Family Dates

A few months ago, after Branden and I had dropped off the boys at my parents’ house and gone out, Silas was curious as to why we sometimes went out without them.  Branden explained that sometimes he and I go on a date, that as much as we love being with them, sometimes spending time together without them is important too.  Even though Silas didn’t really love that idea, he let it go since it doesn’t happen too often (gee, thanks buddy 🙂

Well lately, Branden has been traveling more for work (boo on that!)  But one upside to it is that, since he’s gone over the weekend, he gets to take a day off during the week to hang out with us (yay!!)  On those days, we always try to do something special with just the four of us.  We’re on a budget, so we’re finding that being creative is a necessity!

The other day we decided to go to a place around here called Castlewood Canyon.  It’s a state park with a huge rocky canyon complete with a little river that runs through it.  It’s $7 at the gate and guarantees a few hours of nature and time together.  So I packed some pbj and juice boxes and we started driving.  On the way, Silas asked where we were going and what the plan was. After our explanation he asked, “Is this a family date?”  Well, I guess it is.  The four of us just taking some time to enjoy each other.  Sounds like a family date to me!

Here’s a few pics from the day courtesy of my awesome camera phone:

The hike was beautiful.  Here’s Branden and Silas standing on a ledge (yes, I was freaking out a little…just a little!) overlooking the landscape below.  I will always love fall in Colorado!  I will also always love that my little man proudly sports a Batman backpack.  He is his father’s son 🙂

This is how Ethan eats his pbj – takes the sides apart, chows down on the jelly side (the good stuff first!), then reluctantly eats the peanut butter side.  And he ALWAYS wears his hat so low that he has to turn his face towards the sky to be able to see under the brim.  It doesn’t matter how much we try to “help” him, he always puts it back down.  Pick your battles right?

Remember how I said Silas was against public nudity?  He will make an exception if there are no strangers around and if there is a creek to play in 🙂  Elmo underwear, meet the great outdoors!

Ethan and Silas are VERY different from each other!  Silas played in the seriously ice cold water until we made him get out while Ethan tried it once and decided it was better to be held in close proximity to the water…super fun…for everyone.
He finally decided it was okay to play near the water.

One day I’ll be done with diapers 🙂
Well, that was our family date!  Afterwards, we packed up, drove home and everyone enjoyed a nap!  Easy, simple, cheap and all with the best company!  That’s my kind of date 🙂

So what do you do for dates (family and otherwise?)