12 Dates...12 Months

(Thanks LeeAnn for blogging yours first, I just couldn't help but save myself some time and copy and paste your fantastic wording)

This year for Christmas I gave Brian the gift that keeps giving . . . giving to me that is!  I found this great idea for a "Year of Dates." on Pinterest (I believe this is where my addiction to Pinterest began.)  Pretty much there is an envelope for each month of the year and inside it is an already planned date night. The idea is at the beginning of each month we will sit down together, open the date envelope, and get it on the calendar. That way it is sure to happen!  I don't know if I'm the only one out there that has a hard time getting their hubby to leave their darling kids in the care of a babysitter, but I am determined to date him into the eternities, one date at a time!

My friend LeeAnn and I worked on this for about five months getting all the cards made and figuring out different, fun dates to do and then gathering gift cards and things to go along with the date. My favorite item to include was the cold hard $$$ CASH to cover the babysitting.  It was a lot of work, but is proving to be totally worth it. I think the hardest thing was secretly stashing the cash to purchase things without Brian noticing it was missing...lol

What would "Date Night" be without a little something getting in the way?  Our first date of the New Year proved to have a few challenges.  First, it was getting late into the month and with busy schedules, it was looking grim that we might not be able to find a night to do it (I was not going to let that happen.)  Second, our double date partners John and LeeAnn decided that January was a great month to be on a get healthier and more fit plan (in other words, they were on a diet and the Iron Chef competition we had planned was not going to work.)  Well, we did make it work, and just got together and played a few games.  It was so much fun!  It is amazing what an hour and a half will do for your sanity.  We played "Spot It" a fun new game that the kids got from Grandma and Grandpa Ballard for Christmas.  We had a super fun time teaching this game to John and LeeAnn.  If you haven't played this game, you seriously need to get it.  The fun thing is there are like 5 different games you can play with the same cards.




 The next game we played was a "Shoot Cupid" game that I also found on Pinterest.  You load a Q-tip in a straw and then blow it out like a dart gun trying to get your Q-tip in the basket.  Let's just say, I think the guys had an advantage here.  I think they somehow have a larger lung/air capacity than us girls.  Either way, it was super fun and we are already talking that we need a re-match.  Yes, the Krohn's won this game, but next time, it is all TEAM BALLARD!

As you can see, we had a lot more misses than makes!!!

Here are the rest of the envelopes for the remainder of the year.  We are off to a good start and can't wait to open and enjoy each date the rest of the year.