Denver Botanic Gardens – Date Night!

I know I know I know – it’s February. Christmas is SO 2010, we’re moving forward. But I love these pictures and have to share! So Here We Go! (Dark Knight reference – the BEST MOVIE EVER!)

Every month Tom and I have a date night.

Sometimes it’s a simple dinner and movie, sometimes it’s dancing, and sometimes we get REALLY crazy and go to murder mystery shows with men dressed like brides and all sorts of craziness. Hey, what can I say, sometimes we’re a little wacky. That was a really fun night though, we’ll have to do that again very soon!

Regardless of what we do though, it’s a time for us to reconnect and concentrate on each other. To forget about bills to be paid, appointments that need to be taken care of, and household stuff that just adds up. A temporary reprieve from the fact that Frankie has destroyed the door jam (is that what it’s called?) and that Kaden STILL hasn’t done his homework. It’s a time to just BE. To have fun, laugh and enjoy each other! These nights are SO important to me, I look forward to them every month, and I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do!

December was an problem though. I knew that I wanted to do something Christmas-y (yes, that’s a word, at least NOW it is!) because I love love LOVE the holidays, but I didn’t want to do something Christmas-yy without Kaden because I knew he would love it too! So we decided that for the month of December, we would have a family date night, instead of just Tom and I. Kaden at first was a little leary, and asked if we were going to see chick flicks. Ha! Any movie that he doesn’t want to see is a “chick flick,” whether it’s truly a chick flick or not. There is definitely some dissension in our home about which movies are chick flicks and which ones aren’t…

When we told him we were going to go see lights and have dinner, he relaxed a little more. We were torn between Hudson Gardens and the Denver Botanic Gardens, but my mother had gone to the Botanic Gardens and said it was beautiful, so we decided to go. I truly was not prepared for the crowd, it was CRAZY how many people were there! But when we walked through the doors and into the garden, I gasped in amazement. The lights not only lit up the paths and trails, but my eyes and Kaden’s too. I got that warm and fuzzy feeling inside, moving from display to display, even though it was fairly chilly out. I think I even squealed and jumped up and down waving my arms because I was so excited. Tom pretends it embarrasses him but I know that he really thinks it’s cool. ;)

I, of course, brought my camera with me. Shocking right? The lighting was so very cool though, I couldn’t pass up the chance to play around with bokeh and focus and depth of field and all of the other fun things that you can do with these lights!

Kaden walked ahead of us most of the time, as he deemed himself our own personal scout – finding the best and coolest lights available. Everyone needs a tour guide for Christmas lights right?

They had these little gazebos that were decorated, and mistletoe EVERYWHERE! Anytime I saw it I yelled out to both of my guys, I wanted kisses!

The fountains looked particularly cool with the different colors!

One of Kaden’s finds – Bronco colored lights! He was quick to add Bears too… *sigh* Poor kid is being brainwashed. ;) At least they have the same colors right?

The little lake was about half frozen over.

Okay I have no idea what this plant is. I am plant stupid. Botanically challenged, shall we say. My mom and dad could both tell you, but I have no idea. So we’re going with “Berry Plant with Cool Lighting.” They had the lights shining through the trees, very cool!

MmmMMMmM I love this picture. I love the single colored lights, particularly when people have a whole color scheme going on with their decorations.  But there’s just something to be said for the multi colored lights, they’re beautiful! It really says Christmas like the little white lights just can’t.

Tom used to get so annoyed when I ask other people to take pictures of us, particularly with my CAMERA instead of the camera. But I have to have one! I think he’s getting used to it now, or at least he just hides it better. Another bunch of mistletoe, kisses from both of my guys, and a family evening. Eating dinner at H Burger definitely didn’t hurt either – YUM. This was by far, one of my most favorite family evenings. Second only to Taste of Colorado last year, which I will have to post a little later. Evenings like this make me SO happy.

Love your family, spend time with them. Life is too short, you never know what will happen – leave a legacy of devotion and love for the people you’re closest to.