Date Night 8/52

Date #8 was supposed to be at an arcade. I found one about 45 minutes away that specializes in games from the 80's. I really wish I had taken a picture of the big huge sign that said Open from 10 - 10! with a little bitty sign in the window that said closed. Someone is more confused than I am!

I had a quick moment of panic, we drove all that way, crossed a toll bridge and now what?!

Thankfully it was quick & I decided since we were out & about without kids, we could finish getting ready for our youngest's birthday next weekend. Our first stop was the mall to pick up the pillow pet she really wants. This was to be strike #2, she wants a snow dog & they are sold out. They should have more in about 2 weeks which really doesn't help much.

Next stop was Target. I love Target without kids. Matt on the other hand lasted about 30 seconds before asking what do we need here? He ended up warming up & helped me pick out goodies for the Operation Christmas Child boxes we needed to finish filling. While wandering we passed the pillow isle & he stopped & started looking around.

Come to find out after almost 3 months of denial he admitted that he covets the pillow I bought in Hawaii.

Seriously this cracked me up! He has been stealing my pillow on a regular basis but would not admit how much he liked it because he thought that I was being nutty for a.) buying a pillow because the hotels were so horrid & b.) managing to bring it home, he really thought it couldn't be done.

To round off our random bits date we stopped for coffee. It was the perfect way to end our date. We talked & laughed & made plans.

Even though it didn't go according to my plans we still had a great time.

Really isn't that what being married is all about?

Making the most of what you've got in spite of what you had planned.

For our next date Matt scored free tickets to go see Carlos Mencia. We've never been to any sort of comedian show so it will be totally new & different.

While blog surfing I found this fun idea for a date. It's based on those choose what happens next stories. I used to love reading those when I was a kid.
http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/2010/09/thoughtful-thursday-choose-your-own.html
She's got great directions on how to make it your own.

Linking up with Simply Modern Mom

Date night 7/52 ~ The date that almost wasn't

We didn't really have a destination this week.

Last week we forgot to pull a new date out.

I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, and it really shouldn't have been.

Except Saturday ended up being one of those days that we were both off.

If it's one or the other it's not a big deal.

Both of us though means crankiness & blah.

Added to the lack of enthusiasm was the not-so-minor detail

that Matt had to work again all weekend.

I had thought that we could go to the neighborhood coffee shop,

before dinner.

Matt thought we could go after dinner.

Really this should not have been a big deal, but it was.

All 3 kids told us we had to go out (love this!)

Matthew even pulled out our date night tin & started pulling out ideas.

He mixed up being silly & trying to be helpful.

He found the idea "dessert at a new restaurant" and

insisted it was perfect. Which really it was.

We headed out,
and decided to try a restaurant that we haven't been to in a long time.

When we share desserts I usually pick so this time I let Matt.

He chose lava cake.

Alghough I thought it was pretty good,
Matt has this memory of eating some very very good lava cake somewhere

in Oregon so this didn't make the tasty cut for him.

I have no clue where that was but

I now want to find a fabulous recipe to surprise him with.

All in all this ended up being a good thing.

We had some good necessary conversation &

learned some new things about each other.

We will definitely try this again when we are in sync.

For our next date I decided we need to do something fun.

So we are going to go to an arcade & play games.

It will be fun to act like kids & goof off a little bit.

Because I think you can't have enough help

 keeping your marriage alive & thriving

here is a link for

10 secrets to a successful marriage

Linking up with

Date Night 6/52 Ice Cream

This week our date was for ice cream.

I have to admit it would have been SO easy to skip this weekend.
and truly it was very tempting.

We had all kinds of stuff going on & things that needed to be done.

Really though, taking the time for each other was just what we needed.

If I have any say in the ice cream decision, I will always choose Coldstone.

Even though they have tons of different choices,

I always get the same thing.

Sweet cream, black cherries & fudge sauce. Yum!

Although it does taste better when it's warm & sunny outside,

instead of cold, wet & dark.

Matt always gets something different.

I'm not even sure what kind of concotion

he came up with this time.

After our cold treats we went next door to Starbucks for warm drinks.

Then walked over the the water park.

We have been here many, many times before.

This was our first time at night though.

I have no clue why,

but they already have it decorated with Christmas lights.

It was beautiful!

There was also fun music playing.

We walked around and enjoyed the view of the water.

We even danced together for a few minutes. 

It was so quiet & peaceful.

Usually when we come here with the kids it is packed

with other families. It was nice to see it in a whole new way.

Date Night 5/52 ~ Botanical Garden

Our date this week was to visit a botanical garden.

My plan was to research this & find someplace that was sure to be fun & interesting.

Then I got sick (and still am sick)

Instead I went into basic mommy mode.

That would be the kids basic needs are met & that's about it.

Thank goodness for the crock pot this week!!

Anyways, needless to say Saturday rolled around & I had no clue.

Luckily my hubby rocks!!

Saturday morning we took the kids to Lowe's to build bats,

have you been to their lowes build and grow events?

They are usually every other Saturday morning, with a different project for

the kids to make & they are Free!

I got to take a much needed nap while Matt made lunch for everyone.

After a nice rest we were ready for our date.

Our first stop was Starbucks for yummy warm drinks,

 especially nice because the weather was cold & wet.

Matt didn't ask where we were going, he told me.

This is truly a rare event around here.

Sadly I wasn't all that eager when we pulled in to this place

It is literally right next to the freeway & well can you blame me?

I was determined not to be a party pooper though & in we went.

They had a fabulously funky gift shop filled with all kinds of fun stuff to look at.

We actually wandered around the store for quite awhile

 just being silly before going out into the garden.

When we first walked out it was just sprinkling

 so we passed up the umbrellas sitting by the door.

(bad, bad idea!)

We had a guide who knew all kinds of information about each

& every bonsai tree in this place.

There were also some cool rocks mixed in just for fun.

We learned that anything can make a bonsai tree if trained properly.

Like this grape vine.

Or this Crab Apple tree that looks like a Barbie sized

version of one I used to climb when I was a kid.

Somewhere along the tour it quit sprinkling & really started raining. 

We got soaked.

 After our tour was done,

Matt & I wandered around on our own.

Thankfully our borrowed umbrella was big enough for two.

Matt was very patient as we went back around the gardens with the umbrella

so I could take pictures.

Most of the pictures above were taken on our second trip

around the gardens.

It was surprisingly interesting for both of us to learn

about all the different bonsai trees.

Even though it was cold & very wet we spent over

1 1/2 hours wandering around the garden.

I wasn't sure what to expect on this date & even though I didn't feel good

it was still quite a bit of fun.

I am looking forward to going back in the Spring,

on a sunny day!

I am so very thankful Matt has decided to take this new dating idea seriously.

I am looking forward to our Ice Cream date next weekend & even better

 Matt already decided where we could go

& some other things we could do while we were there.

Start dating your spouse again with fun ideas from

Simply Modern Mom

Date Night 4/52

 One of Matt's co-workers was retiring & we were invited to the party,

so we didn't pull out any new ideas this week.

The party was at a restaraunt/bar that was rated #1 for burgers.

I love burgers so it was the perfect place for a casual dinner!

It was fun to watch Matt & see a different side of him.
He caught up with some of the guys he doesn't get to really talk to very often.
We enjoyed some good burgers & just hung out.

One of the best parts of the evening was hands down when he was telling
somebody about my anniversary present to him.
He was bragging about me wanting him to take me out every week.

It's one thing for him to go along with my current whim, he is awesome that way.

But for him to actually appreciate it is a whole different story & one that just made me all warm & fuzzy.

He even went so far as to recommend it, which for the record so do I.

During the week we have both mentioned how much we are looking forward to our date & we haven't really done anything "special" yet. We have just started doing something different than going to a movie every now & then.
 Really just being together has been more than enough.

 On the drive to pick up Matt,
I realized I am so thankful I am dating my husband again!

We have been on 4 weekly dates so far including our anniversary date &
already I see changes. Just little things here & there.
Nothing huge, but happy little things that in the end do make a big difference.

Our date for next weekend is to visit a botanical garden.
When Matt pulled it out, he made a face &
 I actually thought he had pulled one of the expensive dates.
He flipped it over to show me & I could just see the lack of enthusiasm for going to look at a bunch of plants. Before I could even think to respond,
he flipped it in his own mind, smiled
& added that we could get some coffees on our way to enjoy.
I am so thrilled that he is really open to trying new things &
 he is determined to have fun doing it.
I've got a week to find a cool garden to visit &
maybe think of a few more ways to make it more fun for him too.
Thankfully I've got plenty of gardens to choose from.

I have found some more blogs to share to help you start on your own Project 52.

simply modern mom

She not only has a new date every week, but a pledge you & your spouse can sign together.
I think I will be adding that to next weeks date.

the dahling dating divas

This blog has a group of 12 ladies that share their different date ideas every week.
There are some amazing date ideas over there & they share all the details!

If you are married, when was the last time you went on a date together?

Date Night 3/52

This week we actually went on 2 dates!

The original plan was to work on our bucket lists

Saturday night after the kids were in bed.

Then Friday afternoon Matt was invited to go see a local band

playing Saturday night.

We are always game for something new so we invited one of our good couple friends to join us as well.

We enjoyed good music & lots of laughs.

Our friends left right after the band finished, but Matt & I stayed a little bit longer.

Just hanging out & enjoying each other's company.



Saturday night out with friends.



Since it was a 3 day weekend we decided to keep our Bucket list date too.

I really wasn't sure how cooperative Matt was going to be about this one.

I had planned on opening some wine & making some yummy snacks to share.

It turned out we didn't need either one.

We took turns writing down different things we want to do together.

It was a lot of fun to see all of Matt's different ideas.

Some that I knew about & quite a few surprises too.

Twice Matt wrote down the exact idea I had in mind for my next item.

The first was going on a cruise & the next was taking the kids to Disney World.

I love it when we think alike!

We ended up with 50 different items.

This was very low key but still lots of fun.



Sunday night working on our bucket list

For some new & inexpensive date ideas try Living Social

You sign up for a city near you & everyday they send you a new deal of the day.

I believe most of the cities also have a 365 things to do list which can have some great new ideas too.

Date Night 2/52 & I'm a winner!!

Our second date was to go play pool. I was really looking forward to this because it was something we did all the time when we were dating. I wasn't sure we were really going to be able to pull this off since we had a house full of company & all the craziness that goes along with that. 

It ended up that we just had to be flexible & determined to make it work. Instead of going during the afternoon, we ended up going after the kids were in bed. Thankfully Matt had taken Monday & Tuesday off so we were able to stay out late with no worries about getting up early.

 I thought most bars have pool tables so I didn't give much thought to where we would go before we left ~ it's all part of the adventure, right? So of course the first bar we went to had no pool tables, but it did have a cool set up with couches & a fireplace for a future visit.

Our next stop did have a few tables but they were all in use. So we got to hang out & talk while we waited our turn. Once we were up we discovered that this bar has free pool on Sundays! Bonus!

We goofed off & played sloppy pool which is really the only way I can play. Technically Matt won all the games, but he pretended I won 1/2.

We decided a midnight snack sounded good but didn't feel like eating bar food, so we ended up in the McDonald's drive through.

The cupcake was from the bartender's boyfriend's birthday party that they were having.

Even though I brought my camera, I forgot to get a picture of us playing pool.

Oh how I wish I had some of us from 13 years ago!

It was my turn to pull a new date for next weekend & I first pulled out take a class.

Right now we are actually taking 2 classes but I don't feel like either of those

count so I pulled out another one & got

Make bucket lists.

This one could be challenging not to just do by myself, but I am thinking we can hang out in front of the fire after the kiddos are in bed with some wine & snacks & see how many we can both come up with.

So one of the sites that helped get me started with all this was

wonder woman wannabe

She had a contest for those who wanted to take the date night challenge & she picked me as her winner!

I am so excited & can't wait to get my goody.

Truly I am easy peasy to amuse & just about anything that involves goody mail makes me oh so happy.

The prize is a Simply Romantic Nights kit that I am sure will come in handy for our year of weekly dates challenge.

Celebration of us!

Today was my 12 year anniversary with my wonderful hubby.

I think it is safe to say that neither one of our families thought we would last.

Here we are still proving them wrong!

I truly wish I could say that we live a fairy tale life,

but in reality we can be quite the train wreck.

The one thing we have always done is refuse to give up.

No matter what, we can & will work it out.

This time of year is always hectic. It starts with our oldest's birthday, back to school, our anniversary, middle kiddo's birthday, youngest kiddo's birthday then Thanksgiving. Breathe. Then finally Christmas.

So there have been years where our anniversary just kinda gets lost in the shuffle.

I was beginning to think this was going to be one of those years.

Especially since Matt was working his 2nd drill weekend.

He called today & told me to be ready to go. He would come home to change & pick me up with destination unknown to me. This is when having a teenager comes in very handy.

Matt knocked on the door and waited on one knee with a rose in hand for me

~ I'm really glad I didn't have one of the kids open the door!

The girls were so excited to give him the cards they made today.

Quick hugs & kisses all around and we were out the door by 5:30.

Once on the road, Matt let me know we had reservations at the Melting Pot at 7.

Oh happy day!

Even better is we had lots of time to get there.

We parked & just walked around enjoying the city.

I can't remember the last time we went on a date like this & had forgotten how nice it is to just be a couple.

We can hold hands & talk without interuptions.

 We can sit & watch people or the scenery.

We can take the scenic route without having to answer when we will be there.

We can take lots of goofy pictures of each other.

Dinner at the Melting Pot is always yummy & tonight we tried the French inspired menu.

It was all very good, but the best part is definately the dessert. We got the yin yang chocolate.

One of these days I want to come back & just get dessert, it is so yummy.

Seriously, doesn't this just look delicious?

 So I have been trying to think of a gift for Matt. He is really hard to shop for,

he just isn't into stuff.

Well he is, but it's all really expensive stuff.

While blog surfing, I came across a few sites with the 52 dates a year idea.

Here is the first one I found at Simply modern mom:

http://www.simplymodernmom.com/category/project-52/

Then I found this one at Wonder woman wanna be

http://www.wonderwomanwannabe.com/

These got me thinking big time. We don't have little kids anymore.

One of the benefits of having a teenager is we have a live in babysitter.

I truly believe that it is good for us to have fun together

& we don't do it often enough.

So I decided this would be my present to Matt for our anniversary.

I took this tin that I've been saving

Added some cardstock, stickers & Mod Podge to come up with this

Then I filled it up with about 45 different date ideas, so the inside looks like this

I used ideas from the above two sites, they both have several great ones.

Then I added things we have talked about doing but never gotten around to, like making wine.

Things we used to do when we were dating, like going to play pool.

I mixed in cheap, expensive, overnight & staying at home ideas.

I wasn't sure how Matt would feel about this,

since I was setting him up for a date once a week for a whole year.

He surprised me by loving it & coming up with a few more ideas to add to the mix.

So our plan is to pick a new idea each week to find out what our date next week is going to be.

I thought it was perfect that tonight he picked playing pool.

We are both looking forward to going out again next week!

Here's to another year to celebrate & a fun date to look forward to every week!