7 Years

Last Sunday (the 20th) was our 7-year anniversary. In some ways, I can't believe it's been that long! In others, I can't believe it's only been 7 years!

Paul was scheduled to work nights all weekend. I asked him a couple weeks beforehand if he'd taken it off, because I remembered discussing it back in January. He told me no, and he doubted he'd be able to get it off in such short notice. Not a big deal - this is our 7th anniversary, and I'm pretty sure he's had to work 5 of the seven, so whatever.

But then the week beforehand, he asked his parents if they would watch the boys Sunday after church. Even though he would be asleep, and had to leave for work at 5:30. But he said it was so we could have some "alone time" before he left. I was like, Really - shouldn't we save the free babysitting for when we'll have more than an hour to spend together? But again - whatever. Then I happened to see him looking at the website for a fancy restaurant one night.

I started getting suspicious.

But Sunday came, and he still hadn't said anything. I wasn't disappointed, but I still thought he might be planning something. But really, I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't do anything. And wouldn't have been disappointed either.

And then I came home from church, and found this note on a chair right in front of the door:

Written on a reservation confirmation for Chateau Avalon. I got the biggest, stupidest grin on my face. Seriously cheesy. And I couldn't make myself stop smiling. Apparently Paul was quite pleased with himself, because when I went in to kiss him (he was asleep, supposedly), he started smirking as soon as he heard me walk in the room.

Even though we've been to Chateau Avalon before, I think this was my favorite time. I think it's because it was a complete surprise. Like I said, I suspected he was up to something, but I just figured he was going to take the night off, then take me out to dinner. I have an amazing husband! (And an amazingly sneaky one!)

Paul confessed that he wanted this to be a do-over of our trip to Omaha, since that trip didn't end up being anything like we expected when we planned it. This trip more than made up for what we experienced there.

Paul had picked out the Roman Dynasty room. We had seen this room when we toured the hotel years ago. I really liked it! (Of course I did.... Duh!) Paul got me the romance package, which included a rose-petal strewn bed, a bottle of champange (which was not very tasty - I don't get people's fascination with champange!), and bubble bath for the tub.

We were going to try a new restaurant - they have lots up in the area - but we ended up going to our ol' standby: Outback Steakhouse.... A Bloomin' Onion always wins. And it ended up being free! (The Bloomin' Onion, that is - not the entire meal.) They had a special that if you eat at the bar, you get a free Bloomin' Onion. We were fine with that - it was actually probably better, because Paul would have tried to watch the game anyways, and this way, he didn't have to stare off across the room the whole time, or rubber-neck trying to watch a tv that's behind him.

We didn't go to see a movie, because honestly, nothing out looks any good. We enjoyed the hot tub and discussed the possibilty of getting one of those installed in our house. Oh my goodness. I love those tubs! Paul had our chocolate-covered strawberries (part of the romance package)delivered shortly after, and we ate them in bed while watching a movie. So relaxing!

After sleeping in ridiculously late the next morning and enjoying the completely delicious breakfast delivered to our room, we finally took off some time after 11, and went through Lawrence on the way home. I had several little stops to make, which would be infintessimally (is that a word?) easier if I didn't have the boys with me. (A 5-minute stop takes 20 at least, when you have to deal with car seats, shopping carts, and keeping little hands off the merchandise!) Paul wasn't thrilled about having to go to Hobby Lobby (he asked how much longer as soon as we walked in), but - the things you do for love, eh?

We ended our time in Lawrence by going car-shopping. We know we're going to have to buy a new car when we have our next child. We may be able to get by with all three in the back seat of my car for a while, but we're going to have to downsize some car seats to the "economy-sized" ones. And no, we are not preggo! We are just trying to plan ahead and know what we want when it comes time to get it.

We went to Crown Toyota, because Paul and I have always been impressed with the staff there (that's where he bought his first truck). We told the sales staff we were not buying today, and we wanted to just look on our own, and they left us alone. We perused their selection, and I hate to say.... I liked the minivan best. Grr. We had kind of thought we would like a crossover, because I do not want a minvan, and Paul does not want an SUV (and neither do I after looking at their gas mileage!) But after looking at the crossovers (the Toyota version, plus a Chevy and Saturn version they also had on the lot), the back row of seating is meant to be occasional, not every-day, and if we have 4 kids, we'd need the back row every day! And when you are using the back row in a crossover, you lose most of your cargo space. The van can seat 8, and still have a good amount of cargo space (for my once-a-month shopping). And it could even fit 8 adults, for shorter trips. But..... I am SO not a minivan mommy! However, I'd rather give up my reputation to get something that will really be what our family needs, rather than something that looks stylish. I'll just have to take a year or two, while we're saving up, to get used to the idea. (We are not buying new! I figure by the time we need it, we'll hopefully have enough saved up by making "car payments" to our savings account that we can afford a 1 or 2-year-old used one.)

Anyhow. That's how we old-marrieds celebrated our 7th Anniversary.