The Bachelor/Bunco

How cute was my husband at Chilis last night on his first date with our daughter? Secretly I wish I could have been sitting across the restaurant from them to witness this, but then it wouldn't really qualify as their first date.

Last night was my turn to host Bunco at my house. I am part of a group of 12 girls from our church that for the last year and a half have gotten together the 3rd Monday of every month to play bunco. It has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. It is always full of fun and gets a little competitive at times! To be the girl to host bunco however is no simple thing, at least for me and the time in my life I am in. The hostess is required to a) have the thing at their home, b)make dinner for 12 people, and c) provide the bunco prizes. It's all worth it though. Heath and I moved 3 months ago and yes, I am confessing here and now that we still had boxes in the office! And they were only in the office and not the rest of the house because we had a get together a couple of months ago and shoved all the boxes from all the other rooms in the office. And we never went through a single one like we said we would. So here it is, my month for bunco and something has to be done. Throughout the last week we created a total home makeover. We went to Ikea and got decorations, hung them, did a complete cleaning and got rid of all the boxes. (No we didn't unpack them like good, productive people, we found another place to shove them, our shed in the backyard, where they will unintentionally stay until we move next year.) So hosting bunco was really a blessing in disguise because it forced me to make my house fabulous! And now I am able to fully enjoy writing my blog tonight without have the constant nag to do something more productive!

So Heath was in charge of Ella while all the ladies were at my house having a rolling good time and he took her out to eat! The sweetest thing I can imagine! Then he took her to Lowe's to look at things I don't particularly love to look at and they to swing on the porch swing that I am coveting and that Ella loves.

To the Bachelor:
Let me first say that YAY, we don't have to see or listen to Stephanie tonight!

The final 6!
The show started out with one big group date together on Andy's yaght. It's the blondes against the brunettes. And Tessa throws out the first blonde date before Andy goes to the other side of the yaght to spend time with the blondes.

Bevin adds the first bit of drama by asking Andy to go kayaking with him. This obviously stirs up some big time jealousy among the other girls especially as they watch the two of them having fun from the side of the boat. Then Bevin and Andy make out upon reboarding the boat as the jealous girls look on. They are so kissy kissy.

The First Alone Date:
Stephanie W. received the invitation to go on the one on one date. The look on Bevin's face as the girls discovered this was priceless.

They went to a winery where they got to taste lots of wines and even make their own. "Taste beautiful, like you." Andy says about his date and their wine creation. Seriously. After they made their wine, they had to paint what the label on their wine would look like on this huge canvas and then they digitally make their painting the size of a wine bottle label. This is when they experienced their first kiss. This whole create your own wine and wine label seems pretty cool to me.

Back at the house:
The girls receive another date box and find out that the next date was a group one that included everyone but da, da, da...Tessa. So Tessa gets the last one on one date. Bevin is upset because she wants to share with Andy her *whisper* secret past that she has been divorced and feels like now she will not have the opportunity. Drama! Why does drama always surround our Bevin?

Back to Stephanie's one on one date:
Andy is feeling discouraged that he can't dig deeper into Stephanie's goals for the future. He attributes it to her age. Watch out girl.

Back at the house:
Drama. Bevin. Drama. She is telling Amber that Amber is too young to really want to settle down. That she herself at that age didn't want to settle down, which Amber disagrees with and now Bevin is feeling desperate and old and is crying again.

Group Date:
They are building a kindergarten playground! They are doing something good. More painting. Amber and Andy have a great moment. Then Andy and Tina have a moment. Andy tells the camera that one of the things he loves about her is how mature she is. What is happening? I seriously can not get over her national anthem solo. Does that make me a bad person?

It really was very sweet to see the kids play on the playground they just worked so hard on. I'm glad another reality show is using their show as a vehicle to do something good. Amber's tears were touching. The girls thought it was the best date ever.

Tessa's One on One date:
Andy shows up and in front of all the girls presents Tessa with a diamond bracelet, necklace AND earrings. The Bachelor producers knew what they were doing to stir up the jealousy in the hearts of the 5 other women.

Their first stop is to find her a fancy dress to match her fancy diamonds.

Next stop is dinner and conversation about how they both need to pinch themselves to see if this is real. Andy tells her his heart is full when he is with her and that she has made this whole process worth it. And then they proceed to make out. At this point, I really have no idea who his favorite is. I feel like he is saying the same promising things to a few of the girls.

The Rose Ceremony:
Bevin gets the first rose and she announces "Going to Seattle Baby!"
Amber gets the second rose! Yay! Tessa rolls her eyes.
Tessa gets the third rose. Chris comes in to tell us that this is the final rose tonight.
Danielle gets the fourth and final rose, which means Tina (FINALLY) and Stephanie are going home. This is going to be rough for them.

Tina tells the camera that this is the biggest regret of her life. Wow.
Stephanie definitely had some tears. She just doesn't understand how she could be feeling something so strong for him and he not feel the same. That she really put herself out there and allowed herself to become vulnerable. Is this a script that each bachlorette must memorize and recite upon exiting the show?

We are down to 4 girls and the home town dates are next week! This is when it gets good!