Finally-a night out! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Rich and I finally got to go out to celebrate Valentine's Day; last week our celebration consisted of Digornio's Pizza, soda, cards, and a movie at home. Rich and I were hoping for something a little more romantic, you know, no kids, but I was still battling the flu; going out and possibly infecting the rest of Georgia wasn't an option. I enjoyed our little family celebration, especially the cards Brooke and Braden had picked out for me; Braden even wrote Mama on my card and signed his name (he is getting so big), but I really wanted to spend time with just Rich. Saturday night Rich and I went out to eat at Lonestar and went to go see The Spiderwick Chronicles; I can't tell you how much I enjoyed getting to spend time without the children. I think it is so important that you continue to date and court your spouse; once you have children it is so easy to forget that you are still two people in love, especially because children can be so demanding! Rich and I don't always get to actually leave the house for a date, but we try to have several dates every month. It does add up once you pay to go out and pay for a babysitter, so each month we have two in house dates and one going out date. We take turns planning the in house dates: movie night, picnic by the fireplace, dancing in the kitchen, or just talking and playing games; on the Fridays or Saturdays we are having our in house dates, I make sure the children do not get naps (so they will crash early). Sometimes we have the milkshake date, which means that we drive around until the kids crash, go to McDonalds, buy milkshakes, and drive around, talk, and sip our milkshakes (and the best part is we didn't have to buy the kids anything, and they get to sleep). I hope that the children will see Rich and I dating and see how important it is to continue to date after you get married, but I think they are already learning. As I was getting ready for my date Braden and Brooke starting getting dressed and gussied up; they explained they were going to go on a date as well.

Here is the young couple all decked out and nowhere to go. If you notice, the little princess is sporting a backwards pink shirt, floral skirt, and a Barbie bracelet, and doesn't the young gentlemen look dashing in his khaki shorts and button up shirt?!