Surprise Date!

We've been back from our "business trip" for a week now... and OHHHH has it been a rough transition.

Even though we had four cherubic faces to come home to, it was still hard to pack up and leave paradise.  Ten days of sleeping in, not cooking, non-stop reading, and quality time with Gary spoiled me.  SPOILED ME!

I'm not going to whine or complain for a single second because, oh my goodness, I'm well aware of how blessed we were to get away for ten amazing days.  I feel like anytime the whining and attitudes seem too much to bear, I can think about Kauai and the ocean waves and the beautiful sunrises and the awesome food and the great adventures and the sleeping in (ohhh the sleeping in!) and I will be able to deal with it.

But here's the deal - our kids had a GREAT time while we were away.  In their little minds, their time with Grammy and Papa trumped any amount of time we spent in Hawaii.  (Please note:  They haven't been to Hawaii.)  And for that, I'm glad!  I never worried about them because I knew they were having so much fun at home.  And what's even better, is that they understand why we went.

THEY GET IT.

They know that we went away to spend time together and just love each other.  They giggle when they see us kiss and hug and call us silly names like "love birds" and "snuggle bugs."  They know we like to go on dates.

So Sunday afternoon, they came to us and said they had a surprise waiting for us.  We had to come into the living room holding hands.  When we did, we were met with a very special afternoon date, set up just for us.

They slid the dining room table into the living room, and decorated the room with streamers and balloons with hearts drawn onto them.  (Please ignore the highly unorganized array of toys.  It seems the maid didn't show up this day.)

They put a framed picture of us in the middle of the table as a centerpiece, with a scrap of crepe paper carefully circling it.  We thought that was a nice touch.

There were colorful, plastic bowls of snacks on the table, including pretzels, M&Ms and cold chicken from Friday night's leftovers.  Date night fare for sure, if you ask me.

They acted as our always-present waitresses, and snacked on our food as they asked what else they could get for us.  We were laughing so hard!

And then they presented us with a sign which instructed us to kiss.  Subtle, eh?

We're not sure that they understand that often the highlight of our date nights is that we're ALONE.  But we are certain that they understand that we love being together.  (But could we be further apart at this table?!)

Expensive shows, fancy dinner, trips to Hawaii... those are all great, but this might have been one of my favorite dates ever!