Last night we took the kids to see the Bee Movie with several of our friends and their children-- 15 of us to be exact-- 9 adults and 6 children. The kids were very good at the movies, they sat there side by side, intently staring at the screen. Every now and then, Hannah and Ashley would cruise down to check on Lex, Olivia, and Andrew two rows down.
After the movie was over, we were hungry, so we headed next door for pizza. As we entered the smallish dining area, the staff scrambled to put the few remaining tables together for us. I glanced around apologetically to the "childless" patrons. It was late for a group of mostly 4 year olds and they were all on the verge of a break down. The first hurdle was determining where everyone would sit. After a game of musical chairs, we arranged ourselves with the kids at the end of the table closest to the back of the restaurant, the women in the middle, and the men at the other end.
The ordering process was uneventful, other than the quick shower of tears when Ashley thought she wasn't going to get a Sprite. Andrew and Olivia squared off next over a napkin. Samuel hit his head on the table and there were more tears. All the ladies ended up making several trips to the bathroom with the kids-- I think I probably had the prize for the most trips-- but then again I was the one with 2 kids-- everyone else was paired with only 1. Somehow we made it through dinner with few outbursts. I couldn't help glancing around every now and again to see if I could catch any stares or eye-rolling from the other tables. Our table was definitely the loudest, but I think the kids behavior was pretty darn good.
So fast forward to the check. The server brought us our check and explained that the man sitting at the table next to us when we first came in had bought our first round of drinks and pizzas. We all sat there in complete shock and amazement. Why? Did he feel sorry for us? Was he writing a book on "when good parenting goes bad"? Surely he wasn't impressed by our well-behaved children and exceptional parenting skills :) The server explained that he simply said that he liked what we were doing. Try as I may, I couldn't remember what the gentleman looked like. Marc and Havalynn said they remembered him and that they had exchanged glances... but didn't think anything of it. We all sat pondering, in dumbfounded appreciation, trying to figure out why in the mad chaos of everyday life someone-- anyone would notice and make such a kind gesture. With no answers, we gave the server a big tip and took our tired little ones home.
Hannah and Ashley fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. Still Marc and I thought back to the restaurant and continued speculating as to why he would pay for our meal. This is definitely something that doesn't just happen everyday. I felt bad because I couldn't remember him-- I should have at least noticed. I wanted somehow to thank him-- but how? I decided that the only way I could was to tell the story here. I'm hoping that if you made it this far, you are smiling and thinking that there are still some good people in the world. And to the kind and generous gentleman who crossed our path last night, thank you.
Hannah turned 7! Her birthday was on a Thursday, so we let her pick our dinner destination...and guess what she picked... Chuck E. Cheese's. Needless to say, she didn't do a lot of eating there. Our neighbors went with us and the kids had a blast! Her birthday celebration resumed on Saturday with friends, family, and classmates at Pump It Up! I know the kids enjoyed bouncing and playing! Rumor has it that Aunt Brit, Mommy, and Daddy had just as much fun as the kids... recovery time was much greater, though :)
Hannah's first grade class had a Thanksgiving play yesterday. Each first grade class was a different fall themed person or thing-- Hannah's class was a pumpkin patch. Then they had one representative from each of the classes as a Turkey-- thus 6 fat turkeys. Hannah was a little disappointed that she didn't get picked to be the turkey-- but she was very cute nonetheless. Here's a mini clip of one of the songs. I know it is a bit blurry-- I had to use the compact version in order to upload here.
Ok so while we were in New York-- I stopped in a knitting cafe called Knit New York to pick up some yarn for Hannah. She's learning to knit with Grandma. It was raining and I had to get a lesson on choosing yarn... so we were in there a while. Long enough for Marc and Steve to peruse the yarn and pattern books and decide that they were going to learn to knit so that they could make a pair of Alpaca boxers. If you have never felt Alpaca wool... it is the softest thing I have ever touched... ok minkee might have it beaten... but it is pretty soft. So Marc quizzed a Russian lady that was knitting to figure out if it was feasible and decided it was. Its only natural for siblings to turn it into a contest... so first one to knit a pair of alpaca boxers wins... what? I have no idea... the right to brag, I guess. So here's Marc during his first lesson-- learning to cast on and the knitting stitch... purling came later... oh and you don't see the beer that was sitting next to him-- very funny site! Please laugh hard and make sure you send Mr. Crafty an email inquiring about his newly found hobby!
