Big Fish Games has a lot of computer games that you can download within minutes for cheaper than it would be in the store. I think games are fun to do for date nights, and my husband and I especially like to do a couple of mystery games together throughout the year. They have medium to hard puzzles and outside the box thinking is required. (We always choose the "no hint" option to make it challenging) Plus depending on how much you play it, it takes several weekend nights to solve and for $7.00- 10.00 it gives you plenty to do for a few dates.
***These games can be addicting, but I recommend saving it for dates, or at least on the weekends so that you can get the bills paid and laundry done still during the week! :)
If you are a first timer with these games, you can use the promo code NEW299 (currently going on), and buy your first game for $2.99! (They also have a daily deal for $2.99 everyday) What a deal! They also allow you to try any game for one hour to see if you like it. Sometimes we just download the free trial, so that we for sure stop after one hour and go to bed on time! Hope you enjoy exploring this site too! Have you already played big fish games? Do you have any games that you would recommend?
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Western Date Night
Some of you may remember me posting this date on my family blog about year ago. I was 8 months pregnant then, and this was the first at home, themed date we ever tried. It was so much fun, and I've been hooked on themed dates ever since! This post definitely belongs on this blog so I'm re-posting it over here. Seriously, you've got to try this date!
This date was a fun break from always going to see a movie or going out to eat. I had a blast preparing for it and we just put the kids to bed so we didn't have to pay for a babysitter! I spent only $20.00 for it and the biggest purchase was the photo paper I wanted to buy. Have to give credit for this creative idea: go tohttp://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com/ for this and more ideas.
(again, I'd recommend for married couples)
So first we got dressed up all westerny and took our western photo shoot. You know how at Knott's Berry Farm and other places you can dress up and take an old fashioned photo like your from the old west? I always wanted to do that so this is our home-made rendition.
I'm posed next to my wanted poster. The hats I purchased from D.I. and I was wearing the best outfit I had for the night, a blouse, skirt and boots. These are just a few the shots we took.
Dan next to his "wanted" poster. He looks a little wary with his first western photo shoot, but soon gets into it. :) It's cheesy, right?!
Dan likes using photo shop, so right after we changed the pics to old western brown colors and printed some out for keepsakes!
And then we framed our favorites for a good laugh to always remember this off beat date together. These frames were purchased from the dollar store. I don't decorate my house in western style, so I call these bathroom worthy and have them set up in our bathroom. I do chuckle every time I see them.
And what's a good ole western time unless you play a little poker, playing for keeps with homemade poker chips.
Lastly, we visited the Wild West Saloon and Theatre where we snacked on rootbeer, chips, and dips and watched a western, Shanghai Noon, with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, pretty awesome! So what can I say, it was definitely different and fun, you might want to try it out! Go to the blog above for a few more ideas and details for this date and others!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Cold Stone Winner!!!
The winner for the $15.00 Cold Stone Giftcard Giveaway is.........
Katie Ukorebi!!!
Congratulations Katie! I'm so excited for you! You can email me your address at thehymasfamily@hotmail.com or message me on facebook and I will mail you the gift card right away! Start planning your next ice cream date with your hubby!
Thank you everyone who participated in this giveaway! I have really loved offering this gift and will be doing a few more this year, so check back! And, of course I'll be posting more ideas on romantic and fun marriages!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Cold Stone Giftcard~ Giveaway!!!
***This Giveaway is closed.*** Check back for more giveaways!
Giveaway Time!!!
Giveaway Time!!!
I feel like ice cream just makes any date special, whether you are curled up watching a movie, needing dessert after dinner, or just going out solely for that creamy goodness! My favorite place to get ice cream is....Cold Stone! So that's what this month's giveaway is!
Win a $15.00 gift card to Cold Stone!
Entry rules are so simple:
1. Become a member of this blog!
2. Post about this giveaway on facebook!
3. Must live in the 48 contiguous United States.
4. Leave me a comment telling me you've done so, and what your favorite ice cream flavor is!
This giveaway will close after one week. Your last chance to enter will be on Monday, April 9th and the winner will be announced here on Tuesday, April 10! So check back to see if you are a winner! Good luck!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Monday, April 2, 2012
Hale Centre Theatre ~Salt Lake City, Ut
Another favorite place we went to on our anniversary trip last year was the Hale Centre Theatre! It is a great theater experience for an excellent price, $26.00 for adult tickets. It is done on a round stage so really anywhere you sit, you have a great view of the performance. The actors are trained to move all about the stage so that you never feel like you can't see.
We went to see, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and I didn't know this musical at all, but this theater made it so humorous and my husband and I both loved it! Reasons why I'd recommend seeing a show at this theater:
* Excellent actors/energy
* Anywhere you sit you have a great view
* Very inexpensive for a great quality show
* Very humorous scripts
You can check out their 2012 shows and purchase tickets here. They are currently performing, Zorro the Musical! I bet it's awesome!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
We went to see, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and I didn't know this musical at all, but this theater made it so humorous and my husband and I both loved it! Reasons why I'd recommend seeing a show at this theater:
* Excellent actors/energy
* Anywhere you sit you have a great view
* Very inexpensive for a great quality show
* Very humorous scripts
You can check out their 2012 shows and purchase tickets here. They are currently performing, Zorro the Musical! I bet it's awesome!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Little America Hotel ~Salt Lake City, Utah
Last year for our 7th anniversary, my husband and I went on a really fun overnight trip in Salt Lake City. My husband let me pick out everything for the trip (it was definitely filled with elegance) and I discovered some new places that quickly became my favorites, but for this post, I'll just start with the hotel...
We stayed in the beautiful, four star Little America Hotel. Reasons why I loved the hotel:
* 4 stars = gorgeous throughout (chandeliers, grand halls, ballrooms)
* Luxurious and Classy
* Surrounded by classy people and security (which means you don't have to worry about your car getting broken into; yes, we have had that happen before)
* Great hotel specials
* Amazing service from staff
* Wonderful hotel restaurants
We got on awesome deal on their getaway special which included a night stay in a tower room, a gift basket full of fruits and goodies in our room, a $60.00 credit in their restaurants, and turn down service all for $159.00! Most four star hotels cost that much or more just for a room!
For dinner we got dressed up and used our credit in their steakhouse which was a very fun experience. The staff treated us like we were royalty and waited on us for the slightest thing we might need. Their food was expensive (who cares, we had credit!) and delicious and when it came time for dessert, I was blown away! They brought a platter of several fancy desserts to choose from and went in depth explaining about each dessert, we felt like we were on the food network! Literally, one of them had a sugar sculpture on top of the dessert, just like they create on food shows.
This hotel has other specials currently available that are worth checking out:
Sunrise Buffet Package
Romantic Getaway
and of course the one we got: Getaway Package
I would recommend this romantic hotel in a heartbeat!! It is definitely a favorite and I can't wait to go back! Have you been to this hotel? What did you love about it?
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Little America Hotel
* 4 stars = gorgeous throughout (chandeliers, grand halls, ballrooms)
* Luxurious and Classy
* Surrounded by classy people and security (which means you don't have to worry about your car getting broken into; yes, we have had that happen before)
* Great hotel specials
* Amazing service from staff
* Wonderful hotel restaurants
We got on awesome deal on their getaway special which included a night stay in a tower room, a gift basket full of fruits and goodies in our room, a $60.00 credit in their restaurants, and turn down service all for $159.00! Most four star hotels cost that much or more just for a room!
This hotel has other specials currently available that are worth checking out:
Sunrise Buffet Package
Romantic Getaway
and of course the one we got: Getaway Package
I would recommend this romantic hotel in a heartbeat!! It is definitely a favorite and I can't wait to go back! Have you been to this hotel? What did you love about it?
Happy loving,
Rachelle
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Babysitter Issue
Getting a babysitter for date nights can be a challenge for a number of reasons. Do your children get anxious and upset if you leave? Sometimes it seems too expensive if you spend money going out, plus you have to pay a babysitter for staying with your kids. Or, maybe one or more of you children are really too young to be left with a teen-aged babysitter. I decided to write down a few ways that help me out with these issues:
1. Swap free babysitting with your friends or family. I have done this many times with my other friends in the same situation as me. I think it is easy enough to watch your friends' kids once a month while they get a night out, and then swap on another night for your chance to get out. If you want more free babysitting, you can find a couple of friends that want to do this with you, or maybe your siblings and in-laws too! This is extremely helpful when you have a young baby and you really need another mother that knows how to take care of them well.
2. At home dates when the kids are in bed. This works if you have young children that can go to sleep by 8pm. I do this the most often, and the creative dates I've found for at home are really fun and enriching. Plus they are really fun to plan!
3. Spend little to no money while going out. If you want to get a babysitter, and need to keep the date budget friendly, choose something that is free to do, such as playing Frisbee in the park, or going to a local free event. Or, getting ice cream or hot chocolate while you spend time talking in a restaurant still gives you time to reconnect without the cost of buying full dinners. Then, go window shopping and get ideas for upcoming birthdays and such.
4. A babysitting kit. Perhaps your children have issues with you leaving them with a babysitter. Try making a special babysitting kit that can only be brought out if there is a babysitter coming over. Your child can help you put the bag of games and books together to get them excited and ease the stress of you leaving. Examples of items you could include in your kit: play dough, books, games, coloring items, special treats, stickers, alphabet fridge magnets, puppets, movies, and toys. (All these can be found at the dollar store!)
Most of the time it doesn't matter what you do for a date or where you do it, the important thing is that you take a time out with your spouse from the chaos of life and just focus on your love for each other. It's really important to reconnect with your spouse often, so that's why I think it's beneficial to repeat Love Tip #2 here in this post - it fits perfectly into this topic as well! You can see where I've used it before here.
Love Tip #2: "Date Frequently. You and your spouse need time together to renew your relationship. New perspectives come with time away from the mundane. That means dating is essential. If you have children but few resources, look for creative ways to go on dates. ...Above all, recognize that a babysitter is cheaper than a divorce."
(Ensign, January 2012, What Happily Married Couples Do, pg. 13)
Do you have more tips when it comes to getting babysitters for your dates? What other issues do you come across for date nights? Please share, I would love to hear about them!!!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
1. Swap free babysitting with your friends or family. I have done this many times with my other friends in the same situation as me. I think it is easy enough to watch your friends' kids once a month while they get a night out, and then swap on another night for your chance to get out. If you want more free babysitting, you can find a couple of friends that want to do this with you, or maybe your siblings and in-laws too! This is extremely helpful when you have a young baby and you really need another mother that knows how to take care of them well.
2. At home dates when the kids are in bed. This works if you have young children that can go to sleep by 8pm. I do this the most often, and the creative dates I've found for at home are really fun and enriching. Plus they are really fun to plan!
3. Spend little to no money while going out. If you want to get a babysitter, and need to keep the date budget friendly, choose something that is free to do, such as playing Frisbee in the park, or going to a local free event. Or, getting ice cream or hot chocolate while you spend time talking in a restaurant still gives you time to reconnect without the cost of buying full dinners. Then, go window shopping and get ideas for upcoming birthdays and such.
4. A babysitting kit. Perhaps your children have issues with you leaving them with a babysitter. Try making a special babysitting kit that can only be brought out if there is a babysitter coming over. Your child can help you put the bag of games and books together to get them excited and ease the stress of you leaving. Examples of items you could include in your kit: play dough, books, games, coloring items, special treats, stickers, alphabet fridge magnets, puppets, movies, and toys. (All these can be found at the dollar store!)
Most of the time it doesn't matter what you do for a date or where you do it, the important thing is that you take a time out with your spouse from the chaos of life and just focus on your love for each other. It's really important to reconnect with your spouse often, so that's why I think it's beneficial to repeat Love Tip #2 here in this post - it fits perfectly into this topic as well! You can see where I've used it before here.
Love Tip #2: "Date Frequently. You and your spouse need time together to renew your relationship. New perspectives come with time away from the mundane. That means dating is essential. If you have children but few resources, look for creative ways to go on dates. ...Above all, recognize that a babysitter is cheaper than a divorce."
(Ensign, January 2012, What Happily Married Couples Do, pg. 13)
Do you have more tips when it comes to getting babysitters for your dates? What other issues do you come across for date nights? Please share, I would love to hear about them!!!
Happy loving,
Rachelle
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