12 Dates of 2012 . . . or Make that 36 Dates . . .

Trying to keep our marriage fun and fresh after 5 years can be challenging -- especially with a baby in the picture. It's easy to think that crashing in front of the tv after a long day counts as "us" time, but I want to be more intentional about our marriage this year and try to freshen things up.

So for Christmas I decided to get Josh 12 dates for 2012 -- one fully planned, fully paid for date for each month.

I was so proud of myself and was sure he'd be wowed by my creative genius.

Or not.

Apparently we're on the exact same wave length about needing more time together because on Christmas Eve when we were opening present, I opened mine to find a date book with 2 dates planned for each month in 2012.

Holy batman, that's 36 dates for one year! Watch out world, we're going to fall in love all over again. and probably make another Mitchell baby. hells yeah:)

Anyway, here's a little glimpse into what we've got planned for our exciting year of dates.

My Dates for Us

I had envelopes for each month that had what we'd need for our date, and a little sheet of paper describing the dates.

• January: Wine 'n Design (thank you, Groupon)
• February : Wings and beer at Apex wings
• March: First Friday
• April: White Water Rafting

May: Camping at Grayson Highlands

• June: Beers at Boylan Bridge Brewpub

July: Bowling!

• August: Let's stay in! (w/ a dollar for Red Box, $ for wine, and some fun lingerie

September: A visit to the alma maters followed by Ben 'n Jerry's

• October: Hiking (w/ a fun new hiking book 100 Great NC Hikes
• November: Your Pick! (so ironic in retrospect)

December: Coffee date to write our Thankfulness List for 2012

His Dates for Us

Josh created little books where he had small cards with what we are going to do. His plans for the year

• January: Rembrandt (although we actually saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo instead)

January #2: Bonefish Grill and Ice Skating

• February: Dinner at Sunflowers 
• March: First Friday

March #2: Hiking at Pilot Mountain

• April: Lunch at Irregardless Cafe / Vacation
• May: First Friday 

May #2: Mother's Day Getaway to the Umstead

• June: Dinner at Geer St. Garden / Hiking at Raven's Rock 
• July: First Friday / Bonefish Grill 
• August: Drinks at Peak City Grill / Canoeing at Jordan Lake 
• September: First Friday

September #2: Drinks at Hibernian, DInner at Big Easy, Night at the Marriott

• October: Hiking at Goose Creek State Park / Halloween Party 
• November: Fall leaf watching at Morrow Mountain / Dinner at Vinrouge 
• December: First Friday / Dinner at Remedy