Date Night at the Driving Range

After years of promising that I'd go to the driving range with Aaron, we finally made it happen.  We got a bucket of 150 balls and Aaron taught me how swing.  I even made him do the stereotypical romantic moment of "wrap your arms around your date pretending you're teaching her how to golf when really you just want to cuddle up close" as if we were on our first date.  It was a magical moment ;)  I hit more balls then I thought I would though!  They did not go impressive distances by any means but I had a great time playing around.  I actually think I was pretty awful but Aaron kept telling me I did incredibly well for my first time.  Let's just say that he is kind :)  

The only picture I managed to take was that shot above.  We can count it as a couple picture since you can see my shadow though, right?  Aaron was just looking particularly "in his element" so I ran ahead and snapped his picture and then forget to take anymore.  That's what happens when you're having a good time. 

I would totally be up for more driving range dates.  And just you watch, I may be that old lady dressed in head to toe hot pink golf gear, killing it at Pebble Beach one day ;)

A Real Date!

Aaron and I made a real date happen at the very end of July!! We had been going on dates for months but always brought Ford along.  Knowing that we would be apart for the whole next week due to Youth Conference and feeling particularly antsy to just "get away," I called a trusty babysitter and had her come over just as we were putting the kids to bed.  Ford hasn't consistently taken a bottle well so it always feels like a risk to leave him.  I know he will be okay but I more fear for the babysitter who has to deal with the stresses of a crying baby.   I left the babysitter with a bottle just in case he woke up and we were off.

We went to a nice restaurant, ate a very late dinner and had a good long conversation.  Then we went on a long drive.  It was AMAZING.  Such freedom.  And such happiness.  We love our kids to death but man does it feel good to get out and be adults.

We came home to discover that Ford had slept just fine and didn't need that bottle afterwards.  Success! We committed to go on more dates just us two, even if it means getting a late night babysitter.  And now that we are in September I'm happy to report that we have kept up on our goal.

Yay for keeping the love (and sanity) alive!

Friday Date Nights

We've had pretty consistent Friday night date nights for the the good past while thanks to some friend swapping.  We were still bringing Ford along with us for awhile but even with Ford there we've been able to have some good conversations.  I just love getting out of the house together and trying new fun things in the area.  On this particular date night in early June, we got dinner at our new favorite restaurant Annex Kitchen and then went to a car show.  This was Ford's first car show too which was fun to think about.   We've been to many a car show in our 5+ years of marriage and they continue to put a smile on my face.  It's fun to carry on that tradition here in Fresno, where people seem to love their cars just as much as anywhere.

Life never feels better than when I get some quality time with Aaron :)

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

This past December 18th, Aaron and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  The month was packed with activities (as December always is) and we were actually driving to Riverside on our anniversary so we decided to celebrate early.

We got a babysitter the Saturday before our anniversary and went out to a nice restaurant, which is our ideal way of celebrating anything.  We ate at Campagnia and had a really good conversation about our life and marriage while eating delicious steak.  We treated ourselves to some creme brûlée and then did a practice drive to check out the hospital before heading back to our babysitter.

Without getting too sappy on here for all the world to read, I just really think I married the best man in the world.  He is always so kind to me and especially so these past couple months of pregnancy.  I love the life we are creating together and feel lucky every morning that I'm married to him.

My favorite moments together are when we are all together as a family and Eleanor's doing something ridiculously cute.  We look up at each other as if to say, "Are you seeing this?!" and then laugh to ourselves at how awesome life is right at that moment.

Of course, I have lots of other favorite moments where it's just me and Aaron on a date night, which have been much more frequent as of late (so wonderful!), or watching Parks and Rec late at night or cooking a special dinner together after Eleanor's gone to bed.  I'm so grateful that we still enjoy each others company just as much if not more than ever before.

In these last five years of marriage, we've made six major moves and gone from college students to full time workers to parents.  Lots of change means lots of growth (and growing pains) but we've come out stronger and better (at least I'd like to think so :)).  It feels like we are settling into normal adult life and I'm loving it.  The Saturday morning chores and daily mundane tasks aren't always "fun" but on the whole I think we are getting our groove.  We're just about to shake it all up though with a new baby but I'm thinking we are much more prepared for the challenges and great times ahead than we were when we first entered parenthood.

So here's to another great year of marriage.  May it bring us lots of laughter and good times and maybe an awesome trip to South America or something??? ;) ;)

I love you Aaron!

P.S. Just for fun, here are posts from our 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Anniversaries.  Good memories :)

Our Monterey Getaway

Aaron and I have been dreaming of a getaway trip for quite some time now--in fact ever since we went to Park City two and a half years ago!

I got the idea in my head a couple weeks ago that we needed to make our trip happen NOW before summer craziness sets in.  So I texted my mom and Ginny while they were in Italy and asked if they could come stay at our house with Eleanor while we had a night out.  They said "yes!" so I started scheming.  I set out to surprise Aaron with it all, so I researched hotels and activities and restaurants galore.  I just kept wanting to get excited about it with Aaron though so I caved and let him in on the idea.  He was all about it and before we knew it we had our Monterey hotel booked and our plans in place to leave that coming weekend.  We are not ususally this spontaneous but it was fun to throw caution to the wind.

My mom and Ginny drove up by 2 pm on Friday afternoon and we were out the door by 3 pm.  This was our first time both leaving Eleanor together so I was a little worried (but also very excited :)), especially since Eleanor has become very attached to me these last couple of weeks.  But when we went to say goodbye, Eleanor wouldn't even come to give me a hug.  She was perfectly content to just sit in Grandma's lap!  Not quite the going away scene you imagine as a mom but it definitely put my heart at ease knowing that she was going to be just fine without us.

So we drove off and had the very best time together.

We stayed at a hotel right on the water in the heart of touristy Cannery Row.

We were pretty starved by the time we pulled in but Aaron humored me with some pictures by the water.  When it's just the two of us, pictures usually go like this...

First one of Aaron...

 Then one of me...

But all we really want is a picture of together, so we wait til a stranger walks by and then we pounce (while praying that the pictures turns out semi ok)...

 Success!

We relied heavily on Trip Advisor/Yelp for food recommendations and they did not steer us wrong! 

We walked over to a sushi place called Crystal Fish and while we were at first skeptical by the location and exterior, it totally blew us away.  

It was THE BEST SUSHI OF ALL TIME. 

The fish was SO fresh.  We could have eaten five more rolls but we were full after three (darn!).  We will definitely be going back though.  I must have that Monterey Roll again!  

And we now use "Crystal Fish" as the measuring stick for greatness.  Throughout the weekend, you could find us saying, "This is the 'crystal fish' of all nights," "You are the 'crystal fish' of all husbands," "That was the 'crystal fish' of all ice cream," etc. etc.

 ^^The look of pure satisfaction.  And you better believe we ate those last couple of rolls!

We ended the night with a walk along Cannery Row and split a sundae at Ghirardelli's.

 ^^Look at the grip I have on the glass, as if to say, "This is allll mine."  I wish, ha!

And then Saturday morning started off with these beautiful flowers...

Oh and these ones too...

Monterey was really killin' it in the plant department.  I could do with more of those flowers and cypress trees in my life. 

We grabbed delicious crepes at Crepes of Brittany, which was just along the water at Fisherman's Wharf. 

^^See that little boy with his Grandpa?  He was practicing walking right next to us and made us miss Eleanor a whole bunch.

And as luck would have it, there was a car show just next to where we ate our crepes!  Aaron is like a magnet for these things.

 ^^Look at the speedometer! Goodness, cars used to be so pretty.

Then on to the Aquarium, thanks to our wonderful friends the Stoffels who let us use their guest passes.  Thanks Arenda!

I fell in love with the sea otters the last time I came to Monterey (over 15 years ago...) and I loved them just as much this time around.

 And look at the jelly fish!  These were just quickly snapped iPhone photos but they actually show the colors surprisingly well.

Sometimes I think that aquariums and zoos are for kids cause that's what you do going up, but I was amazed at just how into it all we were as a 27 year olds.  We loved it!

After the aquarium, we were in the mood to just sit for a while so we decided to do the 17 Mile Drive.  The drive takes you along the coast and through world famous golf courses and the most beautiful homes.  The views are just stunning and definitely gave us a chance to do a little dreaming ourselves.

^^I'd love to bike this drive one day!

 ^^I couldn't get the color to come out right for this picture but that water was surprisingly blue for the Pacific Ocean and that sand was nice and white.

 ^^That's a good ole DSLR selfie right there. Monterey's overcast weather sure makes your skin look milky smooth in photos.

 ^^I should have taken more shots of the trees.  This photo DOES NOT do those pretty trees justice.

^^We sure loved walking the grounds of Pebble Beach.

We were starving by the end of the drive and had just enough time to squeeze in a late lunch/early dinner before we headed back home.  We accidentally ended up at a rather fancy waterfront restaurant but it seemed like the perfect end to a great weekend so we just rolled with it.  I loved my salad and we had a great time recapping all the fun stuff we had done.  We also planned out ideas for future getaways, of which we hope there are many ;)

And then it was off to Fresno for us.  We blasted Billy Joel and the Eagles all the way home and and spent equal time singing along as we did talking about our life goals.

Upon arriving home, we gave my mom and Ginny the biggest hugs we could and thanked them again and again for letting us have the best weekend.  They were such champs!  And it felt so good knowing that Eleanor was happy as a clam while we were away. Eleanor was already asleep when we got home but we both went into her room the next morning and it was a really sweet reunion.  We gave her a little puffin stuffed animal from the aquarium and she has given that thing so many hugs it's ridiculous and adorable.

So, in summary, these sorts of weekends are definitely a luxury that we don't get to enjoy very often but man it was needed and wonderful.  It just feels good to be with your spouse and focus just on each other and remember that you really are best friends and that you really, really enjoy each other.  It's just one of those things that is so worth it because it allows you to really reconnect and refocus.

It was definitely the "crystal fish" of all weekends ;)

Good friends, good food, good conversation, good life.

When my friend Erin texted Jessica and me saying that her husband Nate was headed out of town so she was thinking of driving up for the weekend with her cute little son Scott, we responded with a big "YES!!!" and I was so happy to say we had a room and a bed just waiting for her.

I love that I live a little closer to Erin now (she's in San Diego) and that we can make friend trips like this even easier (although we've been pretty lucky to have multiple get togethers so far this year: March in San Jose, May in San Diego/Valencia and August in Seattle).  Erin got here Thursday night and us girls went out to dinner, had late night girl chats, went shopping at the mall with our three strollers and spent the day up at Veater Ranch.  And then on Saturday we got babysitters, and with Steve and Aaron along too, we went to the movie Meet the Mormons (which was great!), made copy-cat Sweet Tooth Fairy VaNIElla cupcakes and played Settlers of Catan.   It was so fun to catch up, to see Jessica and Erin's cute baby bumps together and to have our kids play in the same space.  

^^I love this picture and all the kid chaos it took to get it #reallife.  It was the best attempt we had at a picture with the kiddos and I think it's perfect.  I love the patient and loving moms that my friends have become and I just want to be like them.  Also, Clara's backwards swan dive?  Awesome. Even better?  How Jessica is laughing it off with grace.

 ^^Clara kisses are the best kind of kisses and Eleanor is lucky enough to receive a LOT of them. 

^^The whole bunch just after seeing Meet the Mormons.

^^Sweet little works of art on my fridge by Scott.

Life is so much richer with these dear friends in it!