Year of Dates --- Mike's Christmas Present

Mike and I have been together for almost 8 years but when we first met we really didn't do much dating. Now we have two kids and it's even harder to go on dates.  So, for his Christmas present I knew exactly what I wanted to get him. A year of dates!!

First, I had to figure out 12 places we could go and things we could do. That was probably the hardest part.  Then I gathered my supplies. For each month I wrote a paper inside that explained what we were going to do for that month's date. All of the dates are prepaid, so there's a gift certificate or cash inside to cover the date expenses. 

We opened presents a few days before Christmas because I couldn't wait any longer to surprise him. Inside the box I put a paper explaining what the year of dates entailed. He LOVED it!! 

Since it was practically January, I let him open the January envelope.  It is dinner at the local brewery and tickets to the movies to see Taken 3.  

I'll be sharing pictures from each date and what exactly we did each month on here and on Instagram.  Some dates are just simple and others are more extravagant (June is our honeymoon so that's our June date).  

Top 10 of 2014

Happy 2015.  It's time for my top 10 of 2014 list. I did this last year and it's interesting to look back on and see how the past year went. 

Top 10 recipes of 2014

Walking Taco Casserole

Crock pot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Hamburger Potato Casserole

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Taco Balls

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Ranch Lasagna / Shells

Chili Dog Casserole 

Pizza Tot Casserole

Pizza Rolls 

Top 10 Family Moments

Our rental property bathroom reno

We bought our new house

I lost 18 pounds

Mike went skydiving

We got engaged!!

The kids turned 6 & 2

We vacationed- part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Marley started 1st grade

We had family & engagement pictures taken

Christmas

Overall, we had a great year.  2015 is going to be really great. (wedding and honeymoon!!) 

Christmas Day 2014

On Christmas morning we had to wake up the kids to show them that Santa came!!  

They hurried downstairs and Marley quickly passed out their presents. 

I'll do another post with what we bought them, but Santa did deliver the requested silly string and cars. 

After we finished opening presents at our house we got ready and Mike and the kids headed to his dads, while I headed back to my moms.  After we ate Mike and the kids came to my parents house to open more presents.  

They received lots of great stuff and had a great time playing and eating too much sugar. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas too! 

Christmas Eve 2014

I can't believe Christmas is already here and gone. It goes so fast.  I'll share our Christmas post tomorrow, but today is all about Christmas Eve. 

First thing we did in the morning was go see Santa. We usually go in November, but since we moved 30 minutes away from Bass Pro we weren't out that way until now. The kids asked for silly string (Marley) and cars (Mason)  No tears this year! 

After that we went out to eat with Mike's dad and then home to relax for a little while. 

Around 5pm we headed to my mom and dad's house to let the kids open their presents from them and have dinner. 

The kids got a lot of cute stuff and had a great time playing with their cousins. We headed home around 9pm to get to bed and wait for Santa!!