Making time every week to have date night can be difficult at times. In the six months that we’ve been having weeknight date nights we haven’t missed a week. There have been a few weeks when our dates have been postponed until the weekend. This week’s edition of weeknight was selected by me (well really by my mom). It took place on a Friday, but it was well worth the wait.

My immediate family lives in Minnesota, and Anthony and I celebrate Christmas there. In addition to our family celebrating Christmas, we also LOVE to celebrate birthdays. They are a special occasion in our family, and we take time out to express our love for the birthday boy or girl. My brother and I make it a point to be the first person to call and wish each other happy birthday. Our family has two December birthdays; so, when I arrive in Minnesota for Christmas I know that we’ll also celebrate the December boy and girl.

A couple of months ago my mom told the family she had big plans for her 57th birthday. (Yes, you read that correctly, she’s 57!) She sent out a few family emails regarding the logistics for the night. And that’s when I knew this date night would be special.

The day started off great! I woke up and rushed upstairs to wish the birthday girl a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She and I soon headed to the airport to pick up Anthony. Then the three of us were off to brave the holiday crowds for a little bit of shopping. After shopping we went home and were met by my two cute little nieces (ages 9 and 3). We all began to get dressed in our “fancy” attire in preparation for the birthday girl’s special night out on the town.

We saw some lights outside and when we opened the door there appeared a limo with our diver for the night. We all hopped in and were ready to paint the town red. The limo was awesome! It had nice leather seats, cute lighting, music and wine. We made a quick stop to pick up my brother and sister-in-law and then we were headed to downtown Minneapolis.

While cruising the downtown streets we stopped to make a toast to the guest of honor. We all enjoyed the beautiful lights, white fluffy snow and the hustle and bustle of the city. We told stories, joked with one another, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. And just like that we had arrived at our destination.

Our destination was Manny’s Steakhouse. We headed into the restaurant and were quickly escorted to our table. Our waiter Scott brought out Manny’s famous rolling meat cart. He had each of their signature steaks and seafood on his cart for us to see. Scott was thorough in educating us on the steaks as well as the rest of the menu. After the presentation, my mom selected grilled salmon, the two little ones ordered burgers and I went for the 8oz filet mignon. As for Anthony, my brother, sister-in-law and stepdad, they swung for the fences. They each ordered the 24oz porterhouse steaks. We ordered several sides for the table to share. You can’t go to Minnesota and not order something associated with Prince. I ordered a cocktail named “Purple Rain”, and it was quite tasty. We finished up the meal by having coffee and indulging in cheesecake and banana cream pie for dessert.

The food was amazing, but the best part of dinner was sitting at the table with 7 of my closet family members and enjoying each other’s company. We laughed a ton during dinner, and you could feel the love in the air.

We called our driver and he was there to pick us up in no time. On our way home we were full, relaxed and filled with joy and love. The two little ones even drifted off to sleep. We arrived back at home and watched Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer. The night ended with everyone crawling into bed feeling happy about the next day being Christmas Eve.

Although Anthony and I weren’t in the same state for the majority of the week, we still found time to date each other. This week’s edition of weeknight date night was one for the books! It was extra special because my family came together to celebrate my favorite girl, my mom!