Thank goodness I got him a good gift

I started the weekend thinking I had the best anniversary gift ever. Those pictures I gave my husband, I thought, were better than a hundred diamond rings. The truth, though, was that my husband was working on a gift that was just perfect … and much needed: A weekend get-away without the kids.

For months, Jon had been calling my friends, setting up babysitters and making reservations for us to go away for a long weekend for our anniversary. He surprised me with the news Thursday night that we would be leaving Friday afternoon. He took care of every detail.

The thing is that almost every person I see on a daily basis – and some on a not-so daily basis – new about this trip and no one slipped. I really had no idea.

This was the first time I have ever really been surprised by anything. When I had my baby shower or my bridal shower, I kind of knew they were going to happen. They were a surprise, but I knew they would happen so the surprise was not huge. This was really, truly a surprise.
Friday morning, our aunt came over to help watch the kids while we packed our bags. After nap time, we got the kids in the car and dropped them off at their weekend babysitter. By 3 p.m., we were on our way to our weekend get-away.

One of the things that is really endearing about my husband is that he loves cheesy, romantic things like giving flowers, writing poems … and booking vacations at couples-only resorts. Never in a million years would I suggest we go to "the land of love," but I'm glad he did because it was so much fun.

All through the resort there were couples walking hand-in-hand. The activities were geared to couples. Every day the resort had karaoke, dinner, dancing, a comedian and bands. They had couples games, like the newlywed game and couples trivia. Jon and I stayed away from that stuff, but we did archery, went horseback riding and ice skating. We went hiking, got dressed up for dinner, sat by the fireplace and went swimming. We did all this stuff together and had a great time doing it. Basically, we acted like goofy kids the entire weekend and it was a blast.

We didn't have cell phone reception and we didn't bring our laptop, so we were basically cut off from everyone. (Of course, the babysitter had the number of the resort in case of an emergency.) At first this was a little concerning, and by Sunday I was really ready to go home to see my babies, but in between we were able to relax and not worry about anything.

It was a much-needed get-away for my husband and I. He did a great job at making the plans and my friends did a great job of hiding all of this from me.

** See, I told you I would post pictures.

Picture perfect anniversary

I have been totally preoccupied for the past week and a half. I've been running around like a maniac, sneaking here and there. I can't concentrate. It sounds like I'm having an affair, but the truth is that I've been working on a surprise for my husband.

As a special anniversary gift for my husband, I had professional photos taken of my kids and it wasn't an easy task.

On Thursday, April 10, my husband was supposed to have an early morning meeting at his office. His company usually has one early morning meeting a month and since the weather was supposed to be perfect that day, I arranged for Dan Creighton, a photographer from The Mercury, where I work, to come to my house to take some pictures. On Wednesday night, while giving the kids a bath, I asked Jon if his meeting was still on.

"No. It's been rescheduled to next Thursday," he said.

Panic struck me like lightening. It was 7:30 p.m. and I had to call Dan and make sure he didn't show up at my house the next morning. Immediately after the kids were in bed, I sent Jon to the grocery store so I could call and reschedule the photo session. Instead of wasting the beautiful day, we decided to meet at a park.

Jon got the kids dressed first thing Thursday morning. Neither were dressed picture perfect and I couldn't change them. I have a history of changing their outfits after my husband gets them dressed and a couple days before picture day, Jon finally had enough and asked me not to change them if he dresses them. My hands were tied and I had to find a way to pack and hide dress clothes for them so I could change them in the back of the minivan after we got to the park. (See, another reason to love the minivan.)

After Dan took the pictures, I still had to go to work. By now I'm really late for work, dripping in sweat with a handful of mulch down the front of my shirt.

Wiping away the mulch and sweat, I dropped them off at daycare dirty, tired and hungry. I didn't have time to change them back into their play clothes. I felt bad about it, but that's the price you pay for sneaking around. When I picked them up at the end of the day, I changed them back into their play clothes and headed home, hoping Sophia wouldn't remember Dan's name and repeat it.

The Saturday after the photo shoot, Jon and I took the kids to the park. Jon pulled the stroller out of the trunk of the van and mulch fell out all over the place.

"How did this get so dirty?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's the trunk. It's dirty back there."

I know he didn't buy it. I wouldn't have bought it, so I changed the subject and it was forgotten. I think.

It's been a long week and a half. I've had the pictures for days now and I love every single one of them. Dan did such a great job, I couldn't have asked for more perfect pictures. Sophia and Ryan look beautiful and it's taken a small army to keep me from telling Jon about the pictures.
But, the day is finally here and I am so excited to share the pictures. At the bottom of this page there is a slide show of some of the best pictures from that photo shoot.

***

To my husband: Today is our anniversary. We've had seven years filled with highs and lows that I wouldn't give back for the world because each of those events have brought us to where we are today. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined that we would be parents, let alone the parents of two of the most remarkable and beautiful individuals in the world. I'm looking forward to the next seven years and every year after that. Please accept my gift to you on this special day. It's the most special and precious gift I could think to give you … our children.