"Halloween"

We didn't have an official date this week, but it was busy! We had our Stevenson family Halloween party on Sunday. We made everyone dress up in order to get in, had yummy jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner, homemade rootbeer, LOTS of different desserts, and had a pumpkin carving contest. Our family (Dave & I) carved a big pumpkin with a huge mouth and teeth. Inside the pumpkin's mouth was a little baby pumpkin. Everyone had a blast and I think we will be doing it again! This is one of the cookies Rebecca and I made for the party.


On Tuesday we celebrated Tanner's first birthday. We had both families over for dinner (we went easy with hamburgers & hot dogs and salads) and then opened presents and did the whole cake & ice cream thing. Tanner was not sure at first about the cake, but he got into it and really made a mess!! I actually made two cakes on one big cake board, Tigger and Pooh. I can't believe he is one already! Time just flies by so fast!

Then last night we went trick-or-treating. Kind-of. Ok, not really at all. It was stormy and cold. Tanner won't eat the candy and I don't need to, so we decided to just stay home and hand out candy. He had a blast running to the door and seeing all the kids. We did take him to Grandma & Grandpa Stevenson's and to Rosemarie's. That was enough for all of us this year! He sure made a cute Tigger!

October Temple Trip

On Tuesday, we had our first pre-natal appointment! Everything looks good and the baby's heartbeat is strong! That is such a relief to hear! Later in the day, my mom watched Tanner for us so we could go to the Temple. It was a good session once again. And once again, I was a super slacker and didn't make a temple treat. I have got to be better!

"Pick a Letter"

Last night's date was called "Pick a Letter". I asked Dave in the morning to pick a letter. He picked "M". I kinda took the easy way out as far as the activity is concerned, a Movie. For dinner, I made Meatloaf, Macaroni salad, and Mozzarella sticks. Then I let him pick between the three movies we have that start with "M": Mulan, Mary Poppins, and Monsters Inc. Yep, all Disney! He chose Monsters Inc. We finished off the night by having Milk and cookies. (The picture is not the greatest, but here is our "M" dinner.)

Oops, We Missed a Week!

We missed doing a date night this week. We did however, go to dinner for Dave's birthday with my family. He chose Chic-fil-a. I thought it was great since it's not too expensive for the growing families and the kids all ate really well!

Dave's Birthday

This year Dave's birthday fell on Sunday. We had dinner at his parent's house with the family on that day, so Dave and I celebrated a different day. On Tuesday, we went to Rodizio Grill for lunch. Dave says it is more authentic than Tucanos, but is still very Americanized. It was a pretty low key day, but we just spent it as a family and was great because neither one of us had to work. Happy Birthday Dave! How I love this man!

September Temple Trip

This month we were planning on going to the Temple on Tuesday since we both have the day off, but Dave's little sister Amber went through for the first time yesterday, so we attended the session that she was in. It was a really good session and good to be there with family. Nate & Kristy and Dave's mom were the only ones to make it since Jon & Triston's twins are only two weeks old! We didn't have a treat this time since it was morning. We picked Tanner up at my parent's house, and then ran errands and other things for the day. Congrats Amber!

"Drive In Movie Night"

This date didn't turn out quite like I had planned. We were going to make boxes into cars and have a "drive in movie night". But I wasn't feeling well, and Dave was tired from a long week at work. So instead, we put in a movie and cuddled on the couch. i guess we could just pretend we had a couch in the back of a truck at a drive in or something right? ;) It was still good to just veg and be together.

"I Love You With All Of My Senses" Anniversary Date

Our 4th Anniversary was on Tuesday, September 7th. Unfortunately my work conference was held on the 9th, and I had to spend the entire day on the 7th working and getting ready for it. The conference was up at The Canyons Resort, so we decided to stay up there a couple of days after it was over to celebrate a little bit late. It was great once the conference was finally over and we were able to relax a little bit. It was not so great that Tanner hated the pack & play and didn't sleep very well. It was also not so great that it seemed we were all starting to get sick.

Even with all of that, I was still able to make the weekend a little special by doing my "I Love You With All Of My Senses" date:

Smell: "You always smell so dang good!" (Attached to a scentsy candle to freshen our room.)

Taste: "My first taste of forever was when I married you!" (Attached to sparkling grape juice & glasses.)

Touch: "I melt everytime you touch me!" (Attached to some lotion.)

Sight: "It was love at first sight!" (Attached to some red frillies.)

Sound: "I love picking up the phone to hear the sound of your voice!" (Attached to a cd.)

All of these were inside a red gift bag with black tissue paper and the "I Love You With All Of My Senses" tag on the outside. Sorry if it's a little cheesy for anyone, but I had fun! (I didn't get any pictures of the tags attached to the items, but here are the pics of the tags:)

We came home on Saturday afternoon and that night we went to the Colors concert at the Sandy City Amphitheather, where I forgot to take my camera. It was a fun evening since Colors is such a special part of our dating/wedding memories!

"The Newly Wed Game"

This week we played a newly wed game of sorts. We each got the list of questions a few days before so we could think about what we were going to say. On the day, we interviewed each other using our video camera. We figure it might be fun to have someday and we will probably put it in the time capsule we are working on. Here are the questions we each answered:

What was your hometown like?
How well did you get along with your siblings/parents/teachers?
If you could re-do anything from the past, what would it be?
What were you like in grade school, junior high, and high school?
What are some of your happiest memories from your childhood?
List four dreams (two fun and two practical).
List two fears.
What are two of your favorite breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks?
Name three hobbies.
How did you meet mom/dad?
Name three of your favorite traits of mom/dad.
List two of your favorite traits of each child or your favorite memory of each child.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
What is your favorite color, book, animal, and movie?
What is your happiest memory?
What was college like?
List three pieces of advise.
Anything else?

It was fun to hear how similar some of our answers were! We sure think alike these days! It was also a fun way to tell Dave that I am pregnant! I took the opportunity to ask him the "anything else" question of "How do you feel about adding another baby to our family in May?" He was pretty excited!

"Our Proud Parents"

This week's date was really short, but it was a lot of fun! We make thank you notes for our parents and we expect to see our artwork hanging on the fridge the next time we visit!! We traced and cut out our hands (Tanner's too, which was a challenge!) and glued them onto another paper and then wrote short notes. It was fun and we think they turned out cute!

We also had mini cakes with ganache frosting for dessert this week. Yummy! I had fun playing with the ganache and Dave really enjoyed eating it - He LOVES ganache - so I knew it would be a hit!

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Hawaii

This week we did not technically have a date since we were on vacation in Hawaii with my parents and The Rebster. We had a lot of fun, but going on vacation that far away with a baby is difficult. However, Tanner LOVED the water and could not get enough of it! We will post pictures and more info on the family blog (soon I hope!)

August Temple Trip - "Chocolate Bowls" Treat

This month's trip to the temple went much more smoothly! We went on Tuesday afternoon since Dave and I both have Tuesdays off. It was not nearly as busy and we got into the first session available. We were asked to be the witness couple again, which makes three times in a row. I really enjoy doing that!

Afterwords, we had ice cream in homemade chocolate bowls. I dipped water ballons into melted chocolate chips and then put them in the fridge to harden. Once they were hard, I slit the balloons and pulled the deflated balloons out of the chocolate bowls. They were small and perfect for one scoop of ice cream each!

A Date-Less Busy Week

So we didn't have an official Date Night this week. It has been kind-of a crazy busy week! Dave has been reading a ton and had to do two days of pool work for his Scuba certification. We packed it all in this week so he could be ready to do his open water dives in Hawaii when we go next week. He and my Dad have also been working hard on our sprinklers. They are not working properly so we have had to run each station by manually turning on each valve one at a time (not fun, or quick!!) We really need them to work automatically before we go on vacation or our grass will die!! I can't ask someone to spend two hours at our house running our sprinklers for us!!

Between those things, we have spent all of our non-working time BUSY!! So no official date, but we did draw one out of the can- "Time Capsule". We have started compiling items and ideas to go into our Family Time Capsule. Once it is complete, we will put it together. So technically when it is done, I will post two dates in a week to make up for this date-less one!! Now on to cleaning, packing, and getting ready for HAWAII!!

"Can You Pass the Test?"

Tonight for our date we looked up a few personality tests online and took them. Do you think our personalities are compatible?

Here are the results from the Color Code test. Are two people that are the same color supposed to be compatible? Well, even if not, we most definitely are!!

Dave’s Basic Analysis
Congratulations, you are a BLUE (54.11%).

Natalie’s Basic Analysis
Congratulations, you are a BLUE (46.32%).

Blues (Motive: Intimacy)
Blues are motivated by Intimacy. They seek to genuinely connect with others, and need to be understood and appreciated. Everything they do is quality-based. They are loyal friends, employers, and employees. Whatever or whomever they commit to is their sole (and soul) focus. They love to serve and give of themselves freely in order to nurture others' lives.

Blues have distinct preferences and have the most controlling personality. Their personal code of ethics is remarkably strong and they expect others to live honest, committed lives as well. They enjoy sharing meaningful moments in conversation as well as paying close attention to special life events (e.g. birthdays and anniversaries). Blues are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical; but can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, and moody. They are "sainted pit-bulls" who never let go of something or someone once they are committed. When you deal with a BLUE, be sincere and make a genuine effort to understand and appreciate them.

"Soap on a Roap"

This week it was all about soap!! It was really hard to come up with ideas for dinner! We ended up having "Lemon Fresh" Chicken (breaded chicken with lemon sauce), "Spuds" (instead of suds), salad, and french bread. To drink I mixed lime sherbet with 7-Up. It is green like Irish Spring soap and very foamy/sudsy. I didn't take pictures, I promise to be better!!

The activity was a soup carving contest. We didn't end up doing it!!

Dessert was Dove ice cream bars. They were delicious!!

After Tanner went to bed, we had a second activity. Upstairs in the bathroom, I had set up a very romantic and relaxing bubble bath. It was complete with tea light candles all over the bathroom, a bubble bath, bubbles to blow, and some bubbly. It was very relaxing and good to just spend time together. Now we just need a bigger bathtub!! Ours is regular sized and too small!!

"Choo Choo"

This week was a very low key date. We had pizza for dinner and played "Ticket to Ride". Dave isn't a big fan of board games but was a good sport and played with me. We had fun and he actually liked it. He even asked if we could play again sometime!

"Pick a Word"

This week Dave picked "Pick a Word" and the word he decided on was "fate". For our "Fate Date" we:

F- wore Forest green shirt and Flip Flops
A- ate at Archibald's restaurant
T- visited The village quilt shop
E- went to the Eclipse concert
T- talked about "T" topics
A- had Applesauce spice cake for dessert and
F- French kissed!

I had to be a little creative with the word since it wasn't quite long enough! It was a fun night and of course, I forgot my camera again.

4th of July - Part 2

Last night we put our shirts to use. It wasn't just the three of us, but it was fun!! Unfortunately, I don't have pictures.

We met my parents, Rach & Cam, Cyd & Nora, and Rebecca for a KFC pic-nic and to watch the Stadium of Fire Fireworks in Provo. Tanner crashed before they started, but woke up with the first bangs. He seemed to really like them! It was a good show and fun to be with Family. We finished off the night with star shaped donuts.

July Temple Trip - "Take a Walk" Treat

Last night we went to the Temple. We met at the Lunts house and had dinner with them. While we went to the Temple, Cam and Rach watched Tanner.

It was so nice to be back in the Temple, but man, that was the busiest I have ever seen it! We got the just after 7:00 pm, so we knew we had missed the 7:00 session. We got put into the Marriage waiting room, then when they filled the 7:30 session, we moved into the chapel. The 8:00 session filled up, without us making it into it either... We were on the front row for the 8:30 session and I was pretty upset because it was so much longer than we had planned and I was worried about Tanner and feeding him, and bedtime, and, and... Then they asked us to be the witness couple.

I calmed down and the session was great. We were the first ones in the Celestial Room. We stayed for just a minute, said a prayer together, then went to get Tanner. When we got to the car, there were a couple of texts and a voicemail from Rachel. Tanner wasn't handling it so well and had spent most of the time screaming. Poor Lunts! Oh well, next time we will have to go at a different time of day!!

We were supposed to "take a walk" to a bakery and get a treat. But since it was well after 10:00, we didn't. My mom had left a couple of Shirley's cinnamon rolls for us at Rachel's, so we decided that would just have to do! Although it was really long and a little stressful, it was very good to be back in the Temple!

4th of July, Part 1

For the first date, we got ready for Independence Day! We had dinner and then painted shirts. I had put a little kit together with red, white, and blue paint, sponges, grey t-shirts (even a onesie), and sparklers to play with afterwords.

Dave was inspired by the shape of the sponge and made flags blowing in the wind on the backs of the shirts. We decided to make them all match and really liked the way they turned out! And then we had Red, White, and Blue ice cream for dessert!

The Beginning

Dave and I LOVE each other and most of the time we feel like we are still on our Honeymoon, but we haven't been as good lately about going on dates regularly, especially since "The Steedling" was born eight months ago. We also haven't been the best at getting back to the Temple every month either. So I decided to make it happen. We will be going on a date EVERY week, and to the Temple EVERY month.

For Father's Day 2010, I gave Dave a "Can of Dates" and a can of "Temple Treats". Every Sunday for the next year he will pick a "date" out of the can for the next week (or once a month a "treat" out for after the Temple.) I will then pick a day that works best for that particular date and plan away. The only exceptions are holiday weeks. Those dates are already planned out, so he won't pick one then!!

I think he liked the idea, and we get started this week!! Here are pictures of the cans!