Date Night and Other Fun Stuff

Well thanks to some of our good friends from the ward, Thesha and I were finally able to go on a date.  This was the first date since… well… probably since we were in Utah and we snuck out for lunch while Thesha’s parents watched the kids.  Needless to say, it was a much-needed break.  The kids stayed with the Nair’s who have two boys that are right around Tyler’s age.  As we pulled up and Brittany opened her door, Tyler headed straight in and never looked back.  Seriously, he was in the door, saying “Hi, guys!” to his friends and headed for their toys.  We literally didn’t even get to say good bye to him.  Thankfully Reagan was still willing to show us some love and at least shed a tear or two over leaving her with someone else.

For our date we decided to go out for sushi.  Tyler has a hard enough time with fish sticks so we don’t usually waste our money taking him to places like that.   Plus we wanted to go to a fairly nice restaurant.  Ok, as nice a restaurant as you can find that’s still next to a Quizno’s and a Verizon store.  As we entered the restaurant and asked for a table for two, the hostess asked if we had a reservation.   A reservation?  Now if I was joking about the Quizno’s and Verizon store I may have expected this, but when I literally parked in the same parking lot as the Quizno’s customers, I really didn’t think a reservation would be necessary.  The fact that there were ten open tables and that when we said “No” the hostess just said “Ok, follow me.” and sat us at a table just confirmed how ridiculous of a question this really was. 

As we were seated, however, I began to realize just what a reservation could have meant for us.  We were taken all the way to the back to a small table in a corner right next to the doorway to the kitchen.  To make it even more romantic, on the other side of our table there was a family of five with two boys (probably 5 and 8) and a little baby girl (about 6 or 7 months).  Here we were, finally out on a date and to one side of us we hear the suite serenade of Spanish vulgarities by the Mexicans preparing fine Japanese cuisine and an occasional “CORNER” shouted by the waiters and waitresses as they come in and around the corner leading into the kitchen.  On the other side is a gentle reminder of the life we not only tried to leave behind for the evening but also the life that awaits us as our kids get older and their kicking and kneeing and elbowing becomes more and more violent.  It’s amazing we were able to overcome the romantic ambiance and contain our overwhelming urge to start making out.

So instead we just stuffed our faces with spicy tuna rolls.

Ok, actually the family next to us was pretty well behaved and the food was pretty good so it probably wasn’t as bad as I’ve made it out to be.   And after all, a night out is a night out, right?

The next day was Saturday and after recovering from all the tuna rolls, I figured it was a nice enough day to go ahead and break out the Harley and take a little ride.  It was a little chilly, but I was bundled up so I figured I’d be ok.  As I started to pull out of the apartment complex, I didn’t even make it to the end of the road and a van started to make a left turn in front of me.  I’m sure in the back of their mind they were thinking “Hmmm, that looks like a guy on a motorcycle, but it’s obviously way too cold for that to be true so I guess it’s ok to go ahead and make the turn.”   Thankfully they realized they were wrong and there was a guy on a motorcycle headed straight for them and they stopped with just enough room for me to sneak by.  After about another five minutes on the motorcycle, however, I realized that this person’s inner voice was actually smarter than I had originally given him credit for.  It was quite a bit colder than I had originally anticipated and I froze my… uhhh… chaps off.  

I only ended up riding for about a half hour, but it was at least far enough to check out when our favorite crab shack will be opening.  As it turns out, they don’t open until May 1st.  I guess I could have waited a few more weeks to take my ride.

Like a smoked salmon sashimi prepared by a guy named Jose and served to you by a waitress named Karen, sometimes you just have to look on the bright side and just enjoy the experience as best you can. 

Ok, this next part is for all of you who read my last blog and called me names for treating Tyler like he was the intern who’s only purpose was to make my life easier.  I’ll have you know I’ve decided to use my powers for good as well.  Today after wiping Tyler’s nose with a Kleenex for the 5th time in a single hour, I was done.  So when he started to have a runny nose yet again, I told him to go get a Kleenex, told him to pull one out (accompanied by “hurry, hurry”) and then told him to wipe his nose (“hurry, Bud, I’ll time you.)   Like an old pro he wiped his nose.  Of course then he wiped his hands and then wiped off his clothes all with the same Kleenex, but hey it’s progress.  Now you may be thinking this is just me still being lazy, but wiping your nose is a critical life skill that will serve him well throughout his life.  Just like bringing his dad a Mt. Dew.