Date!

We have not been on a date without children since...quite some time. Before moving to Miami. Before that because we were working and packing and madly trying to get ready to move to Miami. But we finally made it on one! (ok, so we had Molly, but she slept in the stroller the entire time and never made a peep.) We traded babysitting with another couple so we could all go see the Meet the Mormons movie. Only then we decided that was a bit out of our budget. So instead we did some walking on these historic streets of Coral Gables. That is one fun thing about living in a massive city--they have all these neat little nooks and crannies and every area of the city is SO different from the next. I really liked these streets. Coral Gables is one of the ritzier areas of Miami, but this is their historic area. I LOVE it. If I had to live in Miami the rest of my life I would live along Old Cutler Bay Road. We would have to be millionaires, but it is amazing! I wish I had taken a picture of a bridge or water or something, cause you are RIGHT on the ocean! It has a New Orleans feel to it. Or at least, what I imagine New Orleans being like, since I have never actually been there.

Another thing about Miami that I have yet to get used to is the lack of closed door or covered spaces. I guess when it's beautiful weather year-round you don't have to worry about keeping out the snow! So all of these restaurants were wide open to the streets and sidewalks, it is so fun!

Sterling said he'd take me to this restaurant sometime. It's just so interesting that there is no glass separating you from the sidewalk and the inside!

Another city-like feature, new shops set right in amongst the older ones. 

Nothing like fine seating on the sidewalk!

I am SO in love with those lights and those bar stools. I want a set-up like that someday. 

Some super Miamian trees taking over the wall.

A cute little alley.

See the lion statue? I thought this building was SAH-WEET!

This is pretty tame, but every building in Miami is painted SO BRIGHTLY!

This is not a cute little alley, but it is a VERY Miamian alley.  And how perfect that its right in the middle of all the cute things. That's what I mean about cities. Everything is so hodgepodge.

Everything about Miami is as bright as you can get.

You can't really tell, but the tandem bike in that tattoo parlor was super cute.

The streets in Miami are crazy. Why do four streets meet up at such odd angles? I have no idea. Brigham Young definitely did not plan these streets out, haha!

More bright Miami buildings! 

I thought the fountain and stairs and palm tree and flag looked very regal all together.

Halloween! Ruth is so obsessed right now with spotting Halloween decorations everywhere we go, she would have liked these.

Live Jazz? I would totally be there if I wasn't still completely petrified to find out what Miami 'night life' is really like. Although, I bet in this part of town it would be much more tame than downtown Miami. 

I put in the next two pictures to try and give you an idea of what driving down Cutler Bay Road is like. I made Sterling promise me that we will take a Sunday walk down that road sometime so I can try and adequately capture it. There are SO many banyan trees alongside the road that they make it feel like you are driving through a tunnel. Literally. Some parts of the road are so encroached by vegetation that the road is barely there and you feel like you are completely isolated in the dense jungle of trees and leaves and who knows where you are going? I like it. A lot. I think it's really fascinating. But it's really hard to take a picture of when you are driving in a car because everything is just dark. So these are not very overgrown, but at least you can get an idea of the tunnel. 

We ended our date with picking up an awesome present for our kids for Christmas (off of a site similar to Utah's ksl) and then I played devil's advocate and convinced Sterling to stay home and hang out with the family for the rest of the night. We popped popcorn and watched Anastasia. Sterling and I have the entire show memorized--Sterling said he forgot how much he loved it, haha. Ruth sat entranced through the entire thing. Good times. Since then he has studied from before I wake up 'til after I am asleep. I think he'll keep that up until he takes a test on Monday. Sigh. Here's to med school in Miami!