Paint Nite

 We had a rough summer. Nathan had just graduated with his bachelor degree but things didn't slow down because he immediately got a second job at the hospital. It was supposed to be only 2 or 3 shifts a month, but the training was 3 extra days a WEEK. Since he already works 3 twelve-hour shifts, that meant that for a few weeks he was working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. It was brutal for him. (But no cake walk for me, either, being pregnant in the hottest summer we've had and taking care of three kids!) Our dating life was non-existent. So I planned a big date. Paint Night!

I kept it a secret. I was sooo excited because I knew he would love it. Some people said, "Paint Nite? Okaaaaaay." But they don't know that Nathan has a very artistic side. He owns an art kit and likes to paint and draw. He just doesn't get much time. But that night we had two hours to delve into our creativity.

I got the babysitter set up and told him to wear something he didn't care about. He wanted to know if we needed good footwear and I told him it didn't matter. He was really confused!  When we pulled up at a sports bar he was even more confused. Why would he wear something he didn't care about to go to dinner?

When he finally realized what was going on, he was a little hesitant, but he soon got into it and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was mostly girls out on the town with their friends, but there were a few guys too.

We were painting a silhouette of a girl with a pony tail letting fireflies out of a jar with some trees around. They walked us through the painting, step-by-step. We could also order food and drinks. (Check me out on the extreme right, chomping down on our monster plate of nachos.)

Despite the fact that we were all painting basically the same thing, each painting turned out so different. One woman did hers in purples instead of blues. Other people painted a boy or dog or horse in silhouette instead of a girl.

I suggested that since we were going to have two copies of the same picture in our house, I should paint Annalee and Bellana and put the painting in the girls' room and he should paint Vander and put it in the boy's room. But once I got going, I couldn't resist putting all of our children in the picture, including the little one on the way. I love love love them!



It was such a fun date, but a little expensive. We spent $50 on the event, $25 on food, and $25 on babysitting. I think next time I will get a group of friends together and have us buy our own canvases, brushes, and paints and do a painting from a youtube tutorial. Maybe on my birthday!