about getting back to the kids or a bill or a drive home.

It was just us.

And JUST US is what this dating thing is all about. :)

To Costco We Go!

D & T

Date #9

I said after the Shooting Date that we needed to go shopping - so this week we did.  It was an awesome Costco Rebate Check shopping trip. Shopping with a gift card is the best and we got to splurge on BULK items we don't always pick up at The Warehouse.  There were lots of great food samples and things to look at for the "wish list". We also got a Bday present for our oldest daughter, although admittedly it will be one both the kids can enjoy!!  I know this blog is about us adults and our relationship and not so much the kiddos - I LOVE shopping for my kids (couldn't every parent spend every last dime just spoiling their children if it wasn't so bad for the bank and the child's demeanor - or is it just me???)  D and I had a great time picking out some things - the main gift being this sand and water table - which is going to be a big hit, I know it!! 

I am including a picture, cause our camera battery is dead and I did not take any pics.

After Costco we stopped by The Bread Bowl Cafe - a new little place near Costco (same side of the street -  across from Lowes in the little strip mall).  A family in our ward just opened it and we wanted to try it.  I got a Thanksgiving Sandwich - turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce on fluffy sourdough bread and D for the Yankee Sandwich - lots of Pastrami and lots of fixins.  Huge Sandwiches, very delicious.  Can't wait to try everything on the menu!! 

Great little date on a Saturday morning.

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.

Oh SHOOT. Another shooting date. :)

B+C (Date #6)

J+D (Date #12)

When we were planning this date, we hadn't realized that D + T had JUST had the same date.

So, after reading T's post, we debated over whether or not we should continue with the plans we'd made--and came to the conclusion that GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE, and we'd just had a great time.

And we DID.

The lady part of the date was our picnic. C and J got spicy wings from Wingshack for the men and made a lovely salad with bread for us women, and we ate it on a cute little field where we'd later set up the targets for shooting practice.

This is the guys drilling the wood together for the targets.

We made a traditional target out of poster board and some little targets of bunnies and martians to duct tape to the wood.

Boys sure love to drill.

This is C up at bat...

(D is helping her set up)

She looked so TOUGH with her gloves and her assault rifle

And her hub B...Quite the pro with those guns

B + C

Such a nice-looking couple, no!? Even with guns! :)

D with a handgun

(confession--his sister took this picture last year, but it is still a favorite picture of him with a gun. The boys were the only ones who shot the handguns last night...)

J with the assault rifle...thanks to "D+T's" D....

J + D

(Nice earplugs! Can you see the target in the background?!)

While the boys were reloading C and J went to look out over the valley.

We laughed at how romantic the scene was and yet the boys were getting their kicks with the amo down the hill...

C

J

The tough guys

Special thanks to C for making this video!

It was just another testament that sometimes when you do something that you may not be as interested in as your spouse, you end up having just as much fun watching them enjoy themselves as you do enjoy it yourself.

It really was an awesome date!

Can't wait for the next one!!!

A Late-Night Chat

B+C

Date #5

Conversation and Cookies

Okay, I don't know if I'm stretching the idea of a date here, but for Date #5 we put the kids in bed and stayed up talking for HOURS, with some 'monster cookies' (our most favorite cookie recipe from my mother-in-law). No TV, no music, no distractions.

I have a feeling that a lot of our dates will take place just in our living room, but I think what's important is that we're making time for each other, without kids. I kind of liked being home, because we were able to talk about things we wouldn't have been able to, had we been at a restaurant.

We talked about shallow things and we talked about deep things. We talked about everything, from the shows we like, to our spiritual beliefs. We talked about the trials our kids will face growing up and how to combat them. We talked about the mistakes we've made and what we've learned from them. We talked about who we were when we met and who we've become. We talked about experiences from childhood, that we'd never shared with each other, and the goals we have for the future.

We stayed up WAY TOO LATE but it was such a great 'date'. I know we didn't do much, but I think communication is so important and I LOVED sitting with my love, learning more about him, growing to love him more than I already did. It's crazy to think that there IS more to learn about one another because it feels like we've known each other forever.

I'm exhausted today, but it was well worth the late night, just this once.

Shoot 'Em Up

D & T

Date #8

(Our Date #1 that is not recorded on this blog before we jumped on this bandwagon was

 3 days in Mesquite)

This week was a "Date for D" 

This week was a "Date for D".  My husband loves guns.  Owning guns, looking at guns, shooting guns, watching other people shoot guns, convincing people to own and shoot guns.  If its gun related, he probably likes it (it the safest, non-violent ways, that is).  He has been wanting to take me shooting for awhile, so we loaded up a old toilet and fridge along with the arsenal of guns and explosives and went out to the desert with some family/friends.   D is awesome and very serious about his shooting.  I just think it looks pretty cool to hold the gun and shoot it (safely) without worrying too  much about the accuracy of the shot. 

Overall, lots of fun.  Next date night we might have to go to a chick flick or shopping to balance us out. :)

J+D

Date #11

HOME DATE: SCRABBLE

For the first two years of our marriage, D & I lived in a dungeonous apartment that had NO natural light, NO internet, NO cable television, NO heat, and NO insulation between our walls/floors and those around us. We called it our "12-step apartment" because we could get from one end to the other in 12 steps or less.

It was actually pretty hilarious.

We lived there for TWO years, and I'm pretty sure the only reason we lasted so long in such primitive circumstances was because we were only home in time for bed.

Or games.

That's what we did in that place. We either slept or we played games together.

LOTS of GAMES.

Board Games, Card Games, Word Games, Number Games, you name it.

Scrabble was among our favorites. D is a master Scrabbler, so though I knew I'd probably never win, I always tried my best to give him a run for his money. Sometimes I even got close to catching up to him...

Well, this week we decided to have a home date since we are going on a mini vacation this weekend (and wanted to save our pennies for the fun we'd have), so we stayed in. When the kids went down, we pulled out all the treats we could ever want, planted ourselves at the table, and went crazy with the scrabble board.

I'm happy to say that I was ahead for the first hour or so...

But then D swept the victory in the end. Bah.

I had forgotten how sneaky his word placements could be.

Anyway, loved our date last night! I'm loving these date nights!

Work it Out

B+C

Date #2

(actually i'm going to call this Date #4: Date #2, here and Date #3, here)

Exercising in the living room.

I like to work out.

I like to watch B work out.

I like to work out WITH B.

the end.

ps,

The workout video was the 'Belly Off!' Workout from Men's Health. We just checked it out from the library. Two thumbs up.

Burgers and Bowling

M&R

Date #10
Burgers and Bowling

Why do every one of our dates revolve around food? Maybe because it's always close to dinnertime. Or we just really LOVE to eat. Either way, it sure tastes good.

(don't be grossed out by my red eye
infection from kids and my rainy-day hair)

Hubby got a gift card so we went back to Smashburger and I got that shake I wanted so badly the last time we were there. Yum.

Then we went and played one game of bowling. I barely broke 100. Hubby did much better, but we are still pretty rusty.

Shopping

B+C

Date #1

Shopping at the Mall

Okay, we're way behind our fellow daters, but you gotta start somewhere, right? After WEEKS of sickness invading our home, we're finally feeling somewhat back to normal and ready to ignite the 'flame of love'. ; )

For our first date, B took me to the mall to spend my Christmas money. Now, if you know me, you know that I LOVE to shop. But I never get to do it. Kids and lack of money prevent it. You know on the Bachelor, when Shawtel went to the mall with Brad and got to buy ANYTHING she wanted? Heaven!

One of the best parts of our date was that B seemed to be enjoying himself, too. None of the typical standing to the side, rolling of the eyes, looking at his watch. He actually helped me find some good deals on things I would have missed, had I gone on my own. It also helped, that I knew exactly what I was going for, so it didn't take all day.

This was kind of a quick one, in the middle of the day, but it was fun to be together, without the kids.

AND, i didn't get a picture of us, but I'll remember on our next date. Just so this isn't a picture-less post, here's a pic of my purchases from the day.

Back-Up Plan

M&R
Date #9

Gift Cards and Costco Treats

We had planned to join the rock climbing group date this night, but things just didn't work out. So on the way to the rock climbing place (an hour and a half late), we changed to plan B. I had a couple of gift cards that needed to be used, so we decided to spend those. Shopping without kids is always much better, don't you think?

We browsed RC Willey with my $25 gift card-then hopped over to the mall to use a gift card at the shoe store.

For dessert, we went to Costco-- ice cream bar for him and red velvet cupcakes for her. NO--I did not eat those by myself. I ate one and took some back for the babysitters and kids. And yes--they were delicious.

On a High

T+D & J+D & B+C

(M+R were supposed to come, too, but due to sick babies, they had to miss out. We missed them!)

Date #10 (ish)

I've been excited about this date for like 10 years....mostly because both D & I grew up climbing all the time, but in all the time we've been together, we haven't actually climbed TOGETHER.

Talk about LAME. So, we were pretty excited---Remember how I thought D was super hot skiing?! He's just as hot climbing. My man can climb.

And so can T's D. We had quite the group--and with a group date, its always fun to see what everyone can do. T was pretty impressive herself!

We climbed at The Quarry in Provo...having grabbed a few TWO for ONES for everyone from the BYU Newspaper. Score. With the hubbies sporting their own gear, the price was just right. What a fun night....

Now if only we had a few hours more of STRENGTH in our forearms, maybe we could have drawn out the date a little longer!!!

The whole gang (minus M+R)

T's D

T on the left, J on the right

(The only other picture I had of T was right up her bum....didn't think she wanted that posted)

J

J's D

B+C

(We can break the "NO KIDS ALLOWED" rule when the babies are too small to be away from mama for too long....)

Communication

M&R
Date #8
Communication Workshop and Tucanos

This date fell on my hubby's birthday. It was a two-part date. In the morning, we went to a workshop on communication. One quote that I loved was not even about communication, but I'll share anyway--

"Romantic love is not only a part of life, but literally a dominating influence of it. It is deeply and significantly religious. There is no abundant life without it. Indeed the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom is unobtainable in the abscence of it."

--Bruce C Hafen

I love that for two reasons. I love that because it doesn't say a "husband and wife unit"--it says, "romantic love". The other reason is that romantic love between a husband and wife is deeply and significantly religious. I think it's easy to lose focus on the romantic love in marriage. Life just gets crazy sometimes, but it is so very essential. These date nights are a great reminder to re-focus on each other in the midst of all the craziness and busyness that each week brings.

Later in the evening we went to Tucanos (Hubby's choice for his birthday dinner). As we sat there talking during dinner, we started realizing how hard it was to not talk about the kids and finances during dinner. Do other couples have a hard time with this?

It occured to me how much we need these date nights if we have a hard time finding things to talk about aside from things going on at home.

Which reiterates the fact that I'm so happy we're having these date nights. It really is an important thing to take time for in marriage.

No pictures this time--sometimes I feel silly pulling out my big camera at every place we go. This was one of those times.

Temple Morning

T&D 

This week's date was short and sweet.  A quick trip to the Temple to enjoy the peace and quiet and spirit there.  And then a quick trip to Walmart for some groceries.  Not a ton of time, and most of it was spent in different rooms, but we were connecting in spirit, which is just what we needed.