Craig and Stephanie's November Date

Every year we are lucky enough to head to Pine Crest Farms B&B for a relaxing weekend, which includes a set of tickets to the Husker game.  This year was our 14th year.  It started with our first anniversary.  After 14 years, never a disappointment.  They are like our little family there.  We stayed in our favorite room, which is decked out colonial style with its own private bath.  We always arrive on Friday night, this year more like Saturday morning (2am).  We usually start the weekend with a dinner and cocktail in Lincoln.  We spent the evening dancing at a bar to some country tunes.  We have actually listened to this band for the last 3 years.  They are not too bad for a cover band.  They even attempted a few songs by my boyfriend, Eric Church. 
We headed back and took in a great night's sleep.  We always wake to a lovely breakfast at 9 am.  They always have the room decked out in Husker gear and all the newspapers that cover pre-game news.  We play catch up with Don, Harriet, and Jack.  We love to see what has gone on in their lives.  In addition, we get to meet anyone else staying at the B&B for the weekend.  This particular weekend was full of teachers.
Prior to the game, our ritual includes a little shopping at Southpoint.  We had to split up because I had a little Christmas shopping to get done!  We then head to one of my most favorite venues of all time... Memorial Stadium.  We witnessed a great game against Penn State.
We headed to Chedders for post game eats and back to the B&B.  I was asleep within minutes.  We awoke to another lovely breakfast and some more great conversation. 
The great addition to our weekend is the fact that my in-laws watch the boys every year.  They love spoiling them and know it will happen each Fall.  Next year will be a November game again, I believe we picked Miami.  Fun times and Go BIg Red!

Amber & Matt October Date Summary

Originally, Matt and I had planned to do our date this past Saturday but opted for family day instead.  I had today off (Monday) and we decided we could do it today while B was at school and not have to worry about getting a baby sitter. 

I had wanted to do the Bookstore Date that I posted about several months ago.  I was dragging my feet and almost called if off because it sounded kind of dorky.  We discussed going to a movie, going home to take a nap, and I also thought of a few stores I really needed to stop at.  We ended up giving it a shot for something different and it was fun.  (It's also a budget friendly date!  No $ needed for the bookstore portion)

Matt a little minor injury in the line of duty early Saturday morning so we had do to some running around for that.   Pick up paperwork, stop at Dr. to get checked out, take paperwork back to another office.

Finally we were able to head over the river to the Big O.  We were not sure where we were going to eat lunch but knew there were some new places across from the bookstore we were going to.  I pointed to an area and said isn't there some stuff back there....we turned the corner and boom! Sushi right before our eyes!  We both love Sushi and new places that both of us have not been to. 

We were stuffed after we left and it was oh, so yummy!  Definitely somewhere we would return to.

We hopped in the car to cross the busy street to the shopping mall across the way.  Our destination was a Barnes and Noble book store where there would be plenty of choices.  We followed the basic structure of the date ideas on the link above but mixed them together and added our own twist.

We decided our tasks would be as following:

Together~
Find a cookbook with something you would want to cook for the other
Find a picture of a place you would like to travel together
Find a joke and read it to one another
Find an idea for a future date night

Then we split up to look for the next ones with plans to meet back in the Children's dept.

Alone~
Find a self help book for yourself (not one for your spouse...this is not something to cause a fight about ha!)
Find a book you think your partner would enjoy reading

Together~
Find a favorite book from your childhood or one that brings back a memory
Find a book together that has the words "happily ever after"

So....here we go~

Recipe.  I found mine rather quickly.  I was thinking I might find a sushi cookbook since we had talked about trying to improve our sushi rice cooking skills at lunch but couldn't find them. (later saw a different section I missed, oh well.)  Matt finally settled on something and when we both turned our books around I laughed that we had both picked Guy Fieri cookbooks!  Matt chose a peperoni burger and I selected blackened salmon from the visit Guy had to Dixie Quicks...one of our local eats that we love.  We actually thought of eating there for lunch but they are closed on Mondays.  (But lucky me has plans to go on Thurs. with the girls)

  Next we headed to the travel section.  There were no limits to our travel, just some places you wanted to vacation together.  I pretty much could have told you where Matt would pick. 

Matt showing off his Rome page.  Being the wrestler that he is, he has always wanted to visit the Colosseum. Matt did so good at being a dork and taking all of these pictures with me.  I know how he hates all the pictures I want to take all the time but was such a good sport!

 I am not much for international travel mainly because there is so much I want to see here in our homeland.  I would love to visit several beaches here in the US and tons of National Parks.  But, since it really was no limits, I went with Paris.  I am an art fan and have wanted to visit the Louvre since college. Other than that I have never really been interested but several friends have had their Paris pics up lately and I was especially intrigued by one new friends trip with her hubby (Shout out to Amanda- I'm sending you this blog link!).     The Eiffel Tower and the love lock bridge are tops on my Paris list.

 We headed on to the joke section.  Matt go there first since he was done in travel and said he couldn't find any "joke" books.  I said we could go to the kids section but after looking a little harder... we were able to find some.  At first he was opening them up and reading a few but I told him he had to read to himself and find one he wanted to share!  Ha!  I'm so bossy!

The humor section shares an aisle with the careers section.  There was a big guy right next to us and we were probably being annoying as heck reading our dumb jokes out loud.  The book I found had an occupational section.  I knew right away what I wanted to find and my official joke was something like this:

An police officer pulls over a man in a car.  The officer looks him over and says, "sir, your eyes are glossy- have you been drinking?"   The man says to the officer, "officer, your eyes look glazed- have you been eating doughnuts?"   I am pretty sure I had tears in my eyes I thought I was so funny.

Matt's was "My mom is a travel agent.  Her specialty is guilt trips".... lame Matt, lame.

After sharing a few laughs back and forth I asked the big man to take our picture.  I told him we were on a scavenger hunt and after he took the pic we would get out of his way and let him concentrate on his shopping.  He took the pic and as he handed me my camera back he said, "you are grinning so biiiigggggg".  Okay, thanks dude.


We tried to find some date night idea books and couldn't find anything.  The shelf was mainly how to date when you are single but not about date ideas/ dating your spouse.  We even went to the counter and asked and the girl looked it up on the computer only to come up with noting. 

Then it was time for us to split up.

Matt went to self help first while I headed to find one for him.  Once we met in the Children's dept. we went over our finds. 

Matt selected The Tao of Inner Peace and The Last Lecture for himself in self - help.  He said he has read The Last Lecture and it has lots of great life advice he can use.  I selected Sunny Side Up- 100 Ways to Be Happier Right Now.  I feel like sometimes I am so down and need to quit complaining about the crappy things that have happened. 

I thought the self help section would be a lot easier to choose something.  I didn't think there was a lot of variety like I expected.  My neck was actually starting to hurt because of reading book titles sideways.  Then I started to think about why book stores organize their books this way so it is difficult to read if you don't know what topic/ title you are looking for.   It seems that the problems people have that shop here are basically, stress, sadness, and addiction.  I guess I was just expecting to see a few books on a larger variety vs. several books on a few topics.

For the books we selected for each other- I picked the Butch Cassidy one for Matt.  He said he would like it , but I don't know.  He might have just been being nice.  He came back with a Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, and one other I had not heard of.  The Jodi Picoult one is on my reading list but I am usually too cheap to buy books at full price unless I really really want them.


As we walked around to find books from our childhood, I also could have told you which one Matt would have picked.   He selected Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.    He has memories of his mom reading this book several times as a child. 

I was torn and could have selected several.  I ended up with Amelia Bedelia.  I remember my mom reading this book so many times to me (and the rest in the series) and I loved how Amelia always messed everything up!

Our last stop was to find a book with "...and they lived happily ever after."   I said we needed to find the fairy tails section so we split up and I quickly found it.  We started going through books together and I think we found it on our third try.  

And they lived happily ever after <3

PS- I know that book titles are supposed to be underlined.  too bad. deal with it this time.

Penelope and Morty October Date

Mort and I attended a fundraiser for a soup kitchen here in Detroit.  It was fancy pants so I got to wear a dress and Morty a suit.  Mort looks mighty fine in a suit.  Cocktails and apps during the silent auction followed by dinner and some serious live bidding.  Micheal Psilakis ( a chef on Bravo) did a cooking demonstration!  I got to meet some new people and get drunk on free booze! (free for me since Mort bought the tickets).  The soup kitchen raised over a million dollars that night.  That is a lot of soup.  I stole the chef hat center piece and now wear it when I cook.  It was a great night!

Amber and Matt September Date Summary

I didn't realize it was the 7th today! I saw the post from Penelope and Morty and it was a good reminder! 

I am bummed I don't have a picture from our September date.  We attended a dinner/ banquet for our adoption agency.  We received an invitation in the mail to the 120th anniversary celebration of the agency.  The invitation stated in honor of two families for their dedication / service, a woman who was receiving the first lifetime achievement award, and all adoptive families. 

When I saw that, I thought it might be fun for us to go.  It was a dress up thingy and I love dress up thingys when I can find something to wear.  I am fortunate enough to have some fashionable friends who let me borrow clothes that are more stylish than anything I have.  I thought we looked super cute (okay, super hot) but didn't take any pictures.  I don't know why- that is so not me.  I think I was just feeling that Matt gets tired of me always having people take our pics.   A photographer at the  event was taking pictures and took one of us.  I was so bummed that it was not one of the ones they posted on the site post event.  Maybe we were just too hot for it or something.

Anywho- this was on a Sunday night.  We sent B off with a grandma and headed to West O.  Cocktails started at 3:30 (Really?? On a Sunday???) so we planned to arrive around 4:30 with dinner being at 5:30.  Since Matt had to work that night, he enjoyed a pepsi while I had wine.  We walked around / stood around enjoying our hors d'oeuvres and not knowing anyone.  We hoped that our caseworker would be there and she arrived shortly before dinner.

We were assigned to table 31 and the people we sat with were interesting.  One couple was very nice and best friends with the woman receiving the Lifetime achievement award.  They were very happy for her.  The other two couples were an adoptive family.  It was the adoptive parents and the grown adopted child and her husband.  They had some interesting comments once they found out we were a "waiting family".  Bordering on the line of tacky comments. :)  Oh, the joys of infertility.

Our caseworker also sat with us so it was nice to catch up with her as well.  She has just recently returned to work following a battle with cancer.  Fight hard girl!

As we sat there during the presentation, I thought to myself that I could do this every week.  I could get dressed up and attend different banquets.  Even though they can sometimes be boring, I love the yummy food served to me, meeting new people, and looking pretty!  I'm not sure Matt would feel the same way about attending random banquet events however!

I did find it really interesting and enjoyed learning some new things about our agency that I was not aware of.  It was neat to see the families/ woman who were honored and the service they provide.  I am proud to be a part of our agency and can't wait until we are able to be an advocate for adoption.

After Dinner, Matt won the floral centerpiece for having a birthday just a few days previously and let the girl with no filter take then home.  We hopped in the car and stopped at grandmas to pick up our favorite 7 year old and called it a night!

Penelope and Morty September Date

Morty and I went to Greektown Casino for the weekend.  I lost money, Mort lost more money.  We had a nice lunch and a few cocktails Saturday afternoon then took naps!  We went out for dinner then ended the night with some rap music.  Ah Detriot.  A nice glass of wine with some thumping beats.

September Date ~ Craig & Steph

Our anniversary was September 19th ~ 14 years of bliss!  OK some bliss some piss, let's get real.  All in all Bliss trumps!   We decided to do a date day, school acted as our sitter!  Craig is very romantic, he had 14 envelopes with little treats or clues that he gave to me along the way.  I will highlight a couple of them.  The first was a box with a blanket and pillow for the car ride, we have differences of opinion on the temperature the car should be while traveling so he brought this for me to keep warm!  He also had envelopes with some of the music we love ~ Aqua and Eric Church.  We rocked it all day long.  In addition, one envelope contained treats that I love and photos of my various pets over the years to be my guardian angels while he drove, God knows his driving initiates that business! 

Our first stop was at the Goodwill.  I love to thrift so he gave me $30 and 30 minutes to complete the task!  Done!  We then headed to the OM center in Omaha for a couples massage.  Fabulous!  After that,  a quick lunch at the Dell, a haunt of our first date. 

On to the best ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shoe Shopping!!!!! This is a passion we both share so we hit 2 different locales for this little ditty.  Onward to my first apartment where we mashed for a moment in the parking lot.  The apartment was where the first smooch happened so it was appropriate to make sure we paid tribute!

Time was about up, so we picked up the boys and headed home.  After some float building, as it is homecoming week here in Gwood, we had our finale.  We shared chinese in the buff which we had done during our courtship.  It was about 10:30 at night, but was just as much fun.

What a day, What a day.  I love his creativity and thoughtfulness.  I am married to the best!

Tara and Dan August Date

We were very fortunate in August to have a long weekend away, full of dates, in PA, MD and NJ!

First, we drove with our two kids from our home in PA to Baltimore's Inner Harbor and met up with a friend who was going to be watching our kids for the weekend at her home in Maryland. We all had lunch together and then hung out in the harbor a little before she left with the kids and we checked into our hotel (which I had Pricelined at the last minute and got an awesome deal--love Priceline!!).

Friday night we had a drink at one place in the harbor, I went for a pedicure while Dan hung out in the harbor, and then we went for Japanese at another place in the harbor. :) Afterwards we sat by the water watching boats and people, I bought some sunglasses and Dan smoked a cigar, and then we ended up having an early night, thanks to the "Saki  Bomb" Dan had with his dinner at the Japanese place. LOL.

Saturday we spent some time looking at a boat of the type we were considering getting then drove to the marina where we have our current boat, about 1.5 hours away from Baltimore. That day we spent the day on the water, boating to a place on the Chesapeake that we had never been before. Normally we are trying to manage a 3 and 5 year old on the boat (which mostly means breaking up fights and getting them snacks) so it was very relaxing to just chill out on the water alone.

Saturday night we drove back home to PA...another 1.5 hours.

Sunday morning we left for NJ, 2 hours away, to have lunch with a client and his wife and then afterwards went to Dan's cousin's wedding, also in NJ. Ending the date weekend with a wedding was lovely!

Monday we worked all day and then drove another 1.5 hours to the halfway point to pick up our kids and another 1.5 hours back home. It was a LOT of driving for one weekend, but we were together and really had a great time.

Amber and Matt August Date Summary

I was a little disappointed that we did not make the time to get a July date in.  We had places on our calendar where we could have made it a point to get some time together, but I think we were just too worn out.  We were out of town 4 weekends in a row and didn't much else during the week.

I was so excited when Matt came home with a great date night idea for us.  First, I was excited that he came up with the idea.  Second, I was excited it was something other than going to dinner, movie, drinks etc.  Third, I was so pumped that it involved something we had been wanting to do!

We were going to a sushi making class!  The local grocery store had a sign up advertising it.  Matt frequently eats dinner there (where else do you eat when you work over night?) and had seen the sign one day.  I called to get us registered ASAP and he stopped in to pay one morning before he came home.  The class was $15 a person.  We had a great time, it was something different that we had wanted to do, and got some yummy food. 

Taken about 1/2 way through the class

Chef Jess making the sticky rice

 

I can't say that the class experience was quite what we thought it was going to be.  We still had lots of fun but were a little disappointed in the class.  There were about 30 people in the class and only the chef.  She started late, didn't have enough food supplies for us all, was texting during the class ( I hoped she was texting to ask for assistance or more food but neither of those showed up), ran out of water, ran over on time and we had to leave due to Matt needed to work that night, and didn't have any handouts for us to take home.  I asked her when we were leaving if she had anything for us to take home and she said no.  I asked her if she could email us the things we made- recipes, ingredients, etc.  She said she thought that was a great idea but I still have not received anything.  I also was disappointed that all of the things we used to make the sushi were not available for purchase at the store.  I was so excited to make the stuff we learned I wanted to buy all the ingredients to make more at home right away. 

Matt's first attempt at a California roll.  Notice the sticky rice on my hand (they were covered in rice so it was difficult to take the pics) and the look of concentration on his face.

Amber's first California roll--- yummy!  Pretty good for the first time!

Matt's first California roll--yummy, just not as pretty as Amber's. 

Amber's chop stick skills are improving!  Nevermind the lady chowing down in the back ground.  Her and her daughter were full of useful information.

Our second things we made ....if I had a handout with the things we learned I would be able to tell you what these are called.  Handrolls I believe.  Shrimp, Salmon, Red Snapper, Tuna -- I LOVED these!

The final roll of the night.  Spicy Tuna.  (before it was rolled) I think this was Matt's favorite.

Our table by the end of the night!  We are messy sushi chefs!

It was a fantastic date night and I loved that we did something different.  We laughed at each other and at other couples during the class and had so much fun.  Our anniversary is this week and I want to try to find a little sushi making set somewhere for my honey. We don't usually exchange gifts much but I think this would be something fun for us since we were wanting to try making our own anyways.  Has anyone else made their own sushi before?  

 

Well, after reading the last few of everyones dates, CLEARLY, the hubby and I need to step up our game and do something SPECTACULAR for our next date night!  You guys have amazing dates, and ours are simple and boring compared to everyone elses!  By God, we are going to do something WILD for our next date...  ;-)

August Date Night

We are super duper lucky to have a set of boy friends for our little guys that are of similar ages, so overnights usually include the 2 of the them ~ Thanks to Melissa for having the Patzer's hang, leaving us room for a date night.  We went really crazy and started our night at Midwest Lanes here in Glenwood.  They were celebrating their 15 year anniversary and I love supporting local business so we stopped there for a quick beer.  The funny part, they had a free hog roast going on, so bottoms up to a cash free supper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In addition, the gal that was having my boys spend the night was there with Hank, Sawyer, Ethan, and Elliott, so we watched them bowl a few frames while we ate and tipped a couple back.  After that, we debated, local or Omaha.  We opted for Omaha because shopping is waaaaaayyyyy better there.  We headed to the Old Market and found rock star parking which happens once in a lifetime, check that one off!!!  We hit a few of our favorite shops, Overland Outfitters, Nebraska Clothing, Souq, and Nouvelle Eve.  Our shopping trips never end pretty, I mean cheap.  Craig had been eyeballing a coat at the Outfitters and Don was just the salesman to convince him to make the purchase.  Don actually was in love with Craig, and I felt a little 3rd wheel.  Craig says, "you have to do what you can to ensure the discount!", what ev???  The coat was not even there for the picking, it has to be shipped in.  I did not make any fabulous purchases there, but ended up with a lovely rastafarian hat from Souq.  I love my hats almost as much as cowboy boots. 

After our shopping spree, we headed over to Nosh to have a glass of wine and some appetizers.  What a fun little joint.  We enjoyed some chit chat and watched the diving and track events from the Olympics.  We won't be able to do that again for 4 more years.  We walked around the corner after we were done toward the Capitol bar.  By the view, I think we were overage, versus underage to get in, so we chose to go home.  We really had a lovely time and look forward to September's date ~ Go BIG Red!  

Date Hike!

This month, we had a great opportunity for a unique date.  We went out to Kauai, Hawaii with Justin's family, so we knew we would have a chance to get out and have a date with just the two of us while his family watched the kids.  We decided we wanted the challenge of hiking the entire Kalalau Trail on the NaPali Coast of the North Shore.  It's 11 miles to the end and 11 miles back, so 22 miles of challenging, hilly, rocky trails.  We ended up walking for 13 hours that day!  A rainbow appeared for about five minutes and we lucked out by meeting up with another pair of hikers going the opposite direction.  They were nice enough to snap a photo of us with the rainbow in the background. :)

Mindy and Jason July Date

The summer is flying by and we have been busy as ever! Between Bible School and consignment sales I'm really not sure if we're coming or going! Thankfully, in July Mindy and I were able to find a free evening to get away. Before we left the house we decided it would be a Groupon filled date. We had two certificates that were near expiration and we had to use them!

Our first stop was at the Lucky Bucket Brewery in LaVista. The Groupon certificate included a tour of the brewery, but the only tour was at 5:30pm and it was close to 7 when we arrived. Needless to say, we didn't make it in time for the tour. Instead we shared a beer and bought a Lucky Bucket t-shirt...it doesn't get anymore romantic than that!

For dinner, we decided to try out Rock Bottom Brewery in the Old Market. Parking was crazy as it usually is in the summertime, so we spent a fun filled 20 minutes circling the cobblestone streets trying to find a place to leave our car. Luckily, we eventually found one and did not starve to death! The food at Rock Bottom was good. Even though it was really loud in the restaurant it was still nice to have a night away from the kids , decompress a little bit and just focus on each other for a while.

Our July date was fun, and we can't wait for our Super Collosial August Getaway Weekend that we have planned! Have a great month everyone!

Dan & Kenzie July Date

Yay for me for finally posting another date!  We had a nice date night in July.  We went to our favorite restaurant, Johnny's Italian Steakhouse.  Each of us had a couple drinks, a great appetizer and our food was amazing.  Great time together!  :)

Tara and Dan July Dates

We had TWO dates this month!

The first was a planned date, babysitter and everything. We went out for dinner to a restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating. We ate indoors and then had a drink outdoors. A plain ol' dinner date, but nice to get away and spend time talking and people watching.

Our second date was not planned and was a breakfast date. We dropped the kids off day camp and then decided to grab some breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts. Then made a trip to Lowe's to get some counter-top samples for the kitchen and look at ovens. Sounds boring! But it was my favorite of the two dates. :) I think because it wasn't planned and we just blew off work we were supposed to be doing at home.

July Date Night (Weekend)

For July, we did a little weekend get away.  We have a favorite singer that we stalk, I mean follow: Eric Church.  This was our 8th time seeing him and only our 1st time this year.  Our love for him is mutual, I have a huge girl crush, but I do believe Craig has a man crush on him as well.  Actually, he has a music crush, he loves the tunes, as do I, but he ain't bad to look at either.  We headed out Friday night to Lake Anita for a little tent camping. We grilled out steaks and went into Anita for a cocktail and watched the Olympic opening ceremony.  We had beautiful weather and a couple of brews so sleeping was easy.  We woke up and had the huge camping style eggs and bacon breakfast, the highlight was that Craig was able to use his new perkolator (not sure how to spell that one).  It only took about an hour to get that thing going!!!!  We head to River Rukus about 2 and had the opportunity to listen to 3 great opening acts before our boy came on.  He never disappoints!  The weekend was great and we will look forward to seeing him again, if not this year, next for sure.

Penelope and Morty July Date

Yay 2nd anniversary!!  I flew to Michigan to see Morty this week and we got multiple dates in!  First date was the Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden concert.  I've never seen Iron Maiden before but they were pretty good.  2nd date was a romantical dinner and a movie.  We saw Ted, it was hilarious.  3rd date was a night in with a bottle of wine and CNN.  Not too shabby!

Krystal and Justin - June Date!

You know your date rocked when you are tired and sore afterwards!  :)  Our June date was a mini vacation to the wonderful state of Minnesota to experience the Minneapolis Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.  We drove to Minneapolis on Saturday before the race and picked up our race packets, figured out a hotel we could stay at (Aloft - awesome!), and then went to the Mall of America for some shopping.  We ended the evening with some yummy pasta dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.

We woke up bright and shiny the next morning and I walked down to the starting line with Justin so he could start the full marathon.  The 1/2 marathon started an hour later, so I sat and "people watched" until the start of my race.  The race itself was a little boring.  It was just mainly an out and back hairpin course along a park.  I had not trained enough, so I walked a bit starting with mile 10.  I was happy to be done running and go get my free beer at the end!

We stopped at another restaurant on our way home and had lunch, so we asked our server to snap a quick photo of us with our bling!!

Josh and Robyn June Date

Josh and I took a family vacation to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  We were lucky to have my mother in law come along to help with our three daughters.  We didn't exactly get a date night, instead, we were able to sneak away for 2 hours to sit on the beach.  That was all we did.....sit.....and drank a few beers.  The waves were pretty rough that afternoon so it was an opportunity for us to just relax and unwind on the beach.  Uneventful and wonderful all at the same time!

Penelope and Morty June Date

Morty came home for a visit over Father's Day weekend.  After putting the little tot to sleep we were able to watch a movie in it's entirety.  We saw the Ides of March (we are a little behind on our movies).  It was nice spending time with my bunny since I never get to see him!!  We close on our house in August so we will be together again soon.  Better date nights to come!!

Steph & Craig - June Date

We were lucky enough to steal away for a long weekend in the heart of Scottsdale.  We chose the Phonecian which is very old school resort.  We had the best of times.  We did NOTHING, when I say that, what I mean is that we sat by the pool for 3 days and ate nachos and drank margaritas.  We thought it very cool that you can order that goods and just sign your name by a little x and they bring it on to you.  Imagine our surprise when the bill came about later.

Amber and Matt June Date Summary

We had our date for June the first Saturday of June.  Brock went to a sleepover and Matt and I were sad about being home alone.  This was our first day that we did not see Jolie after leaving the hospital.  {Note- this date was done before we knew about the Change of Heart with the birth mother}

Matt had worked Friday night so he slept most of the day Saturday.  After I dropped off Brock at the party, we headed to the local brewery.  We enjoyed a few of the house brews and played a game of Yahtzee.  Here is Matt's Yahtzee from game.

Matt won this time! 

It was nice to stay close to home and be out and relax.  We enjoyed the spur of the moment night together and it was fun to play the game there.  We have always loved board games.

Krystal and Justin - May Date

Justin and I had a busy May, but we managed to squeeze in two mini dates for May. We got to run four miles with each other while our kids hung out with grandpa and grandma. We also had an early dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We both ordered fish because the crab legs are just seemed like too much work to crack, peel, etc. The fish we ordered was a bit over cooked, so we were kind of disappointed in our food, but the company was great and we enjoyed the conversation!

Penelope and Morty May Date

Mort and I are currently looking for a house in Michigan (it's not going well).  Since we live in different states until we find a house, our date nights are getting fewer and farther in between.  Luckily we had a house hunting trip this month and were able to have a little lunch date in between homes.  Of all the great new restaurants to choose from somehow we end up at Macaroni Grill.  I think we were so hungry at that point and it was right in front of us.  Any who, we got a private table in the corner and were able to enjoy each others company while bitching about the lack of good homes to choose from.  I am looking forward to a real date night with wine and fancy silverware.  Hopefully soon!

Steph and Craig May Date

We did not get an April date in so we made up for it with our May date in a big way. We are currently enjoying a fabulous date weekend here in Scottsdale! We landed at 9 this morning. We chose Scottsdale in June because we have both been here before and did not want to do much more than hang out and do nothing! We did just that today! We chose the gorgeous Phoenician Resort, old school and a class act. I have not been called Mrs. Patzer this much since I was a teacher. We hung at the pool for over 4 hours, eating, drinking, swimming and sleeping (Craig). I read half a book. Who does that when they are a mom? I rocked it with the SPF 50, no sunburn ~ so I will enjoy my massage tomorrow. My milky white skin cannot take much! We had some great talking points, met some lovely Kanooks and balked at the cost of drinks ~ $20 per drink. We came back, put out the do not disturb sign and played reindeer games, aka Shades of Grey. We showered up and headed to Fashion Squarebtondo what we do best ~ shop! We actually did not buy anything but found a great deal. Next time. We ate some sushi and had some really good chit chat. We shopped some more and headed back, the time change is killer. We are gearing up for our June date tomorrow, a big old hike up Camelback. We need to do this 1x a year.

What I'd Wish I'd Known...

One of my favorite author and speakers, Dr. Gary Chapman, had a fantastic broadcast on Focus on the Family.  You can click here to listen to this program. This is part one called "Building a Strong Foundation for Your Marriage". 

"There's more to marriage than loving each other" Dr. Chapman says in his book, Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married. 

Tell us here in the comments for a chance to win another one of Gary Chapman's books- 

What is something you or your spouse wish you / them knew before you got married?  Leave your comment by June 15.

Dan and Tara: May Date

We went to the Outer Banks last week with some good friends, a tradition we started several years ago. The several friends we went with had 6 "older" kids between them (ages 12 - 20). So we really had plenty o' time to ourselves while the kids occupied our 3 and 4 year olds in the pool, with games, in the movie room, etc. We even had plenty of help at nap time which was awesome!

But we did go out on a date one night, to the same restaurant we always go to in Duck, NC. It was delicious as usual (well, last year wasn't delicious because I tried soft shell crabs on a whim...YUCK..never again). Then we went to another restaurant and tried to get a drink at their outside, bay front bar. We sat there for 15 minutes and weren't acknowledged once by the bartender! It was so weird.

So we left, bought a bottle of wine elsewhere, and sat on the beach to drink it until the sun went down, which was WAY better than the bar anyway! I'm sure that will now be part of the tradition in years to come.

Keeping Fun in Your Marriage

Monica came across another great resource for us she wanted to share.  If you haven't ever checked out some of the broadcasts on Focus on the Family you are missing out.   They have some absolutely fantastic shows on a variety of topics.

 This broadcast on May 8 was called "Injecting Fun Into Your Marriage".  Click here to listen to this broadcast.  As I listened to it, they go over simple ways to make time for your dates!  I have noticed the date summaries have gone down the past few months and I hope that each of us can remember to make it a point to spend some simple, fun time together for your relationship.  ( But maybe everyone is still getting dates in, just not having time to write a summary!)

52 Things To Remember

I came across this idea today on Pinterest so wanted to share it....I hope to find time to do it! And please share with the rest of us if you do it!

52 Things To Remember

Emotional Intimacy

Lovebird Monica was kind enough to pass on an article that you might find interesting.  A link to this article can be found here.  It is titled "Seven Ways To Develop Emotional Intimacy In Your Marriage". 

No matter how many years you have been married, author Jill Savage suggests that all couples can benefit from strengthening their emotional intimacy.

If you ever come across anything else that might be good for us to share with the other love birds, be sure to pass it on and I'll get it posted!

Amber and Matt May Date Summary

Since we didn't get a date in for April, I wanted to make sure we were able to get a date in for May.  The month is half over and our new baby is due any day now.  I know that we might not get time for a date with just the two of us over the next few months so I tried to think of something special we could do.  I know going out to eat is not really that special and nothing too exciting however!  I have always wanted to go to a place in Omaha called Lo Sole Mio.  I have always heard how wonderful their food is (the best around) and wanted to go for years.  Both Matt and I have never been there so that made it kind of fun. I looked it up online and was actually surprised that it is not actually as "fancy" as I had thought it was.  It is nice but still a bit casual.  You could be in jeans and a nice shirt or a dress and suit. 

My grandma and grandpa were going to take our son Brock and his cousins to the Three Stooges at the local theater so I knew we had a babysitter for the evening (our problem last month).  I hadn't really told Matt about my date night plans in advance however.  Friday morning Matt came home from work and went straight to track day at the school. He came home at noon to sleep until 5:30 when he had to be up to coach B's baseball game.  Later that night Matt headed back in to work.  Saturday morning he was off at 7 and we met him uptown for breakfast before he started an overtime shift at 8:30 for the parade.  After the parade (and the day after payday) we did a big grocery shop and he finally got home to go to bed around 3 in the afternoon.  I dropped Brock off at 6:30 at grandmas and came home to the quiet house.  I was bored out of my mind and I really wanted to go out on my date but knew how tired my hubby was!

At 8 I woke him up and told him my plan.  He didn't realize it was so late so he was fine to wake up and go!  It was pouring rain and we had no idea where this place was but GPS took us right there!

We got right in and had  a nice table in the corner.  The place was pretty quiet.  I had heard the food was huge and that was no lie!! It could have served 3-4 people so I was happy with our yummy leftovers!  Dinner and conversation was great and I am glad I got a little "alone" time with my man before our life turns upside down with the new baby!!!

** We don't have any pics because when I ordered  us a cannoli for dessert to take a cute little cheesy date night picture, Matt said, "does everything have to be about your facebook status or blogs?"  and totally ruined my moment. So, um, yeah.  I of course got teary (I'm a little adoptive emotional) and said something like- I wish you would just see how important these dates are to me and actually want to go on them and plan something for us instead of every date being a dud because you always make me mad because you are not romantic enough and this date night blog is important to me and I'm trying to win the jackpot for us by making sure we get a date each month and I don't think you even care if we go on dates .....or something along those lines.  And then I was pretty much a sour puss the rest of the drive home after Matt tried to say he was sorry and offered to take the picture but of course I was too stubborn to do it.  I know- this may totally come as a shock to some of you!

:)  But luckly, I don't stay pouty for long!

Robyn and Josh Funeral Date April 2012

Unfortunately, the only time Josh and I had alone this month was to attend a funeral for a good friend's father.  Not exactly our idea of a great date night.  The funeral was in the evening on a Friday and afterwords, a few of us went to The Holiday for drinks.  Josh and I called it an early night before things got too crazy.  We drove through the Taco Bell drive thru on our way home, climbed into bed and called it a night by 10:45pm.  REAL EXCITING we are!

Krystal and Justin - Love Story

Group photo - Back row - Krystal, Jim, Suzanne, Captain Gino, Adam.  Front row - Kristie, Kim, Carl, Justin

Krystal, Justin, Suzanne, and Kim at Hope Town Light House

Justin and Krystal on the Lion's Paw

Krystal snorkeling

Suzanne, Krystal, Carl (buried), Adam, and Justin

Justin snorkeling

Love story (narrated by Krystal). 

When people ask how Justin and I met, I usually give them the super-condensed version of the story and say we met during a youth group trip to the Bahamas.  Or sometimes, if I feel I might seem like it's bragging to say it was in the Bahamas, I'll just say we met in a youth group.

But, I'll write the long version here.  I'll start with what led us to meet in the first place.  The summer prior to my Sophomore year of high school had been tough.  I had been a cheerleader my Freshman year and did not get picked for the team after tryouts for my Sophomore year.  This was the most devastating thing that could ever happen, from my little 15-year-old perspective.  I remember sobbing, hugging my mom for what seemed like eternity, and then moping around the house for days.  Eventually, I picked myself up, brushed off the dust, and decided I could find other things to do.  I joined the cross-country team, in which I discovered my love for running.  I also joined a group called Exploring, which was the young adult division of the Boy Scouts of America.  It was a group meant to help both young men and young women explore different career options.  My Exploring post met at Chalco Hills Recreation Area in Nebraska.  I still remember the nice leader named Bob who volunteered his time to help us kids out.

At one of the Exploring meetings, there was a flyer about a group called a "High Adventure Post".  It was basically an Exploring post that was dedicated to taking a sailing trip to the High Adventure Sea Base in the Bahamas.  I grabbed the flyer and knew right away that I was DEFINITELY going on the trip.  It took a lot of begging and pleading, but eventually my mom called the number on this flyer and asked about a million questions to Justin and his parents, who were arranging the trip.  After my mom learned that we would have plenty of safety, supervision, etc., she finally agreed that I could go if I would get a job to pay for the expense of the trip.  So, I began carrying out groceries at Baker's Supermarket and saving my paychecks!  

I spent the next few months busy with school, running, friends, working, and obsessing over photos of the clear, turquoise water with white sand and colorful fish that I would see in the Bahamas.  During the preparations for the Bahamas trip, I did meet Justin in person a couple of times.  The first time was at a planning meeting on the UNO campus.  The other time was at a fundraising car wash.  

Finally, it was time to go on the trip.  The week was everything I expected it to be, and more.  The group of guys and girls was a great mix of personalities.  We all chipped in with the work and learned how to sail from the captain of our ship named Captain Gino.  His ship was called the Lion's Paw and she was his baby.  We toured the island of Great Abaco, Bahamas by bicycle.  We ate conch fritters and grouper burgers (pronounced "groupah buh-gahs" in Bahamian).  We fished off the side of the ship, snorkeled, swam, and played on the white sand beaches.  

One night was particularly memorable.  We convinced Captain Gino to let us sleep on an uninhabited beach on Great Guana Cay.  We had a campfire, told stories, and slept under the stars.  Justin and I stayed awake talking after the others had fallen asleep.  We decided to build some sand sculptures, so we built a Mickey Mouse and a starfish by the light of the moon.  I would have kissed him, but Justin didn't try to make any "moves".  I know now that he was super shy, but back then, I thought maybe he didn't like me in "that way", maybe more of a friend.  I was actually pretty impressed that he didn't try any Don Juan stuff.  That made him very different from the other guys I knew.

When we returned from the trip, Justin and I kept finding ways to keep calling each other or getting together.  I was dating a guy at my school who was super nice, but I kept thinking about Justin.  I finally broke it off with the other guy and decided to ask Justin to my Junior Prom.  He said he would go and also asked me if I would go to his Senior prom.  Our proms were on the same weekend, mine was Friday and Justin's was Saturday.  It was such a culture shock for both of us to experience the other person's prom.  I attended a fairly large high school with nearly 500 students in my class.  Justin was from a very small town with about 30 students in his class.  My prom was in a rented facility, with a fancy DJ, disco ball, strobe lights, etc.  Boyz II Men was the popular music that night.  Fast forward to the next evening, in Justin's hometown.  The parents lined up to see all the couples walk into the high school gymnasium.  There was a live band called On the Fritz.  They played a mixture of hair band music and rock.  There were door prizes, the teachers hung out with us, and us girls kicked our shoes off.  We definitely had the best of both worlds that weekend!

From this point on, we dated pretty much every weekend Justin's parents would let him drive the hour and a half to my house.  After Justin graduated from high school, he decided to go to Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  A year later, when I graduated from high school, I decided to attend the Unvierstiy of Nebraska at Omaha in order to stay close to where Justin was.  Our college years were spent studying, working, and traveling, but we always found time for each other.  One regret I have is that Justin turned down an opportunity to do a college internship program at Walt Disney World, one of his favorite places.  He would only go if I went, and I didn't want to quit my job at Hyatt in order to go for the summer.  But, who knows, maybe he will get to work there someday!

We got married on July 11, 1998, my senior year in college.  The first year or so of marriage was rough.  We were both young, naive, and inexperienced with life in general (like many young adults in their early twenties, I'm sure).  This wasn't the Bahamas, Hawaii, or Prom Weekend.  This was work, rent, bills, laundry, decisions about careers - ick!!!  There were some other issues that I won't go into.  We don't dwell on the difficult times, but will always be part of our story in some way.  At some point we decided to be on each other's team and cheer for each other.  Things started to work better when we thought of it that way.  We've made it almost 14 years.  I feel so blessed to have this life with Justin, our two boys, and our doggy and kitty!        

Krystal and Justin - April Date Night

Ok, I just wrote a more descriptive summary of our date and somehow deleted it, so here is the Cliff's Notes version. We went and grabbed some wine and beer and then rented Limitless. It has been great to spend more time together!

Dan & Kenzie May Date!

Total spur of the moment date for us.  My hubby was in charge of this date, so a night out at the Country Club was where he wanted to take me.  I'm not a fan of playing golf, but by God, I enjoy riding along in the golf cart, wind blowing in my hair, and drinking a few ice cold Coors Lights....all while watching my man look cute in his collared shirt and hitting those clubs that he loves, oh so much.

We rode around for 9 holes, had good conversation, listened to the birds chirp, and looked down in the stream and saw a huge snapping turtle.  We both love to be outside, so this actually was a great date for us.

I have to admit, I thought going out to the course was going to be kind of lame for a date, but, actually it was one of the best "dates" we've had in a while!  Beers were good, but the time spent alone with my hubby was even better....  

Tara & Dan: Love Story

Dan and Tara met in high school. Actually maybe Jr. High. They went to a small private, Christian school and they don't actually remember meeting each other. Tara and her twin sister, Pam, were friends with Dan's younger sister, J, so it's certain they met at some point.

When Tara was in 9th grade, Dan dated Tara's twin sister, Pam. Dan was Pam's first date and first kiss.

This is a fact that men high five Dan about..because "dude, twins?" And women moan with Tara about, because "aww...your sister?!"

But they didn't date long. And Tara swore that she would never, ever date anyone her twin sister did.

Dan graduated high school in 1988 and Tara graduated high school in 1990.

Fast forward to 1997. Dan and Tara, both college graduates and working professionally, were at a Christmas party of a high school mutual friend, L, and they chatted. Briefly. Nothing significant.

Fast forward to May of 1998. Tara and this same mutual friend, L, were out for the evening, the night before Tara moved from Pennsylvania to Atlanta for a job. L insisted that Tara say "goodbye" to Dan which Tara thought was very strange, considering she didn't ever talk to him. But Tara was sick and needed tissues. She also had to use the bathroom. So she said o.k.

And it was midnight when they rang Dan's doorbell and he answered and let them in (to his VERY cool apartment, which was in an old one room school house).

Dan, Tara and L chatted briefly and Dan told Tara he had tried to email her recently. What? Why?  Tara still doesn't know.

The next day Tara moved to Atlanta.

Shortly after moving to Atlanta in 1998, Tara, who was dating someone, became single. And Tara and Dan began emailing. And then they began emailing more and more and more. They became very good friends. They talked nearly every day.  There were many complicated things that occurred...they'd like to keep those things private.

In 1999 they fell in love and knew it was right. And so Tara broke her rule to never date anyone her sister did.

In May of 2000 Tara moved back to Pennsylvania and in June 2000 Tara and Dan got engaged. In December 2000 they got married.

Tara and Dan have been happily married for 11 years, 4 months, 2 days and have 2 miracle children.

The past 11 years have had many ups and downs for Tara and Dan. They've been through several grandparent, aunt and uncle deaths, a parental marriage breakup, faith issues, a sibling marriage breakup, a sudden parental death, 5+ years of infertility, 3 moves, 2 job changes, etc...

But they're a perfect match and they're happy!!! :)

Dan and Tara: April Date

So in March, we had no date. Sad to say. It passed with no time to ourselves, boo hoo.

This past Saturday we realized we had no evening plans and a mother (mine) we could visit to ask to watch the kids for our last ditch April date! Score!

We went out for Thai food. To a small town around here that has just about every type of restaurant food you'd want. We tried Thai, I hope to try more restaurants in the future. Our food was delicious.

 Half way through our evening I remembered our neighborhood friends were also on a date night that evening so Dan texted them. Lo and behold they were a few doors down from us so we planned to meet at a bar for drinks! Good times!

Before our friends arrived I snagged a trivia sheet from the bar and made Dan cooperate with me for quiz time. I learned he gives up pretty easily if he doesn't get the answer right the first time. :/ I also learned my horoscope for the month was to consider professional help for the goals I hope to achieve. Hmm.....Dan and I both agreed that professional help might be in the form of an interior decorator. Would that be nice?!

 That's as exciting as it gets for us here. Next month's date will be out of state and I hope it will be more exciting!! :)

Penelope and Morty April Date

Morty and I had nothing planning for April but a date night just fell into our laps.  We were in Des Moines visting friends and family and our niece and nephews offered to babysit so we could go out.  We went out for sushi (Penelope likes, Morty hates) and had martini's after with Mort's brother and his wife.  Date night turned out pretty well!  I think I am going to make Morty plan date night for May.  I have high expectations!! 

1st Quarter Standings

Hello everyone! I'm here to update everyone on the end of the first quarter point standings!  Remember, you can always earn extra points for the $200 jackpot by doing any/ all of the following in separate posts:

*Share your Love Story
(Write a short story to be published...How long you have been married, how you met, do you have children, etc.)

*Tell us about your First Date
(Write a short summary of your first date! Who asked who, what did you do, etc. Was it a match made in heaven?)

*The Proposal
(Was it grand or bland? Either way is fine, but tell us how it all went down.)

*The Wedding Photo
(Who doesn't love looking at wedding photos? Send us a photo from your wedding to share)

Additional bonus entries will also be added from time to time.


Date summaries:

January- 10 couples posted their dates!
February- 8 couples posted their dates!
March- 5 couples posted their dates!

*Remember, you have until the last day of each month to complete your monthly date and until midnight on the 7th of the following month to post your summary.

Several of you have completed the bonus items and these can be done at any time during the year.

Here is where everyone stands: (1 point = 1 entry)

Katie & Dan  4 points
Mindy & Jason 2 points
Kenzie & Dan 4 points
Krystal & Justin 2 points
Penelope & Morty 5 points
Stephanie & Craig 6 points
Tara & Dan 3 points
Monica & Lonnie 2 points
Robyn & Josh 3 points
Amber & Matt 5 points

Remember, it only takes one ticket to win!! Keep working on earning those points and having fun in your marriage!

The Love Bird List Details

I know I have been MIA lately here.  Life has gone a little crazy the past few weeks in our house.  Many of you have asked about where several of our couples are located.  This post will give you the general skinny on who is who (and where!) 

Daniel & Katie

Glenwood, Iowa

Married for 7 years

3 children

Penelope & Morty 
Detroit suburbs
 Married for 2 years
6 month old baby boy

Josh & Robyn
Bennington, NE
Married 10 years
Three girls, ages 8, 7, and 2

Krystal & Justin
Glenwood, IA
Married 13 years
Ttwo boys, 9 & 6

Stephanie & Craig
Glenwood, IA.
Married 13.5 years
Two boys, 7 & 10 1/2

Dan & Tara
Philadelphia, PA Suburb
Married 11 years
Two kids--girl age 3 and boy age 4

Matt & Amber
Glenwood, IA
Married 8.5 years
Son, age 7 and a baby on the way!

Kenzie & Dan
Des Moines, IA Suburb
Married 3 years
4 Doggie children

Mindy & Jason
Glenwood, IA
3 children

Lonnie & Monica
Glenwood, IA
Married 16 years
3 boys(10, 8, 7) & 1 girl (2)

As you can see, we have quite a variety!  We have marriages from 3- 16 years, 0-4 kids, and are located in four states!

I promise to be back soon with some more great date ideas and the video post of our winner from the March challenge question.

Amber & Matt- March date summary

Our March date night did not go quite as planned.  As I mentioned before, Matt was going to be in charge of planning this one.  I told him about mid month to pick a date and write it on the calendar for us.  We have been working on watching our money so I told him that I had an Olive Garden gift card if he wanted us to use that.  I also told him a few nights before our date night that he should try to pick something free.  He laughed at the idea and didn't know what he could find for free.  I didn't marry Mr. Romantic, so I know not to expect him to pull some huge plan out for date night.  Asking him to find something low-budget as well is really not in his creative genes either.  He told me Thursday night that he had a few things planned for us, but I really didn't ask what they were. 

After another busy week, I was looking forward to a light day at work.  I had one home visit in the late morning and would have the rest of the afternoon to finish up paperwork etc. in the office.  It was such a beautiful day and I was ready for the weekend.

On Friday at about 12:30, our plans changed however.  We received "the call".  I think all of you know this already but we received the call that we were selected by a birth mom for a baby that was due in May.  I was about 35 minutes from home and didn't know how I was going to drive all the way back to tell Matt the news.  I didn't want to just call him, I had to see his face and be able to cry, hug, and kiss him when I told him.  As I drove back I called to tell my sister (I needed to talk to someone to keep me sane as I drove).   She asked how we were going to celebrate and I told her it was supposed to be date night.  She suggested we go out and I tell him while we were out.  I told her there was no way that I could wait that long and we needed to save money more than ever now!!

We had plans for our son to go to a slumber party at one of his grandma's house with a cousin.  We picked him up from school and told him that he had to come home for a while and then we would take him back to grandma's.  After sharing the news with him, we took him over to gram and papa's house and let him share the news with them.  We told him goodbye and said we would see him in the morning.

After a quick stop at Matt's aunt and uncles to share the news, we  headed up town to meet Matt's mom and step dad at one of our favorite wine cellars.   We enjoyed dinner and drinks as we shared the news with them and talked about our hopes for pink in the future. 

After dinner, I was pretty tired from the emotions of the day.  Matt suggested we stop to play a little shuffleboard but I really was too tired.  We decided to head back home and grab a movie.  We stopped at Red Box, grabbed some beer, and headed home to watch a movie in the quiet house. 

I asked Matt to wait a few minutes (30 ) while I made a couple quick calls to let some people know the news who had known of our plans.  We had heard through the evening that my grandpa had called everyone on his phone, so I wanted to share the news with the handful of people before they heard it from someone else. 

While waiting, Matt didn't want any beer after all because he had heartburn and got really sleepy.  So, our night ended with him snoring on the couch and me blogging in the chair.

But...  Saturday morning, I woke up and decided to go work on my "running practice" as I call it.  I signed up for a 5 K in June and couldn't run one lap at the track a month ago. I have already seen improvement and decided to go out before I went to pick up Brock and the day got to hot (90's expected).  Matt woke up as well and joined me on the beautiful morning.  This was the first time that I can say we actually went "for a run" together.  He has been supporting me in my practice and is doing great at encouraging me.  It was really nice to enjoy the quiet time together on the trail.  (well, quiet except for my huffin' and puffin')

This isn't a great picture- I had cried about 100 times that day...but we are happy as can be as we were sharing the news that night!

We better hurry with our April date-- it could be our last without a new little one!!!