Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sleepovers and Date Nights

I had a complete lapse in memory last fall when I forgot to post about one of our November highlights. Connor and Kaitlynn were SO excited to have a sleepover away from home with their friends Benjamin, Timothy, and Lily. I even took a video when I announced the surprise. No shortage of excitement here! (Please forgive my annoying high-pitched voice!)



This was Kaitlynn's first sleepover and we weren't quite sure what to expect from her. But Julie and Harry (Benjamin, Timothy, and Lily's parents) were SO sweet and accommodating for both the kids so of course they had a blast and probably never even once thought about missing us. They played outside, went out to eat, watched movies, had donuts for breakfast...it's surprising that Connor and Kaitlynn ever wanted to come back home! And while they were having the time of their lives, Jeff and I were having an overnight anniversary date! Here are some of Julie's pics from the sleepover.

Precious cargo!

3 sweet boys!

Kaitlynn loves to torture their sweet cat.

Dressed and ready for game day!

Fast forward to January of this year. Julie came up with the brilliant idea to have a babysitting co-op with us and our other friends Michelle and Tim (their kids are Brady and Tanner). The idea is that each of us would host a sleepover for all 7 of our kids, giving the other couples the chance for 2 overnight dates. A few weeks ago, Julie and Harry hosted the first sleepover for all 7 kiddos. Now THAT was a fun, crazy, house FULL of kids!! All the kids did so great together and of course had a blast.

5 boys ready for backyard fun!

Enjoying the extra attention.

Movie time!

Enjoying donuts for breakfast.

These 5 boys couldn't be sweeter together!

And while the kids were having a blast not missing the parents one bit, we had another wonderful overnight date and really soaked in the alone time.

5 comments:

  1. We LOVED having your kiddos - both times! I think the more I do this, the more I am going to look forward to these get togethers instead of worry about them! Kaitlynn is a dream! I know that you have a hard time believing that, but it's true! Having Connor is like having a grown-up in the house!

    I love hearing the stories and comments the kids tell each other tell each other, and watching them have so much fun together!

    And...if I DO say so myself...we have a good group of kids because they just aren't much trouble at all! :-)

    Of course, easy for me to say, I am the only girlfriend in this bunch with 3 kids! Ya'll might hate me by the time your weekends are over! Ha!

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  2. Oh my goodness. You guys are too cute! I love that idea of a co-op babysitting group. You've got a great group of friends there and so great that you all have boys the same age. Based on Connor's reaction to your announcement, I can only imagine how much fun he has when they are all together. What great memories for them! So glad you and Jeff are taking advantage of your free nights and enjoying your time together. Live it up girl! :)

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  3. How FUN! You guys are very creative in finding ways to spend some time together without the kids. Great idea! I am going to have to do something like this with some friends this summer so that I can run some errands without my little wild men running around under foot. I know the kids are making great memories and having tons of fun too. No wonder your kids are so good at sleeping anywhere!

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  4. I'm so glad that you have such great friends! Sounds like a great idea for the kids (not to mention the Dads and Moms!!!) Love, MOM

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  5. This is one of the greatest and bravest ideas I've ever heard. It would probably take me two date nights to recover from the sleepover duty. LOL! I truly believe it is such a gift when you have friends like this where you trust them with your children and your children absolutely adore hanging out with them. I hope these kiddos are friends for years and years and years to come.

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