The Ultimate Double Date

Last weekend, we got a Facebook message from one of our college friends, Jacob, asking if he and his girlfriend, Jayme - as well as good friend, Michael, and his girlfriend, Emily - could make our house their first stop in a very elaborate and very impressive double date planned by the guys.

While it surprised us that these four would want to make our house part of their evening of fun, we were undoubtedly honored and more than willing to do our part to start their evening off on the right note. We'd never met Jayme before (she is from and goes to college in Washington), but as well as we know Jacob, we knew she had to be someone very special. And as for Michael and Emily - they've been around since day one of our involvement in CCF (in fact Emily was one of the first ones to suggest we get involved) - but only recently have they moved their friendship into a "relationship". As you will undoubtedly see in these pictures - those two are always quick to smile and have a good time - so the group of four of them were guaranteed a wonderful evening.

The time slot our "visit" was allotted was 6-7:15, and it was proposed that we might be the stop for pre-dinner snacks, maybe some trampoline action, and use of the Wii to play "Just Dance". They all arrived right on time, so we led them out to the side patio where snacks were waiting, seats were arranged and a fire was ready to be lit:




I almost wondered if we'd ever make it to any other entertainment in our short amount of time as Jacob had us all in stitches with his retelling of how his and Jayme's relationship came to be. He gave us the play by play of their first real date and with all of his "what he was thinking" commentary - it was HILARIOUS!!!!

However, the guys did want to pull the Wii out and I got my first up close taste of "Just Dance (2)". Everyone I know that's ever played it has raved and raved about how fun it is, but I've found myself extremely reluctant due to this lingering fear of dancing in front of other people. But, as it was their double date - and not mine, I felt quite comfortable watching from the couch, and restraining Sydney - as she had no hesitation at all in participating in "Just Dance". =)


Before long, though, the guys took a breather - and beckoned the kids to join them. They were more than willing and actually did a pretty decent job-



As I watched the clock tick by, I figured I was home free from having to participate despite the urgings from the younger set. But, then, they all ganged up on John and I - and we pretty much had no choice but to "take the floor" and prove we were willing to play just like everyone else. Emily snagged the camera from John so we could make it a family event.

As they had previously scrolled through the songlist, I had noticed Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", so I opted for that one as at least it's a song from my era. I found myself quite surprised for two reasons: 1.) I had the high score of the four of us - and actually kept up with the moves quite well....yeah me! (and lucky song choice!) & 2.) It was a very intense cardio workout! There's no doubt a person could shed a lot of pounds if they played this on a frequent basis! (And I'm pretty sure we'll be purchasing it very soon!)

I think this picture is super funny because all four of us are doing something different despite following only one character on the screen!

After our family dance, the guys announced it was time to move on to the next stage of their date. Before leaving, though, John snapped some pretty nice photos of the happy couples:


Trying to keep Emily and Michael from being goofy is incredibly hard - especially when a camera is around - so I had to throw in one of the many shots of them posing doing something super silly.

Part of the guys' plan was to blindfold the gals to keep them off kilter until their next destination - even getting the girls to the car after putting on the blindfolds was amusing.




We were given a heads up about the rest of their date which, at this point in time, I can now disclose. Their final destination was the location where the Trinity House Formal was held - the Meltebeke house. The guys were going to keep the blindfolds on until they had the girls in canoes - a ways away from the house. They were then going to paddle along until they reached the gazebo where a beautiful table would be awaiting them with dinner prepared. Finally, the last stage was an outdoor showing of a Disney flick....

I'm looking forward to hearing how it all turned out, but as for our opinion of the first stop-off on the "Ultimate Double Date" - it was a blast!