As I mentioned before, we plan a date night out at least twice a month for mommy and daddy alone time. Since we are not only paying for anything involved in the actual date we are also paying for a sitter to watch our little ones while we get away to play. With all the cash we end up dishing out for an evening we make sure to take full advantage of the opportunity for freedom.

Last week we were able to get out of the house on a last minute date that would last 5 hours. A large amount of that time was used in trying to decide what to do. We relied on a list of past dates to fall back on.  To help out fellow readers in the dating idea arena I figured I would share our best date night expeditions as spring flourishes and love fills the air. Plus, though dinner without kids is always nice, sometimes it’s boring and gets to be the same old thing.

1. Rock Climbing: This is a favorite of ours. It not only burns calories from yummy dinners but is an activity that has a foundation on communication and trust with your partner. As you work through each wall you and your date communicate on footing and rope support since each of you are in charge of supporting the other through a pully system.

2. Cooking Class: As avid Food Network watchers and lovers of food we are always looking to try new dishes and techniques in the kitchen.  We took a class given by an executive chef through Cooking Skills Academy. It was awesome as we were able to execute, eat and doggie bag three different meals. Classes range from pastries to sushi to basically any foods your stomach and heart desire. We bought another class on discount to head to some time this summer.

3. Educational Speaker: I loved school and therefore I love listening to people talk about what they know. My husband, though often playing critic, enjoys learning from watching. By combining these loves we often find ourselves at events that are speaking engagements. Recently we attended one on health, diet and nutrition presented by journalist Bill Kurtis and Dr. Brian Dixon at the local college. We learned a lot to better our family, enjoyed one anothers company and it sparked lots of couple conversation on our ride home and after. In educating ourselves we opened doors to communication in our relationship.

4. Arcade: The pictures above were taken during my birthday celebration (where some drinks were involved) after we spent many tokens and hours on old and new arcade games. Lucky for us there was also a photo booth to capture our date and love.

5. Old School Bowling/Miniature Golf: With having a competitive man it’s easy to convince him to play any game especially one that involves him talking about how he is left handed. Hanging out at old school bowling alleys and put-put terrains makes us feel like were teens again, not to mention the people watching at these venues is fantastic.

6. Thrift Store Hop/Antiquing: As most of 30-somethings, the DIY bug bit us long ago too. We spent this Valentine’s Day hitting resale and antique shops looking for steals, deals and unique pieces not to mention old ass games from our childhood for our kiddos like Bed Bugs and Twister.

7. Get Physical: As I have shared before I am a lover of yoga. Because of this love and because my husband loves me we often hit up classes together when I successfully convince him too. We even went as far as attending a fitness resort for a three day weekend where our days were filled with instructor led classes, green foods and fresh air.

8. Spa Me Baby: We discovered spas during our honeymoon seven years ago and fell in love with massages and assorted treatments. My husband spent many hours in pedicure chairs during our pregnancies where we were free to relax and indulge in conversations of our future babies and lives. Eventually we found ourselves a nice couple massage this past Thursday making the date a success.

As for the future and to keep things interesting, we hope to attend the opera some time this year. We also just scored a Groupon for extreme trampolining therefore a date full of laughter and jumping is in our near future.

Happy dating and keeping marriage and yourselves interesting!

***(Discounts for most of these can be found online or through sites like Groupon.)