Our new date night craze...

During busy season Bryan was often out of town during the week so we wanted to make sure to really make the most of our weekly date nights. We started getting into dinner competitions (one person had the main course and the other person had the dessert) which eventually led to our latest craze... doing international evenings :0)

Last Friday I did a German theme

(in honor of Bry's mission--Berlin).
A cabbage dish. Bratwurst. Boiled potatoes. Sparkling apple juice. Traditional cookies.

Saturday Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bob

came over for French themed meal.

Chilled cucumber soup. Parisienne Salad. Shepherd's Pie. Homemade baguettes. Crêpes.

We had some fun "parisien café" music playing in the background with a slideshow of my pictures from France. Bob and Elaine added an extra fun touch with their little French phrases, "Bonjour", "Merci", "Bon Soir", etc.

AND last night our good friends Ben and Ashley were
over for a Far East Indian themed evening.
(While doing our Saturday cleaning I noticed one of my silk scarves in my closet and realized that I could pull together some items from around the house to decorate and add to the ambience of the evening. With a little Bollywood music from Pandora.com we were set!)

Raita. Yummy yogurt/almond drink. Curry Chicken. Green Beans. Coconut & Spices Rice. Mango slush. Indian cookies.

Ben and Ashley made the drinks and main dish and Bry and I made the appetizer and desserts. The kitchen was bustling and a bit small for 4 cooks, but the smells from the different dishes were AMAZING! We finished the evening off by watching a Sri Lankan film, "A Peck on the Cheek." We all had SUCH a great time!

Today in Sacrament, in honor of the upcoming Pioneer Day, the speakers spoke about their ancestors who had travelled from various countries to be in Zion. It dawned on me that we could theme our international evenings around our ancestors' native lands...try our hand at their cuisine, listen to some "native" music and share journal entries/stories about the lives that they led. Cool idea, eh? I need to ponder and brainstorm a bit more, but I think we're on to something. What a great way to get more excited about family history :0)