Alicia has this knack for doing really creative, thoughtful activities. A few years ago she created this date where she removed all the furniture from our bedroom and made it into a beach with dyed blue sheets and a poster board sunset. She even made cut outs of seagulls and palm trees to go with it. And tonight she did something similar by throwing me an early Father's Day celebration with the theme of a worldwide trip.
I pulled into the garage after getting off my usual bus at 5:15 and saw a bunch of balloons and a note on the door into the house wishing me a Happy Father's Day. Then I came in and Emily read me a note informing me that I would be going on a world tour to various countries. I was handed a ticket saying that I would go to France, Mexico, USA, Jamaica, China, Canada, Disneyland, and Africa in the next 24 hours.
Before I could put my bag down and change into comfortable house clothes, I was ushered directly to the kitchen table where dinner was waiting. We had taco salad (Mexico), with a cheese ball (France), and yummy fruit/pop/sherbet tropical juice drink (Jamaica). For desert we had molten chocolate cake from Chili's (USA). The kids had helped with dinner and it was next to impossible for Alicia and Emily to keep Ethan from spilling the beans on what was next.
After dinner Emily handed me a note with a china flag on it. I opened it and saw the movie poster for Kung Fu Panda 2 printed inside. Ethan excitedly announced that we were going to go see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the theater. Alicia revealed 6 ziploc bags filled with various candy and I immediately wished that I hadn't eaten so much dinner and chocolate cake.
The movies went surprisingly well - better than any family movie-going experience has gone. Ben stayed in his car seat and when I covered it with a blanket and rocked him a bit - went straight to sleep. Claire hung out with her Mom and lost a bit of attention at the end of the movie. Emily and Ethan were, of course, riveted to the movie. The only problem was Jace - and even that was manageable. For the last 30 minutes he got bored and started exploring our row of seats, the vacant row immediately in front of us, and the stairs providing access to the stadium seating theater. Thursday night isn't a very busy night so there was enough room between us and other people that we were able to let him roam a bit. But even with these challenges, those of us interested in the movie were able to watch it in relative peace. And it was a good movie too! I swear, animated movies are so much better than the usual live action ones.
When the movie was done, I found out what the next country would be - Canada. I was escorted downstairs where I saw the family room cleared of furniture and our family tent erected in the center of the room. Sleeping bags, blankets, the inflatable mattress, and pillows were arranged in the tent and draped under the ceiling, a black sheet veiled mini Christmas lights resembling stars. A few of our house plants were in the immediate vicinity and our small whiteboard stood on a stool stating "Welcome to Browns Bay Provincial Park, Canada." So, we got in pajamas and everyone slept under the "stars."
What a Father's day! Apparently, it's not over because we still have Disneyland and Africa tomorrow but so far, I'm amazed at the preparation and care that they've shown so far.
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