Week 19 (movie) My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Last weekend our city had their annual Greek Festival. So our family went and ate gyros! We only caught a few minutes of the dancing. I am hoping that next year we can get there before the end of the dancing.

After the kids were in bed Jadae and I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"! It is a little older movie but still fun. I love how much her family cares for each other and supports each other.
Toula, who was the main character is a 30 year old who is single and working in her father's restaurant. Her father's wish for her was to marry a Greek boy, have Greek babies, and feed everyone. Her father was constantly telling her that she is "looking old".

Toula falls for a non-Greek guy, much to her father's dismay. Her father eventually comes around and there is a big wedding, in which Toula does not have much control over because all of her numerous cousins and Aunts are trying to be helpful and ordering and picking things out for it.

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks

Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1.   Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2.   Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3.   Week Three- Art Night!
4.   Week four- Deal or No Deal

5.   Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.   Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7.   Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8.   Cruise!
9.   Week 9- (Game) Star Fluxx
10  .Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island
11.  Week 11 (game) Forbidden Desert
12. Week 12 (art night) Picasso Playdoh
13. Week 13- Puzzle and Pillow Talk Conversations
14,  Week 14 - (game) Scattergories Categories
15, Week 15- (movie) Private Ryan
16. Week 16- Wii Game Night
17. Week 17- a really fun game
18. Week 18- (art night) Fractured Faces

Week 18- (art night) Fractured Faces

Jadae and I got a bit behind in our date nights so this week we tried to play catch up. I found a fun art project inspired by Picasso again. 

Instead of each making our own we worked on this together making one final project. First we made a Picasso face. Because we were at the Ronald McDonald house for the night (Smiles had 2 appointments on different days at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for his Neurofibromatosis) we were inspired to make a doctor looking person.  Wee used markers to color it. 

Then I used a book (I forgot to pack a ruler!) to make lines to divide the picture into several sections. I used the lines as a guide to cut out the sections. 

One a second (should be much larger than the one we used) piece of paper we made a bunch of different doodles for the background.

After that was done we placed the sections on the collage of designs and slip and slide them to make a fractured look. 

Here is our completed project (if I were to do this again I would make sure that the face was on a much smaller face and that the collage of designs were more colorful and detailed.

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks

Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1.   Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2.   Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3.   Week Three- Art Night!
4.   Week four- Deal or No Deal

5.   Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.   Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7.   Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8.   Cruise!
9.   Week 9- (Game) Star Fluxx
10  .Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island
11.  Week 11 (game) Forbidden Desert
12. Week 12 (art night) Picasso Playdoh
13. Week 13- Puzzle and Pillow Talk Conversations
14,  Week 14 - (game) Scattergories Categories
15, Week 15- (movie) Private Ryan
16. Week 16- Wii Game Night
17. Week 17- a really fun game

Week 15 (movie) Saving Private Ryan

For date night this week we watched "Saving Private Ryan". I had not seen this movie in a good decade or so. I forgot how gruesome the first 20 or so minutes it was. So the first part I had to keep turning my head away. While typically that stuff does not bother me so much, right now, being pregnant it does!

I had planned on us eating french food while we ate. But right now most food does not seem appealing to me and I totally forgot! So we only watched the movie.

For those who have not seen it or maybe it has been awhile I will give a brief summary of the movie. It takes place right after D-Day (WW2). During combat 3 out of 4 brother were KIA. One of the ladies typing up the telegrams realizes that a mom will be receiving all three telegrams on the same day. When General George Marshall is alerted to this and that there is still a fourth brother missing in action he makes a decision that the last brother, Private James Ryan will be found and brought home. A company being lead my Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and six other men is formed and their new mission is to find this missing brother. The rest of the movie is about how these men are trying to find Private Ryan.

This group of soldiers who do not know Private Ryan or even anything about him. Miller evens says at one point, "This Ryan guy better be worth it".  These seven men are risking their lives for the good of one man, for his freedom. 

Christ also did this for us. He died for each of us. Each of us were worth it to Him. We were lost in our sin but Jesus came and rescued us. He sacrificed His life for us! So we can be reunited with God. 

"6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation."

Romans 5:6-9

This story also made me think of the parable in the Bible about the sheep in Luke 15. A shepherd has 100 sheep, he knows where 99 of them are but one is lost. The shepherd goes and searches for just one sheep. This one sheep is so valuable to him, even though he has 99 others. We are so valuable to Jesus.



3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:3-7

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks

Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1.   Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2.   Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3.   Week Three- Art Night!
4.   Week four- Deal or No Deal

5.   Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.   Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7.   Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8.   Cruise!
9.   Week 9- (Game) Star Fluxx
10  .Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island
11.  Week 11 (game) Forbidden Desert
12. Week 12 (art night) Picasso Playdoh
13. Week 13- Puzzle and Pillow Talk Conversations
14,  Week 14 - (game) Scattergories Categories

Week 13- Puzzle and Pillow Talk Conversations

     For our stay-at-home date night this week we put a puzzle together. I found this Sat Wars puzzle at the Dollar General Store. It actually contains two 100 piece puzzles. All of my sons and my husband is huge fans of Star Wars so I know this puzzle will be loved. I was not sure how many pieces I should buy. It has been a long time since I put together something more than a board puzzle or a small 24-piece young child's puzzle. It took us less than an hour to do one of the puzzles. We decided to save the other one for another time.

While we worked on the puzzle I took the opportunity to have us answer some questions that I got from The Dating Diva's website. They are Conversation starters that they affectionately named "Pillow Talk". There are over 50 questions. Some of the ones we got during our date was "Would you want to go back in the past or in the future?", "What does your dream car look like?", etc. Those are some of the ones we had that night. There are a lot of really good ones that we never got to such as, "What was something that you worried about today?", "What was the most frustrating part of day?", and "What are you most excited about tomorrow"  You can download the questions from the link above for free. I highly recommend it! They are a great way to talk about your day, concerns, worries, etc. with your spouse or loved ones. The Dating Diva's recommend just doing a few every night with your spouse when you go to bed (hence the name "pillow Talk" to reconnect.

Here is our completed puzzle!

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks

Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1.   Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2.   Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3.   Week Three- Art Night!
4.   Week four- Deal or No Deal

5.   Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.   Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7.   Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8.   Cruise!
9.   Week 9- (Game) Star Fluxx
10  .Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island
11.  Week 11 (game) Forbidden Desert
12. Week 12 (art night) Picasso Playdoh

Week 11 (game) Forbidden Desert

I invited my sister to join us for our stay-at-home date night this time. We decided to play a game and with having an extra brain we figured we would be able to understand the instructions better. Jadae opened up "Forbidden Desert". It is a co-operative game, where you work together to win. About half-way through the game we really started to discuss what our next moves should be before we took our turn instead of just taking our turn independently. Once we started to do that we started to win! You really have to work together or you all will lose and die. I really like the concept of these kinds of games. You are not just looking at your own best interests or what would benefit you but everyone around you.

(this post contains an affiliate link)

I have not played any of the co-op games yet but I have heard high praises about them. The premise of "Forbidden Desert"" is your team's helicopter has crushed in the desert, which happens to be an ancient city that is buried under sand. This city has pieces to an solar-powered flying machine that are buried under the sand. 

The board of the game is made up of tiles. The tiles are constantly being moved around due to sand storms. Once one digs up all the sand and excavates the tile it gets flipped over to the city side. In order to win you have to find all the pieces of the flying machine and everyone has to get to the landing dock. You find the flying pieces by clearing the sand and flipping over the cards, hoping that they will revel where the pieces are buried. One you have collected all 4 pieces and everyone gets to the landing dock your team wins!

There are a total of 6 different characters. Each character has a special power that helps with the game. Some of the characters include an Archaeologist can remove two sand tiles at a time, while everyone else can only do one. The other characters are climber, explorer, meteorologist, navigator, and water carrier.

All the players are racing against time. After each turn you have to draw from the sand deck. There are several different cards in this deck. Most often a sand storm happens, which buries the tiles more in sand. The sun can beat down and deplete your water supply- which means you can die of thirst, or the severity sand storm can pick up so badly that you cannot get off the island and you end up being buried alive!

It wasn't until half-way through the game when we realized that we were making it more difficult on ourselves. During your turn you are allowed up to 4 actions. We originally thought that it meant you had to play the actions each only once per turn and you had to play in a certain order. The actions can actually be played in any order or more than once. But you are only allowed 4 actions per turn. The actions are very easy to understand and perform. The player can perform any combination of the following actions:

1) move to another tile (you just can't move diagonally
2) removing sand (from your own tile or one adjacent to your tile)
3) if there is no sand on the tile you are on you can excavate it by flipping it from it's desert side to the city side. The city side has several different actions; gears (which are very helpful and can be played at any time), water!, or a clue to where a piece of the flying machine is
4) Pick up a part- if the tile is not under sand and you have both clues to a part of the flying machine, and are on the matching tile you can pick up a part
This game also plays really well with only 2 players! 

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1.  Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2.  Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3.  Week Three- Art Night!
4.  Week four- Deal or No Deal

5.  Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.  Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7.  Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8.  Cruise!
9.  Week 9- (Game) Star Fluxx
10.Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island

Week 10- (movie) Nim's Island

Our movie of the month was "Nim's Island". Neither Jadae nor I have seen it. I picked this movie after Jadae said he was not interested in seeing "Castaway". I wanted a movie about people who are deserted on an island in spirits of our recent cruise.

"Nim's Island" is a cute movie about a 11 year old girl and her father that live on deserted island in the South Pacific. Nim's father, who is a microbiologist, goes out to sea for what was suppose to be only couple of days while Nim stays on the island to help care for the sea turtles that were hatching. While her father is gone Nim's favorite actor writes to Nim and her father to get help with the newest adventure book that is being written. The author, Alex Rover, ends up coming to the island to help Nim as she had gotten hurt and she could not get a hold of her father who had been gone longer than anticipated. Nim also wanted Alex's help because Nim believed that pirates were coming to invade her island after looking through her telescope and seeing a ship, "Buccaneer Landing". I am not going to share what happens, I will let you find out by watching it yourself.




After the move Jadae and I discussed what we would bring with us if we (our family included) were stuck on a deserted island. I decided that shelter and methods to hunt for food would already be taken care of.


Jadae
1. Bible 
2. Solar Power capability
3. Water/shock proof kindle full of his favorite Bible resources and books
4. Art Supplies
5. I-Pod or something to listen to music with Satellite radio/phone capabilities

My List
1. Bible and Journal
2. Our collection of board games
3. Laptop with unlimited Wi-Fi to FaceTime people from home and to watch YouTube instructional       videos
4. Our library :)
5. Medical and Hygiene Supplies

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

5. Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6. Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7. Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8. Cruise!
9. Week 9 - (game) Star Fluxx

Week 9 (Game) Star Fluxx

My baby brother is staying with us while he is on spring break this week and next. So we invited him to join us in our weekly stay-at-home date night.

Jadae is a big sc-fi geek! He loves Star Wards, Star Trek, etc. So I got Star Fluxx from Amazon knowing that he would enjoy it. (We already own Family Fluxx and Wizard of Oz Fluxx). Fluxx is a game where the rules always change and how to win the game (by achieving the goal) changes also. I like certain sci-fi movies (such as Back to the Future) but I really am not into Star Trek. I did enjoy this game though and know enough about a lot of the sci-fi genre that I got the cards and they made me smile!



Because of copyright infringements Looney Labs (the creators of Fluxx) had to be creative with some of their cards. For example, in Star Trek the men who wear red shirts always end up dying- in this game that is a keeper card and the card is called "The Expendable Crewmen".  The cards make reference to  references to Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, A Space Odyssey, Stargate, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and probably some others.

This version of Fluxx has some awesome extra abilities on some of the keepers. These make the game more interesting and fun! I will say that this version is not the best to introduce someone to Fluxx as there are more complex cards that the other versions do not have unless there are people playing that are familiar with the game.

Even though my brother joined us we still had fun! We ended up playing several rounds.  I can't remember who won. I know I didn't win any rounds though. But that is not what mattered.


52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

5. Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6. Week 6- Wii Game (Super Mario Maker)
7. Week 7- (movie) Tourist
8. Cruise!

Week 8- Cruise!

I actually only planned 51 stay-at-home dates because we would be on vacation for a whole week.

Back in August Jadae took me to Cleveland for a long weekend to celebrate our 10th anniversary Jadae told me sister that he would be taking me on a lunch cruise over Lake Erie.  He remembered that on our 1st anniversary I had expressed a desire to go on a cruise for our 10th., so this was as close as he could get. While we were in Cleveland he had my sister plan a surprise anniversary party and indicated that people were not to bring any gifts.

Well, she listened somewhat. Instead she told people about my dream and if they wanted to they could contribute money to make it a reality. So when we got to the party we both were surprised with the cruise!

Jadae and I went on the Independence of the Seas through Royal Caribbean last week for a 5 night cruise to the East Caribbean. We had ports at  Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti (which is a pennuisula that Royal Caribbean has a lease for 99 years). The weather was wonderful!

We experienced some hiccups on the way there. First I misplaced my license and credit cards after we checked our bags but before we went through security. Talk about your heart sinking! Jadae found them in a side pocket of my personal item. We ended up at the airport several hours early so we went to a pub. I journaled and used my kindle while Jadae enjoyed a cold one. We then went to our gate. They started to board and I realized that I could not find my kindle. So I ran all the way back to the pub to see if I left it there. It was not there! Jadae then called. It was in the same pocket that I had misplaced my cards. I booked it back to board in time!

We went to a show every night and sometimes took in an extra one in the afternoon. There was ice skating shows. A dancing show called, "Invitation to Dance"which was choreographed by... We took a short ballroom dance class and a towel animal folding class. Played putt-putt on the ship. Attempted to boogie board on the wave surfer. Rocked climbed on the upper deck. Enjoyed the hot tub. Ate a lot of food! We really enjoyed ourselves!

 In Jamaica we decided to just go the the Red Strip Beach and enjoy the ocean. We thought about doing another excursion but we wanted to have plenty of time to shop in the souvenir shops. We got Jadae some authentic Jamaican coffee. We also brought some Sangster's Jamaica Rum Cream Liqueur (both original and coconut) which was very yummy.

In Haiti we took a coastal tour of the island in a little boat. So much of Haiti is dependent on tourism. We saw men out fishing in their boats. After they caught their fish they take them home where their their wife cleans it then sales it to provide income for their family.

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

5. Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.  Week 6- Wii Night (Super Mario Maker)
7.

Week 7- Movie "The Tourist"

Note- We ended up having this date after our cruise. Due to our family needing us we had to postpone our date

For our weekly date stay-at-home date nights I wanted to stay away from too many movie/tv nights. So often that is what we end up doing by the end of the day. So when I was planning the weeks out I decided I would allow one scheduled movie a month but the movie would have to relate to something else. Last month we watched the Bucket List and made our own. Other months we will go on field trips related to the movie or have a themed night.

This week we watched "The Tourist". The movie takes place in another country. It was a decent movie. I was able to figure out who the person was that was being searched for by the gangsters before it was revealed. It was a decent movie. Somewhat slow. Not tons of action. Was really not my favorite movie but it was still interesting.

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

5. Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)
6.  Week 6- Wii Night (Super Mario Maker)

Week 6- (Wii Night) Super Mario Maker

            This week we had a more laid back date night. We played Super Mario Maker for the Wii U.  I had originally planned on us making levels prior to play but that did not happen. Instead we decided to take turns playing the 100 Mario challenge to help unlock a new costume for Jadae. We each were allowed 3 lives or passing one level before we had to turn the controller over to the other person.
          We fun just playing something that reminded us of our childhood. It was very relaxing, not mind draining, but yet challenging. And a little confession on my part I still scream like when I was younger when I play video games. I scream when a bad guy gets too close or you almost get hit my a fire stick or fall in a hole :)
         For those who are not familiar with this game I will give a brief synopsis. There are several different ways to play. One way is to make your own Mario levels that you can upload for others to play. You are able to use the Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U platforms to make the levels along with creating tunnels, sub-levels, etc. in the outside world, the ship, the castle, etc. Or you can play levels of your choosing that others have loaded. And you also can play 100 or 10 Mario challenge. Where you get that many lives to try and beat so many levels (depending on difficulty) once you do you get to unlock a costume that allows you to change what Mario becomes when he levels up (getting bigger or a special power). The costumes have all kinds of outfits, like being a gomba, Link, Lugio, Donkey Kong  etc. My whole family loves this game. Jadae tries to design levels that Monkey boy can play. Monkey Boy enjoys making levels filling them with as many bad guys as possible!




52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

5. Week 5- Game Night (Chrononauts)

52 Weeks- Week 5 - Chrononauts

Time travel is very interesting. It has always intrigued people. Sometimes people wish that they go back in history and have a redo. Other times people wish they could speed up the clock; such as when a child is going through a difficult stage, you are very pregnant and just want to have that baby. Other times people want to either go back into history and see what it was like to live back then or peek into the future to see what might happen

But with time travel there comes consequences. In Back to the Future II, Marty and Doc were very careful not to mess up what had already 'happened' in the future because a time paradox could happen.

Doc: "I foresee two possibilities. One, seeing herself thirty years in the future would put Jennifer into shock and she'd simply pass out. Or two, the encounter could create a time paradox. The results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe!... Granted, that's the worst-case scenario. The destruction however might be limited merely to our own galaxy."

Marty: "Well that's a relief!"

— Doc and Marty were discussing the ramifications of Jennifer running into herself.

Chrononauts is a game that allows you to make paradoxes left and right without real-life consequences.

It took as a little while to learn the directions of the game but once we understood them the games kept rolling. We ended up playing 5 games. Jadae won 3 and I only 2. I am looking forward to see how the dynamics change when another player is added. There is also an option to play solo.

(Disclaimer- This post does contain an affliate link, meaning if you purchase a game I will receive a small portion of the sell at no extra charge for you)

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!
4. Week four- Deal or No Deal

52 Date Nights- Week 4- Deal or No Deal

We are at week 4 of our 52 stay-at-home date nights! This week I got the date idea from The Dating Divas. This is a wonderful resource for all kinds of dating ideas (at home, group dates, anniversary, out of the house, and about, etc.)

We played "Deal or No Deal". If you seen the tv show it is set up very similar to that. If not, here is the basic premise of the tv show. There are about 30 briefcases with prizes raging in value (from very small amount to a very high amount). The contestant chooses a briefcase hoping that inside that briefcase he or she has chosen the biggest prize. Each round he or she chose's more briefcases and the amount or prize that is inside is revealed. The Banker than offers him or her a deal. The contestant can decide if they want that deal or to keep playing in hopes of getting the best prize.

The Dating Divas has their own version of this game intended for the bedroom! The prizes range from "High Five to Just do it". I did lament the game pieces so it can be played again in the future. Jadae selected the briefcase that he hoped had the ultimate prize. Than we played very similar to the tv show, with me being the banker making offers.

I will not disclose what briefcase hubby opened as his final deal but we had fun playing this game. It made him nervous each time he selected a new briefcase. We will definitely be playing this one again.

Here is our finished art work!

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List
2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America
3. Week Three- Art Night!

52 Date Nights- Week 3 - Art Night

I am a bit of a perfectionist. Which is odd because I am also a pack rat and messy. But when it comes to certain things I want it to be just right. I sometimes struggle with this because I know it is okay to not be perfect or to have the perfect house.

I have attended a couple of art nights similar to cork and easel classes (but without the cork). I have done one with a bunch of other women and one as a couple (where we each have our own canvas and do one half of the picture). And I would get a little obsessed with making my canvas look just like the instructor's.

(Jadae and I with our finished product at couple's paint class. Lots of fun!)

When I take pictures of my children I try to angle the camera just right, so that the mess in the background is not there. Even today I did this when I was taking pictures of Smile opening his birthday presents and eating cake.

I know that I am not perfect, that no one here on earth is. This is something that I need to work on. To be vulnerable with. To show my mistakes and messes, not just material ones, but also ones that are internal. To ask for help, to let others know that I have struggles, that my kids also have their own issues. That as much as I wished so, I do not have it all put together.

When I was preparing the 52 date night ideas I came across an art night that I loved. As a bonus I realized that it would help me overcome some of my perfectionist tendencies. I saw the idea on Pinterest. Even though the example I looked at came from a classroom, I knew that Jadae and I could take it on. I think it was named something like, "Remixed Masterpiece"

With Jadae's help we chose an art piece and I made 3 copies of it. I then divided the piece up (1-4 across the top and A-C along the side) and cut it into pieces. We divided the pieces up so that we each had every other. The medium we used was oil pastels. I used those a lot in middle school; Jadae has not used them much. And we got to work.

We decided on a sunset island piece of art as inspiration for our upcoming cruise next month! We had fun and it was interesting to see how our pieces fit together at the end. I also did not allow my perfectionist side to take over!

Here is a copy of the original (on the left) and my copy of it (on the right)

Here is our finished art work!

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List
2. Week Two- (game) Post Cards from North America

52 Date Nights- Week 2 Game Night!

We had originally decided on having our date nights on Mondays after I get out of dance practice. But this week Jadae was awesome and took all 3 boys on our monthly big grocery shopping trip alone while I was at dance. By the time he got home (he went on several other errands also) he was exhausted. It didn't help that his hemoglobin was low (9) at his last iron infusion 2 weeks ago.

This week I had planned on a game night. So Jadae unwrapped his first present from the black tub. He opened Post Cards from North America (I don't know what you do with game titles, do they get capitalized? underlined? quotes?), which is a game that I picked up at the local thrift store for $2! I don't believe that I had heard of this game before but decided for $2 it was worth trying it out.

Bill Rolette invented this game and used post cards from his own travels! The goal of the game is to complete 10 postcards. You complete a post card by traveling there either across the board or flying to that destination. It is a great game to either learn or refresh your memory of America geography and to see the famous America Sites.

We enjoyed this game and to just have that one-on-one time together free from electronics, kids, and other distractions.

Here is our finished art work!

52 Date Nights in 52 Weeks
Getting out of a rut- The post that explains why I started this journey

1. Week One- (movie) The Bucket List

52 Date Nights - Week 1- Movie Night

The Bucket List

For our first date night we watched “The Bucket List” with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

  After the movie we made our own bucket lists. We actually had a hard time coming up with things we wanted to do before we “kicked the bucket”. We realized that we are pretty content in our life. There are things we would like to do and change but if we didn’t we would not feel like we were not successful or have not really lived.

   

     Our list in had a lot of things we hope to do together this year as a couple or as a family. Hopefully we will be able to get them done! (a few we will on our cruise! Some others on our list include visiting area attractions, short-term goals for our children (potty-training and sleeping through the night), and things that would be awesome if they ever happened.

Have you ever made a bucket list?