big things in the everyday
I mentioned recently how listening to inspiring podcasts made me want to do bigger things with my life. They've also made me want to do bigger things with my days though.
I've spent a lot of time in my married life wishing that we got out and did things more often; I think I was hoping Russ would initiate things or they would just magically happen. But now that I'm choosing to make life happen rather than let life happen to me, I'm doing what I can to make sure we get out and experience the world and bring more variety and fun to our lives. So far, this mostly means making plans for family outings on Saturdays and making plans for date nights on Fridays.
I've often suggested that Russ and I alternate planning our dates. In an ideal world, that would be great! But planning dates isn't Russ's forte, and there's no reason that should bother me . . . I love him regardless of his date-planning abilities! Plus, I like planning dates, so why not plan them every week and let him plan one here and there when he feels like it?
So here are some of our family and couple adventures in the last TWO weeks.
Date night: Food trucks + free concert in the park. I noticed on the Springville events newsletter that a band I used to be obsessed with following my freshman year of college (Fictionist) was playing a free concert in the park. Normally, I probably would have considered going, but in the end not put in the {minimal} work to make it happen -- i.e. getting a babysitter and getting out of the house. Seriously, when I break it down into those two tasks, it's ridiculous. Anyway, the concert turned out to just be okay -- the venue was not right for the band, and they didn't play any of their stuff from 6 years ago (aka the stuff I'm familiar with) -- but I was still happy we had gone out and done something different. Also, Russ and I mostly just used the concert as background music and then just laid in the grass and talked, so that was nice :)
Saturday outing: The Puppy Barn. We have no plans to get a puppy anytime soon, but we do have plans to get one someday -- maybe when our kids start asking for one. I thought it would be fun to see how Ada interacts with puppies, so we took her there. It was hard to get any pictures because between the two of us, we had to hold a puppy, hold ada, hold a phone, and keep Ada from torturing the puppy, so the following photo is the only one we got, and it was toward the end of our stay, when Ada was more tired. Earlier on, there was a puppy she seemed to like a lot, because she smiled at him a bunch :)
Wednesday outing: Seven Peaks Water Park. Russ took the day off work in the middle of the week and we took the opportunity to use our water park passes. The day was overcast initially, so we were all actually kind of freezing, but it was still fun, and since she was cold, Ada wanted to cuddle me to warm up!
Friday date night: Sensory Exploration date-in-a-box. We got this date box back in March because it was free other than shipping. Somehow, we hadn't used it in nearly 4 months -- a date that was already completely prepared! That just goes to show you how out of it we've been with dating. Anyway. Included in the box were candle-making supplies (smell), massage oil (touch), and these "magic berry" taste bud altering tablets & warhead candies (taste). We listened to music while we made candles to add in the hearing sense. We also got our first snow cones of the summer (so late, I know) to add more of a yummy taste 😀
Saturday outing: Hare Krishna Temple. There's this huge, beautiful Hindu temple like 15 minutes away from our house. Russ and I had both been there before, but for the Festival of Colors, which is crowded and crazy. My friend Leann recently posted that the temple is open daily and it's free to walk around or get a little tour. So we went there and it was the perfect outing! Normally when you try to figure out places to go, they end up being places that always have lots of people -- it's just kind of the nature of outings. But the Hare Krishna temple was perfect because there were like two other small groups that we encountered while there, and the grounds are big, so it wasn't a big deal. We were just free to leisurely walk around and look at the peacocks, llamas, and fish, as well as the temple itself. My only wish is that I could have understood the tour guide . . . I'm literally the worst at understanding foreign accents.
I've spent a lot of time in my married life wishing that we got out and did things more often; I think I was hoping Russ would initiate things or they would just magically happen. But now that I'm choosing to make life happen rather than let life happen to me, I'm doing what I can to make sure we get out and experience the world and bring more variety and fun to our lives. So far, this mostly means making plans for family outings on Saturdays and making plans for date nights on Fridays.
I've often suggested that Russ and I alternate planning our dates. In an ideal world, that would be great! But planning dates isn't Russ's forte, and there's no reason that should bother me . . . I love him regardless of his date-planning abilities! Plus, I like planning dates, so why not plan them every week and let him plan one here and there when he feels like it?
So here are some of our family and couple adventures in the last TWO weeks.
Date night: Food trucks + free concert in the park. I noticed on the Springville events newsletter that a band I used to be obsessed with following my freshman year of college (Fictionist) was playing a free concert in the park. Normally, I probably would have considered going, but in the end not put in the {minimal} work to make it happen -- i.e. getting a babysitter and getting out of the house. Seriously, when I break it down into those two tasks, it's ridiculous. Anyway, the concert turned out to just be okay -- the venue was not right for the band, and they didn't play any of their stuff from 6 years ago (aka the stuff I'm familiar with) -- but I was still happy we had gone out and done something different. Also, Russ and I mostly just used the concert as background music and then just laid in the grass and talked, so that was nice :)
Saturday outing: The Puppy Barn. We have no plans to get a puppy anytime soon, but we do have plans to get one someday -- maybe when our kids start asking for one. I thought it would be fun to see how Ada interacts with puppies, so we took her there. It was hard to get any pictures because between the two of us, we had to hold a puppy, hold ada, hold a phone, and keep Ada from torturing the puppy, so the following photo is the only one we got, and it was toward the end of our stay, when Ada was more tired. Earlier on, there was a puppy she seemed to like a lot, because she smiled at him a bunch :)
Wednesday outing: Seven Peaks Water Park. Russ took the day off work in the middle of the week and we took the opportunity to use our water park passes. The day was overcast initially, so we were all actually kind of freezing, but it was still fun, and since she was cold, Ada wanted to cuddle me to warm up!
Friday date night: Sensory Exploration date-in-a-box. We got this date box back in March because it was free other than shipping. Somehow, we hadn't used it in nearly 4 months -- a date that was already completely prepared! That just goes to show you how out of it we've been with dating. Anyway. Included in the box were candle-making supplies (smell), massage oil (touch), and these "magic berry" taste bud altering tablets & warhead candies (taste). We listened to music while we made candles to add in the hearing sense. We also got our first snow cones of the summer (so late, I know) to add more of a yummy taste 😀
Saturday outing: Hare Krishna Temple. There's this huge, beautiful Hindu temple like 15 minutes away from our house. Russ and I had both been there before, but for the Festival of Colors, which is crowded and crazy. My friend Leann recently posted that the temple is open daily and it's free to walk around or get a little tour. So we went there and it was the perfect outing! Normally when you try to figure out places to go, they end up being places that always have lots of people -- it's just kind of the nature of outings. But the Hare Krishna temple was perfect because there were like two other small groups that we encountered while there, and the grounds are big, so it wasn't a big deal. We were just free to leisurely walk around and look at the peacocks, llamas, and fish, as well as the temple itself. My only wish is that I could have understood the tour guide . . . I'm literally the worst at understanding foreign accents.
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave some comment love! And if you're a no-reply blogger, check back here for my replies :)