Eight Great Dates



Photo taken in Cleveland in 2002 or 2003. I just really like this one.


Since today is our eight year wedding anniversary, I thought I'd list eight of my favorite dates over the years.

1. The first time we went to Starved Rock State Park together in October 2002. There was this one point where we had to walk down this long spiral staircase and he started singing "Have You Met Miss Jones?" to the tune of "Fly Me to the Moon." It cracked me up for some reason. Afterward, we ate at Cheddar's (almost a year before I gave up cheeseburgers) and had their amazing onion straws.

2. The carriage ride through downtown Chicago and dinner at the Signature Room (top of the John Hancock building), March 2002. Both were surprises. He then re-enacted our date in March of 2005 for our one year anniversary

3. A four-day weekend in Vegas for our two year anniversary, March 2006.

4. Our first trip together to St. Joseph, Michigan. At night, we went to dinner and then got ice cream from Kilwin's and watched the sun set on the beach. July, 2002.

5. When I took him to see "Kate and Leopold" and then we had dinner at Ember's (a great restaurant where the servers sang Broadway and big band era tunes). During dinner, we came up with "Saved by the Bell" trivia. Afterward, we went to a karaoke place and I lost a bet on a billiards game, so he made me sing "Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears. This was also in March, 2002. (He met my parents for the first time that evening, as well. We kind of ambushed them when they came back from their cruise.)

6. Seeing "In the Heights" (amazing seats, thanks to my mother-in-law) and dinner at Abigael's for our five year anniversary. March, 2009

7. Our first New Year's Eve together. We went to Olive Garden (I had this thing about Olive Garden being cursed for dating, but it wasn't this time around) and then to First Night Evanston, where we walked around to different places in downtown Evanston. There were concerts, dancing, etc. December, 2002.

8. Maccabeats concert and dinner (and of course, dessert) afterward. It was a nice change from the usual movie dates and we had a lot of fun. It reminded me of the things we did in our early stages of dating. June, 2011.

With three kids and difficulty finding sitters, we don't go out as often as we would like. When we do get out for a date night, we don't take the experience for granted! In the meantime, I'm also happy cuddling on the couch and watching our favorite shows or a movie we've been waiting to see. However, I look forward to planning more date nights (or afternoons) in the near future, including one to celebrate our anniversary!