"Good Bye" Dates

For me, preparing for a trip away from my family includes much more than just packing and passports. It meant spending extra quality time together; it meant a lot of date nights!

First up, a family Date: 

Yo Ho and a Bucket of Popcorn

I found the perfect outing for this- Peter Pan on stage at a local kid friendly theater. It was only an hour long, had new original music and script from local writers, you could eat snacks, and even babies are allowed! It was a great choice, the girls both loved it. This was June's forth time seeing a live stage production but it was Hazel's first time. She was completely enchanted the whole time and got really excited when the pirates came on stage. We even had popcorn and ice cream to munch on. Seeing their faces and joy made me emotional!

I love the old people behind us "photo bombing."

June loved Wendy and wants to be her now

Hazel wouldn't stop pointing excitedly at Captain Hook... until we got close to him and then she wanted nothing to do with him. haha

Classic family photos

Next up, Hazel and me: 

With a Moo Moo Here and a Moo Moo There

For my date with Hazel I decided to keep it simple since she's two. As we left the house that evening she excitedly chanting "Mommy, Hazel! Mommy, Hazel!" until we got in the car and then she was distraught that we were going somewhere without her "Ju-ey." She calmed down quickly though. 

If you're wondering what a date with a two year old looks like, it involved many rounds of "The wheels on the bus" and "Old McDonald," ice cream covered in gummy bears, and waving at strangers.

Next Date, June and me: 

This Pink or That Pink ("Blush or Bashful?")

Steel Magnolias quote anyone? Anyway, for my date with June I planned it weeks in advance, making an appointment for some pedicures. June has become obsessed with foot massages and loves painted toe nails so I thought I'd introduce her to the world of pampering. 

She was barely long enough to get her little toes in the water but she loved it. She seems to be a natural at getting a pedicure, as she talked the ear off of the girl painting her nails, telling her about her favorite shows and gossiping about the girls at school chasing Stephen around.  

June got a glittery pink and I got a bubble gum. We can't help ourselves, pink is the best. Somehow I forgot to get a photo of our finished nails but whatever, who wants to see foot photos anyway? 

It was a great night with my little June Bug and the first of many spa outings I hope. 

Lastly, date night with Buck: 

Bowling for Strikes (but landing in gutters)

Not only was this our last date before I leave but it was also our chance to celebrate Buck's birthday since I will be gone during his actual big day. Buck's brother, Ben, decided to help us have a great night as his birthday present to Buck. 

Buck really wanted to go bowling for some reason and Ben is a regular at the alley nearby so he hooked us up. It was a busy Friday night and the lanes were packed!

But we were surprised to get escorted into the private bowling room, where we got to order food and then choose our own Pandora radio station, blocking out all the noise from outside the doors.  And it was amazing! Suddenly a typical bowling night turned into a intimate, calm experience.

We had time to just chill on the couch and eat our food and talk about whatever we wanted to talk about. As we bowled I was able to bother Buck and pinch his rump as many times and I wanted and he was able to steal as many kisses as he liked.

All in all our date nights were perfect. You never know what's going to happen in life, no matter how normal you may think a day will be, unexpected things happen and I believe that the best way to prepare for those uncertainties is by spending our time with those we love. With these memories packed in my heart I am now ready to embark on my adventure to Armenia!

Here Comes the Sun

Doodle doodle, Here comes the sun, and I'll say- IT'S ALRIGHT. Ba numa ba numa ban numnama. 

As you can see, the closer I get to Armenia, the more insane I get! It's helps that we've had a few nice days outside. I mean, maybe like 50 degrees but to us it's like we're in the freaking Bahamas. Okay, maybe not that good, but close. 

To make sure we got some vitamin D, we went to the Discovery Garden for an afternoon. God bless it. And I've really been taking a break from my camera before Armenia, so it's more iPhone photos for you! 

First time see-saw/teeter totter addicts

Putting on a play for me. 

 Exploring

  Collecting

 And decorating mom

And making a fairy house because we are experts at that

T'was a good afternoon.

Church History Museum

The other day we did something a little different. Something I probably should have done a while ago but whatever. My friend Adrian had the idea to go to the Church History museum. It's pretty cool and well designed. And the bonus is that they had a children's play section as well. On this outing I actually brought my nice camera but then got there and realized that.... I had left the SD card at home and therefore couldn't even take any photos. So it's phone photos once again!

Then it was warm enough in the sun to go over to Temple Square and eat our lunches. It was a slow day so all the sister missionaries kept stopping to talk to us. June was like "Look mom! There are more missionaries over there! And over there!" haha

 Then we ended the outing by visiting the Jesus statue at the visitor center. The girls were fascinated by the echo of their own voices, more enthralled that there was a man sitting in there with a Santa hat on, and towards the end of this attempted spiritual experience, both June and Hazel were found rolling across the ground. Well, you can't win them all! haha! 

 It was fun to get out and do something different.