Operation Loving Deception
The first weekend in May is always exciting in our house: it's J's birthday, and mothers day too. This year, I hatched a SNEAKY plan: to kidnap J from work and take him CAMPING for the weekend... because if there's one thing my dear husband loves to do - it's to camp. But much stealth was required. The kids couldn't know anything until the day it was to happen, because their capacity for keeping secrets is still under construction. So the week entailed sneaky shopping, sneaky internet surfing, sneaky packing, sneaky hint-dropping, sneaky present-hiding...
On Friday after he left for work, I told the kids the plan: we were going to surprise daddy at work early, bring him a Coke (he loves a cold coke!), and give him his new bicycle as a present for a cycling and camping weekend. She ran around singing happy birthday, practicing shouting SURRPISE!!! and begging for a sleeping bag for the rest of the day.
This is us on our way into his office: Teg is doing a beside-herself-with-excitement dance up the ramp.
Look! It's Daddy's coke!
SURPRRRRRIIIIIIIISEE!
C gets some daddy snuggle time in the office.
The new bicycle was on the bike rack at the back of the car. This is J wheeling his (old) bike around to the car, and realizing there's an unfamiliar, shiny bicycle on the bike rack..
for me?!?! A new bike?!?!?
We headed for Bodega Bay... where the wind was HOWLING!! We arrived at the campsite I'd been hoping for, but the wind was so strong we could barely open the door of the car. We decided to go and get some dinner and consider our options. I was opting for camping in a hotel, at that point. But over dinner, J and his smart phone suggested we try another campsite which looked (according to his map) like it might have some shelter. He was right: amidst 20mph winds, we found a corner of a site right on the bay with less than 5mph winds. Score!
Saturday morning: birthday morning! T and I let the boys sleep in a little.
Meanwhile, we took a morning stroll/bike ride a couple of feet in front of the tent to admire the view:
See what lovely long shadows you can make in the early morning!
My princess of the dawn.
Sunrise and determination.
I bet the other campers loved the loud rumbling of training wheels whizzing by before 7am...
Finally, the boys were up! Early morning milk:
I love baby feet:
What good luck to be somewhere windy on a birthday where you get a KITE from your kids as a gift!! (stunt kite for daddy, plus a kid's kite for fun-with-the-littles):
(Mom: click on the picture above to see the old, white bike next to the new, blue bike in more detail)
Learning the ropes:
Admiring the kite whizzing in the wind:
Watching the kite take a dive:
Lighting birthday candles in the mind: a tricky enterprise.
C got bored with waiting for the candles and decided to convert the table into a play structure:
Yay! Happy birthday to you!
Yum #1: able to eat with a cake fork by himself, and so proud of it!
Yum#2: Intense focus on the chocolate:
Yum#3: kites, bikes, camping, kids and a wife that loves him = happy birthday boy.
Happy birthday, my love!
On Friday after he left for work, I told the kids the plan: we were going to surprise daddy at work early, bring him a Coke (he loves a cold coke!), and give him his new bicycle as a present for a cycling and camping weekend. She ran around singing happy birthday, practicing shouting SURRPISE!!! and begging for a sleeping bag for the rest of the day.
This is us on our way into his office: Teg is doing a beside-herself-with-excitement dance up the ramp.
Look! It's Daddy's coke!
SURPRRRRRIIIIIIIISEE!
C gets some daddy snuggle time in the office.
The new bicycle was on the bike rack at the back of the car. This is J wheeling his (old) bike around to the car, and realizing there's an unfamiliar, shiny bicycle on the bike rack..
We headed for Bodega Bay... where the wind was HOWLING!! We arrived at the campsite I'd been hoping for, but the wind was so strong we could barely open the door of the car. We decided to go and get some dinner and consider our options. I was opting for camping in a hotel, at that point. But over dinner, J and his smart phone suggested we try another campsite which looked (according to his map) like it might have some shelter. He was right: amidst 20mph winds, we found a corner of a site right on the bay with less than 5mph winds. Score!
Saturday morning: birthday morning! T and I let the boys sleep in a little.
Meanwhile, we took a morning stroll/bike ride a couple of feet in front of the tent to admire the view:
See what lovely long shadows you can make in the early morning!
My princess of the dawn.
Sunrise and determination.
I bet the other campers loved the loud rumbling of training wheels whizzing by before 7am...
Finally, the boys were up! Early morning milk:
I love baby feet:
What good luck to be somewhere windy on a birthday where you get a KITE from your kids as a gift!! (stunt kite for daddy, plus a kid's kite for fun-with-the-littles):
(Mom: click on the picture above to see the old, white bike next to the new, blue bike in more detail)
Learning the ropes:
Admiring the kite whizzing in the wind:
Watching the kite take a dive:
Lighting birthday candles in the mind: a tricky enterprise.
C got bored with waiting for the candles and decided to convert the table into a play structure:
Yay! Happy birthday to you!
Yum #1: able to eat with a cake fork by himself, and so proud of it!
Yum#2: Intense focus on the chocolate:
Yum#3: kites, bikes, camping, kids and a wife that loves him = happy birthday boy.
Happy birthday, my love!
posted by Bronwyn at 10:38 am
2 Comments:
Oh, so much fun!! I am impressed with your sneaky trip planning! Loved the early morning bike ride pics of your precious little girl. :)
I love reading your blogs. . and I can hear your voice so distinctly. . .The kiddos are soo cute! What a fun way to celebrate J's birthday. . .
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