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Mommy/Daddy Dates with Kids

Our family has (somewhat inadvertently) started a tradition that we've grown to absolutely love ... parent/child dates! These started out as "Daddy Dates" to ensure that both boys got their share of time with Dad before and after deployments but have grown into events for us both to enjoy with our kids. When Dad has a day with one child, I get my time with the other!

Last weekend, Nate took Trey for his day. They chose to hunt (at some ungodly hour in the morning), ate an early lunch at Ghengis Grill, came home for a quick rest, then off again to fish for the afternoon. Youngest and I followed the plan he made of: breakfast at a local doughnut shop, a trip to Barnes & Noble to read and pick up a favorite book, then back to the house for an afternoon of board games. He's quite the homebody, so it was no surprise he wanted to spend the afternoon home alone with Mom. It was a great time for us ... and we ended up tied at four wins each at Flippin' Frogs and played a few other unfinished games of chess and Sorry Sliders.

This weekend, Hubby and I are switching up. Youngest has a day of hunting and fishing planned with Dad while Oldest and I are planning the following: Breakfast at the doughnut shop, a fun birthday party at a bounce house for one of his friends (that he couldn't stand to miss), then to see the new Jim Carrey "Christmas Carol" in 3D. Youngest refuses to watch 3D movies so it's our chance to see a movie in 3D while it's just the two of us. Afterwards, we're debating a trip to The Domain in Austin for kid's events and the tree lighting or possibly an afternoon with books either in Barnes & Noble or the local library (which we love).

It has turned out to be such a fun event for us all with the kids planning their days (within reason -- I've already fielded questions like "Can we get to Hawaii and back in one day?" during our planning session tonight) and spending the time just being together. I'm excited for our day tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!

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