Happy Valentine's Day, my friends! We've been busy crafting away, making little pom pom love monsters and heart-shaped cards for all the kids in Ez's class, as well as felt roses for his teachers. I always remember making elaborate Valentine's Day cards with my mom growing up and I was so excited to continue this tradition with Ez and Declan once they started school.
To celebrate this day of love, I thought it'd be fun to recap the past year's worth of date nights and weekend getaways, which don't always get a lot of mention on the blog. Fun fact: we've never hired a babysitter for Ez and Deck. Not once. Thankfully, we do have a few willing family members who take on the job for free (seriously, thank you so much!!) and we managed to do a couple getaways and staycations last year.
First up, and I'm not sure this should really count as a date, but we like to take opportunity when it presents itself, even if we are mid-move with just hours to pack up half a household. So, in true Joe and Nina fashion, we made the most of our move last January with a mini dinner & cupcake break, followed by scrabble & wine to celebrate our new place. Cheers to that!
Last Valentine's Day we decided to go all out with a weekend getaway to Monterey, where we explored the wharf, and the beach, and, possibly my favorite part, we met a super playful otter putting on a show for us just as we were about to leave.
In March we opted for a staycation, and wandered around Sacramento, checking out coffee houses, bookstores, the Governor's Mansion, and basically all the stuff we've always wanted to explore that don't include a playground 😉
A family trip to Disneyland may not seem like a date, BUT, if you go with enough family there's always a chance to sneak off for a mini date to ride the big kid rides while someone else watches the kids. Definitely one of our favorite date spots (as if you didn't know that already!)
Between May and June we were too busy doing family stuff for a real date night, but we made up for it in July with a movie date to see Wonder Woman and a birthday weekend getaway to Tahoe & Reno. Gambling, a cirque du soleil type performance, LOTS of good food, and kayaking - one of my favorite birthdays yet.
September was one year married for us!! We celebrated with sushi (pretty much a given on 9 out of 10 of our date nights) and our first movie at the Tower Theater (Wind River - surprisingly good), a trip to the California Museum, and, of course, cutting into our year old cake (also surprisingly good).
November was DISNEY WORLD!! We had a pretty good day date around Epcot, which is basically THE dream date spot. Tons of great food, drinks, and beautiful scenery. I wish we lived close enough for regular date nights there.
Somehow, in the midst of Christmas shopping, and wrapping, and colds, and family time we snuck out to see Lady Bird, which I've already raved about on Instagram because it's all filmed in Sacramento. Being able to watch it in Tower Theater and recognize all the landmarks was such a special experience.
And that brings us back to January, with not one, but two date nights. First up was a trip to see Star Wars, which at first we liked, but as the movie sank in, we realized we didn't like it so much after all. Then we capped the month off with another staycation where we tried a new to us restaurant and went to see the Sacramento Contemporary Dance company, followed by a cozy night watching Chicago and playing Mario Kart.
What a year we've had! Fitting in romance between potty training, and the preschool plague, and all the other madness that comes with raising two rambunctious boys is not easy, but I'm so lucky that Joe always makes it a priority to schedule in time for just the two of us AND come up with creative date ideas.
Happy Valentine's Day to my bff, partner in crime (and parenting), the funniest person I know, my soulmate. Men like you are one in a million, and I definitely won the lottery with you.
PS - Did I mention how lucky I am? ❤
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