Place of Springs: Card Night

Each month, our family gathers with two other couples & their kids. We've known these families for years...even before kids were in the picture. Some of us knew each other in college & Chad has known one of the other guys since they were babies. So, it's a fun group!

Each couple takes turns hosting, and we've done this for...and I may get this wrong...about five years. In all that time, we've only missed a few months. So, we're pretty faithful to make this happen. It's a great time to connect with our friends, but also for our kids to be around other families we truly respect.

Before arriving, the kids are fed dinner at home. This maximizes their playtime, once they reach the host family's house. While the kids play, the adults eat dinner together. This is wonderful! After dinner, there is a window of time that varies. Sometimes, it's just adults talking, but we've also been known to start up a baseball game with the kids.

Around 8:30 or 9p.m., the kids clean up toys & get ready for bed. Once they're in bed (and they typically do a fantastic job of settling down), the adults chat, laugh hysterically, and play cards/other games. It's always boys against girls. Somewhere between 11:30-1a.m., we call it a night. Parents carry sleepy kids out to vehicles, leftovers are packed up (and sometimes shared), & we say our goodbyes.

As if we don't fill up on the delicious, main meal AND dessert, we bring snacks. In case you mistakenly believe the following photos are from various Card Nights, allow me to shed some light on these pictures. It's all from one night. That's right. When it comes to snacks, we don't kid around, People. ;)

We were cracking up at this recent spread, because it was like a Super Bowl party...minus the football. And, for only six grown-ups. What about the kids? Well, they would sit there all night and eat, so we let them have a few things & then shoo them off to the playroom. I guess the good news is that we didn't consume all of this. There were plenty of leftovers & on this particular night, this was also dinner.