Family Date Night

Daddy has been very busy lately--in fact we all have--and there has been little quality Daddy/daughter time, so I concluded that that was the reason that (according to Ave) Daddy had been "hurting Avaree's feelings" every five minutes! She could never articulate to me what he had actually done, so I asked her if she wanted to spend some special time with Daddy!? She said, "Oh yes, I do want to go on a special date with Daddy! You can come too, Mommy!" :) So, I tagged along and took pictures--and played a little too! :) 
It ended up being one of our favorite times together so far! I can't really articulate how crazy life has been lately (wonderfully crazy, but crazy and busy nonetheless, so this was just what we needed--especially before traveling!! 
What made Tuesday night even better is that it only cost us $5.19!!! :) 
First Stop: Bass Pro Shop! :) Our girl LOVES to run over the bridge, "drive" the boats, and look at the fishes, little did we know that they also had a free winter wonderland inside! :)  Cost of date night, part I: not a cent!

She was enamored by the beautiful (and very tall) Christmas tree!!!!

 Then, we saw Santa. Avaree is learning a couple of songs about Santa at school, and she is very much aware of him (without us saying a word about him). She has been asking a lot of questions about him, so we have been talking about him as a human example of giving to others. Regardless, she was stunned to see him in person. After all, he was supposed to be in the North Pole. :)

As you can see, though she never cried, she was very trepidatious at first. She clung tight to Daddy! ;)

 After he pulled out a candy cane, she was totally into sitting on his lap. ha!

 She told him that she wanted a Dolly, and she hoped that he had a safe trip back to the North Pole! :)

 Picture with Mama, just to remember that I was there too! ;)

 Bass Pro also has a carousel that you can ride for FREE as long as you want! Guess who was beside herself with excitement??? It's a good thing that Daddy doesn't mind going "round and round!" ;)

 I love the dreamy look on her face...

 And of course a trip to Bass Pro would not be complete without driving a boat or two! ;)

 Date Night, Part 2: Chick-fil-A

We were super thirsty after leaving Bass Pro, so we decided to head across the street to Chick-fil-A to share milkshakes and watch Ave play in the play place! :) It was awesome. 

 We had such an awesome family date night!!! It was just what each of us needed, but our girl also got some much needed Daddy time! :) She called it B "date" all night! :) 

Coming Up: Thanksgiving!!! :) Blessings and love to all.