Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

The Spence Family would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! We had a wonderful day spending quality time with one another. John and Kyle brought me a dozen beautiful roses and gave me the sweetest cards showing their love and appreciation! Kyle also brought home special artwork he made at preschool, especially for Mommy, which I will always treasure!

John and I celebrated Saturday evening with a special Valentine's date night! We began the evening with dinner at Candicci's, a local Italian restaurant. The meal was delicious and we enjoyed every single bite! After dinner we enjoyed a drink, relaxing by a fire, enjoying our time alone, having an adult conversation! To end the evening, we went to The Sky Music Lounge to listen to a local cover band...extremely loud, but we enjoyed the music and people watching! John and I always have a great time on our "dates" no matter what we decide to do. As much as we love Kyle, it's nice to get out and about with each other. Hope everyone had a special day with their loved ones!

One Great Date

Saturday night, John and I had a wonderful date night. Everything was perfect from the gorgeous cool weather, delicious dinner, peaceful scenery, entertaining musical, and of course the company. First the weather has been unseasonably cool and this was an added treat to our date. We went to dinner at The Boathouse in Forest Park. The restaurant is located on Post Dispatch Lake with outdoor seating, a band, paddle boat/canoe rental, and great food. Our wait was about an hour so we sat by the water...so peaceful and relaxing. For dinner we were lucky enough to get an outdoor table next to the water to enjoy the water and scenery a little longer. We both decided to order the tilapia sandwich and it was fabulous! The band began as we were eating dinner so we also had a little musical entertainment during dinner. It was a great choice for dinner and hope to go back soon to take Kyle on the paddle boats!

Patiently waiting for dinner to arrive. Our view from the dinner table

After dinner we had tickets to see the musical Godspell at The Muny. The Muny is located in Forest Park, as well, within walking distance to The Boathouse. The Muny is an outdoor musical theatre which seats about 11,000 people. There are seven musicals performed each summer. We actually were season ticket holders the two summers before Kyle was born and we always enjoyed the shows. We have seen Meet Me In St. Louis, Annie, The Music Man, 42nd Street, South Pacific...too name a few. Godspell was a great performance and very high energy. The best part of the show, however, was the fact that we had front row, center seats...literally. Our seats were typically where the orchestra is seated, but since the orchestra was behind the scenes for the performance there were actual seats in the orchestra pit. It was a completely new experience to be so up close to the stage. If we were any closer we would have had an acting or singing part in the musical. We may attempt to see either Camelot or Hairspray within the next week or two depending on ticket availability. It was such a great date...we had so much fun!

Front and center

Kyle also had a fun night on his date with the same babysitter he has had the past two times. We were so glad Kyle didn't scare her off from their last date. Kyle really likes her and so does Mommy and Daddy. Kyle took a wagon walk, played outside, and had fun with someone other than Mommy and Daddy! It was an all around enjoyable night...couldn't have asked for things to be more perfect! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Where has the weekend gone??? Unfortunately, it's flown by and tomorrow is already Monday. Saturday night was our monthly date night. Our date consisted of dinner and a movie. We went to Paul Mineo's Trattoria in the West Port Plaza. What a wonderful decision...the food was outstanding...from the artichoke appetizer to our entrees of veal and fillet. We thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the company. After dinner we went to see The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It was a very good movie..I always enjoy romantic comedies.

Kyle also had a date last night as well with a babysitter. She babysat Kyle last time and they seem to get along well. Kyle did however give her a "little" scare so she may not want to come back...LOL! Kyle escaped out the back door and into the yard while she was in the restroom. She panicked when she couldn't find him and searched every room in the house only to find him running around the back yard. He loves to be outside and since the yard is fenced, we have allowed him to go outside by himself for short periods of time. Unfortunately, we failed to inform the babysitter of this activity.

Today the temperatures have been a little "cooler". We have been experiencing a major heat wave for a week or two, so temperatures in the mid 80's is certainly "cooler". According to the extended forecast, this pattern should continue throughout the week which will be a nice change. Kyle and I have been hibernating indoors as much as possible, so maybe outdoor activities will be back on the docket during the week. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Until next time...Good Bye!

A Striking Good Time

Saturday night, John and I had a casual date night. As much as we love taking Kyle out and about it's always nice to have a night out sans Kyle. Since our last night out was to celebrate our anniversary we decided to have a low key night...dinner and bowling!

We started the night at 54th Street Bar and Grill for dinner. This is a new restaurant which opened not too long ago that we have been wanting to try. We both had the filet mignon and certainly enjoyed the peace and quiet without having to entertain a certain someone. It is definitely a Kyle friendly restaurant so we will head back with Kyle in the future.

After dinner, we went bowling. In the past, John has been on bowling leagues and he is a very good bowler. I, on the other hand, am a terrible bowler, but still enjoy "attempting" to play. Needless, to say John won all four games we played...I won't even mention scores...it would be way to embarrasing for me! On our way home, we stopped for a special treat....concretes! Yummy! The perfect way to end a wonderful date! Hopefully, he will ask me out again...stay tuned...LOL!

Six Year Celebration

Saturday night John and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary. Technically, our anniversary was Sunday, May 17th, but since we were unable to celebrate last weekend we decided to do it this weekend. We had a fabulous evening! We chose to have dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! They sprinkled rose petals on our table to signify that we were celebrating our anniversary! Everyone who came by wished us "Happy Anniversary"! We thought it was a special touch to the dining experience. Wow, the meal was fantastic! We began with the shrimp cocktail appetizer, John ordered filet with lobster tails, and I had petite filet with shrimp....everything was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, desert was out of the question since we were extremely full!

After dinner, we made our way over to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel to enjoy some cocktails. John and I first met at the Ritz-Carlton in 2002, so we enjoy seeing where "our story" began...although, we didn't officially start dating until six months after we met at the Ritz. We look forward to many happy years to come!

Early Celebration

Saturday night, John took me out for an early birthday celebration date night. Since it was my birthday, I had the upper hand in making all the decisions about where to eat dinner and our after dinner entertainment. For dinner we went to Napoli 2, a newer Italian restaurant in STL. We were very pleased with the restaurant...service, decor, and most important: the food! We started with a shrimp appetizer topped with a spicy tomato sauce...delicious! For our main entrees, John ordered the Lamb Chops, which is totally off the board for him, but he thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. I ordered the Veal Parmigiana which was very tasty. I find myself ordering veal out since we don't eat veal at home very often. To top off our delicious dinner we split a tiramisu desert. I'm not sure I have ever met a tiramisu desert that I didn't enjoy...LOL! This was a wonderful way to begin celebrating my birthday. We would recommend the restaurant to anyone in the STL who is an Italian food lover!

Next on our stop for our evening "entertainment" was Barnes and Noble bookstore. I use the word "entertainment" very loosely for this activity, but we love to read books so it was a nice treat to stroll through the bookstore without having to worry about Kyle getting antsy or bored.

After our tour of the bookstore, we went to see He's Just Not That Into You. I've been wanting to see this movie since it was released. We (yes, John too) enjoyed the movie very much....great cast of actors! Have you seen this movie and did you like it? Have you read the book? I haven't read the book and I'm unsure if I will since I have already watched the movie. I LOVE my husband since he doesn't mind watching "chick flicks" with me....these days that's hard to find in a husband/boyfriend! Once you have children, it's hard to find the time to go to the movie theatre, so for date night a movie is always at the top of my list. My only issue with movie theaters these days is the movie times. I really wish there was a showing between 7:00p.m. (too early) and 10:00p.m. (too late).

Since it was after midnight when the movie ended, we headed home...way to late to be staying out these days...LOL! On our way home, the local county police department was conducting a sobriety checkpoint. Thankfully, we opted to see a movie instead of going out for drinks. Each car was stopped...John was asked where he was that evening, asked for his license, and insurance card. Of course, we were fine, but this was a first for both of us. I was unsure if we should inform our babysitter about this checkpoint since she would be driving by the area. I really wanted to let her know, but John thought it was best that we not mention it...so we didn't. Of course, I wasn't worried that she had been drinking, but I would have been scared driving alone after midnight and pulling up to a sobriety checkpoint. Do you feel we should have told the babysitter?

I hope everyone in the blog world enjoyed the weekend!

Also, don't forget to enter our Blogoversary Giveaway!

Feeling Refreshed

Yeah, it's March! Why am I so excited about this? The three coldest months of the year...December, January, and February are OVER! Crossing my fingers, March brings more spring like temperatures. Today, however, was still a bit chilly, but I do have thirty more days to be hopeful! March also includes one of my favorite holidays...St. Patrick's Day! Why do I love St. Patrick's Day so much? It's my birthday! Also, you may have noticed my cute little gadget on the right side bar. March is also my One Year Blogoversary! Wow, I can't believe I've been blogging for almost one whole year. Where do the days, weeks, months, and years go....way to fast!

Last night, we went out sans Kyle and the camera...LOL! This was our first experience using our babysitting service. John and I liked the sitter and best of all Kyle seemed to as well. John and I went to dinner at the Wild Horse Grill. I'm sure you are wondering what we ordered...John had the shrimp and scallops which he rated four and half out of five stars and I ordered the veal picatta, which I would rate with five stars! As you can see, we enjoyed our dinner! After dinner we did a little shopping which is always nice without Kyle in tow. Our next stop was to a local bar for a cocktail and listen to a band. It was a nice, relaxing evening and best of all we feel refreshed! We have another date night planned in a couple of weeks to celebrate my birthday (a little early) which we are already looking forward to. Yeah for reliable babysitting...what a wonderful feeling!

I hope everyone in the blog world enjoyed their weekend!

Excellent New Orleans Cuisine

Yes, yet another New Orleans post.We had a fun-filled few days and I want to have all of our activities documented.

We spent three nights in the city and every night we had "date night". Thanks to my Dad (Poppie) for watching Kyle in our hotel two nights. We don't get many nights out while we are home and it was such a refreshing break. On Sunday, our last night, we went to one of our favorite restaurants we discovered when we were dating...The Upperline Restaurant. The restaurant is located in the Garden District of New Orleans off St. Charles Ave. As always, our dinner was delicious...we both ordered drum. The food in New Orleans certainly is unique and one-of-a-kind...that is one of the many things I miss about my home town.

New Orleans French Quarter

Last night Poppie came over to our hotel and spent some quality time with Kyle while John and I went on a "date". John and I went to the French Quarter for dinner and we ate at The Gumbo Shop, one of John's favorites in New Orleans. We had a delicious dinner which consisted of...seafood gumbo, barbeque shrimp, crawfish etoufee (my entree), and a combination dinner with jambaylaya, shrimp creole, and crawfish etoufee (John's entree). The food was fabulous! The food is one thing I miss so much since moving from New Orleans. It was such a special treat to have some "true" New Orleans style food.

After dinner we walked around the French Quarter and headed to Pat O'Briens and also to the Cat's Meow, an extremely fun karoke bar, for a cocktail. We had such a nice, relaxing, "quiet" evening out on the town. Thanks so much to Poppie (my Dad) for watching Kyle!

John and I in the courtyard at Pat O's

Parenting 101

Saturday Night Mommy and Daddy had “Date Night”. Typically, we would head to dinner and a movie, but last night we decided to do something a little different. We definitely are happy we did…it was such a blast!

We thought it might be a wise decision to take a “Parenting 101” class. The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is showing a production of Parenting 101: A Musical Guide To Raising Parents. The show was absolutely hilarious…covering topics from labor/birth, potty training, first day of school, puberty, high school, going off to college, and getting married. They incorporate each scene with familiar songs worded to fit each topic. If you would like to find out more about the show…check out the link above. After the show, we went to Nino's, a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner, located in Westport not far from the Playhouse. The evening was so much fun and we will certainly be keeping our eyes open for future shows at The Playhouse at the Westport Plaza. While Mommy and Daddy were out on the town, Kyle was having fun with his babysitter. She has babysat Kyle a few times so they know each other and seem to get along well, so we knew he was in good hands.