The Nutcracker

For our anniversary, Josh got me tickets to the Nutcracker ballet.  I don't know if he knew it at the time but I have been to my fair share of productions.  I have fond memories of going down to St. Louis with my aunts and grandma to see my cousin dance.  It had been awhile since I had seen the ballet and was excited to check out this Christmas tradition with Josh.

On top of that, it had been awhile since we had gotten out of the house just the two of us.  We love bringing Mara everywhere we go but there is a point where you just want a date.  Thankfully we have amazing friends and they offered to take her for a few hours.

After church that morning we headed downtown for lunch.  We stopped at this little cafe and enjoyed soup and sandwiches while sipping on mimosas (or at least I did).  Our plans to walk around the shops a bit was thrown off by the rain but we made the most of it and headed to the theater.

The production wasn't as elaborate as the ones I've seen in the past but it was nice.  The leads were very talented and I was impressed by what they could do with the resources they had. I wish the costumes and sets were a bit more elaborate but it still brought back great memories and got me even more in the Christmas spirit.

Overall it was a great afternoon.  Josh and I got to celebrate our anniversary and have a much needed date night.  Being new parents is so rewarding but it really opened our eyes to the fact that we have to make time for ourselves as well.