Elizabeth Newlin – Arizona Real Estate Agent

Of late I’ve become a huge proponent of date night. Until recently, I leaned toward the parenting contingent that believes the kids are the main priority and getting a sitter so Mom and Dad can go out on a Saturday night is shirking your responsibilities and a waste of money in addition.

I’ve done some relationship thinking, reading and reevaluating lately and the conclusions I’ve come to are these:

1. Marriage is work, like a garden. Regardless of the viability of the seed you’ve planted and the proposed beauty of the flower, if you don’t water it and give it sun, it will die.

2. Children benefit from having a cohesive parenting system. If it is possible to have the family intact and parenting from the same place, this is the ideal situation.

3. Therefore it’s important to make my marriage a priority. It’s not selfish to spend time alone with my husband, it’s imperative. Like on the airplane, when the cabin loses pressure, the adult needs to secure his breathing mask first, and then the child flying with him. If he can’t breathe and loses consciousness, neither will get oxygen. So in order to give my children the true family support system they need, I must take time alone with my husband to connect and enjoy each other.

So my husband and I have had several (maybe even many!) date nights this summer. We’ve done random and exciting things and reconnected with who we are as a couple minus the kiddos. And let me tell you, I love a good date night.

Here are some of the itineraries we’ve followed. I’m always looking for a fun date please leave suggestions in the comments!

1. Take your husband to work – Dinner at The Barrio Cafe in downtown Phoenix and then I took Jason to see a condo that is listed in a high rise in Phoenix. We took in the nighttime view from the rooftop patio.

2. Almost free art in Scottsdale – Sketching at Free Thursdays at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art for an hour and then we headed to the Sauce Restaurant on the waterfront near Fashion Square and took advantage of their summer special ($20 – pizza, salad, 2 glasses of wine).

3. ASU movie + sushi – Jason being the design/art/tech geek he is took me to see Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight at ASU in the Life Sciences building (it’s a bio-pic about the designer who, among many other things, created the I Heart NY logo) and then dinner at our favorite sushi joint, Blue Wasabi.

4. Bowling with buddies – Date night doesn’t always have to be just the two of us, in our opinion. The latest venture was as Bruswick XL in Gilbert for bowling and bar food. The food was actually edible and I hate bowling, but we made it fun with an extra game where everyone had to use the super light kiddie ball. It made for surprising results (including the time when one guy threw it so hard the ball bounced into and out of the gutter to take the spare). Jason said it felt like high school again.

The latest from Amanda:

I know, it’s tempting to run up North will all those pictures on the news of snow in Pinetop. But, why not save that for the holiday break? Stay in town and take advantage of this gorgeous weather, and these great activities:

*The Nutcracker – We’re going Saturday! Ballet Arizona and The Phx Symphony, Symphony Hall

*The Nutcracker – Ballet Etudes at Mesa Arts Center. Through the 21st.

*Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade – Tempe Town Lake, Saturday, 4-9pm

*AZ Historical Society Museum – See The Night Before Christmas performed by the light of candles and lanterns. Saturday. 5 and 9pm.

*Handel’s Messiah – Mesa Arts Center, Phoenix Symphony and Chorus, Friday 7:30

*A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail – Valley Youth Theatre, Through Dec 23

*Santa Flies in! – Help Santa and the EV Firefighters and Police collect toys for kids. Saturday, 11am, AZ Wing Commemorative Air Force Museum. Free admission with a new toy, $1 off with a canned good.

*Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding – Saturday, Dodge Theatre, 7:30pm

*Roller Derby Charity Event – Teamed up With Phx Fire and Police. Saturday

*Tim & Willy’s Christmas Breakfast Show – Saturday, 7:30pm, Celebrity Theatre

*Green Holiday Arts Festival – for the Environmentalist on your list Saturday, 8:30am-4pm,

*Zoolights – Until 1/10

*Luminaria Festival – Botanical Gardens until 12/23

Restaurant of the Week:

Mary Coyle – You have got to check this place out. It’s the cheesiest 50s style ice cream parlor you’ll ever go to. Last weekend I was there for a birthday party and we had The Mountain. SEVEN POUNDS of ice cream shaped like a mountain. 4 toppings. Plus whipped cream, nuts, and cherries. Ohhhhhhh….. I’ve attached a picture (camera phone, don’t blame me for the quality, but check out the stranger and his kid in the
background).

Volunteer Activity:

Chandler Salvation Army is still looking for bell-ringers and people to work the Angel Tree booths at Chandler Fashion Center. 480-963-0158

Hike of the Week:

Verde Hot Springs – Never been to one of our natural hot springs? Watch out though, some people think the far side of this area is clothing optional.

Here’s the latest from Amanda:

If you’re like me, you’ve got visitors in town this weekend. What to do after the feasting is over?! Never fear, I’ve got your weekend planned…

*Mesa’s Turkey Trot – Earn your turkey dinner! Red Mt. Park, Thur morning

*Thanksgiving Day Parade – Fountain Hills, Thursday

*Zoolights! – Yep, it’s that time already. This is a must for a Valley Christmas.

*Las Noches de las Luminarias – Desert Botanical Garden, promises to be gorgeous.

*APS Festival of Lights – Saturday, 5-9pm, Mill Avenue

*AZ International Auto Show. Went to this one last year and it was AWESOME. Over 500 vehicles.

*Fall Foliage Finale – Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Sat and Sun, 11-3. Bring a picnic and apple cider, live music and activities in the pistachio grove. Free with admision.

*Tempe Thanksgiving Block Party – Bring a can of food for the food bank, and you’ll get music, rides, food and special guests. Tempe Sports Complex

*Celtic Thunder – Friday, Dodge Theatre

*The Nutcracker – Ballet Etudes, Chandler Center for the Arts, into December

*Farmhouse Village Boutique & Craft Fair – Farmhouse Village, Gilbert. Saturdays through Dec 20

*Movies at the Park – Double Holiday Feature! The Grinch and It’s a Wonderful Life. FREE with canned food donation. Downtown Chandler. Saturday 5-9pm

*Native American Ornament Sale – Heard Museum. Friday & Saturday.

Best Place to Take Out-of-Town Guests:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This is one of my favorite things to do in all of AZ.

Restaurant of the Week:
Beyond Bread
If you go to Tucson for the above-mentioned museum, and you forget to pack a turkey sandwich, why not stop at this awesome sandwich place in town on your way back up to Phx. It’s a must on the rare occasion I venture down that direction.

Website of the Week:
Stop those pesky Yellow Pages from clogging up your cabinets, and help the planet!

I’m adding a new feature to this site (one of many new things to come), and I haven’t had a chance to get all of the details properly worked out for a formal unveiling; but rather than put it off indefinitely until I manage to squeeze 26 or 27 hours out of every day and am able to get it together the way I want, I’ve decided to start this out with a little test version, or ‘beta’, if you will.

I’m going to have a couple of guest bloggers on my site once or twice a week. The first one will be Amanda, who is one of my very best girlfriends and who always has her finger on the pulse of the East Valley community, with a column we’re calling (right this very second, until I can think of something more creative) Things To Do:

My favorite pick of the week: letting your pup run around on Chase Field! Read on…

Hike of the Week: West Fork of Oak Creek One of my favorite AZ hikes, and it’s perfect this time of year. Easy 3 miles.
Thanks, Panda!