One Last Hoorah!

Ben gets sad when I post right after him, because he thinks that no one will see his entry, so make sure you read it. This picture has nothing to do with the rest of the entry, but I just couldn't resist throwing it on somewhere. Earlier this week it was cold and we had to pull out the winter gear and found this hat amongst all the others. Somehow I convinced Ben to put it on and snapped a picture. Isn't he cute? Then I dared him to wear it to work-- he works in the men's locker room. He accepted the dare. What a brave man.


Yesterday was our last date night as non-parents. We decided we needed one last hoorah. Unfortunately, we live in Rexburg, Idaho and I am 39 weeks pregnant, so our options became very limited very quickly. No romantic hikes for me. So we walked to the Backyard and got some chili cheese fries. Yum. After the long walk, I needed a break. After a short rest, we headed out for dinner (chili cheese fries were just an appetizer). We went to Craigo's, a pizza place here where we've had a few dates, and it has about the most romantic atmosphere you can find in Rexburg. We called ahead so we wouldn't have to wait as long, but by the time we got there (a mere 10 minutes later) they'd moved our name to the bottom of the list, which had grown considerably longer from when I had called. First we got to watch some hick get really angry that someone got a table before him. Ben thought he was drunk. I thought he was just from podunk Idaho and had nothing better to do on a Friday night than fight with an 18-year-old hostess about who got there first. Finally our names were called for a table, and the hostess, before taking us to our table, asks us to pay. Pay for what? "Aren't you getting the buffet?" No. "Oh, ok. What did you want to get then?" I delived my best annoyed look. "We've changed how we do things here, first you order and pay and then we seat you." So much for romantic.


Ben and I decided we'd go for Pizza Hut. Maybe not a whole lot more romantic, but quieter, and I wanted pizza. Someday we'll move to a place where restaurants have good service and good food. The food was good and we had a fun time. We talked a lot about opening our own restaurant, a romantic one, if for no other reason than for us to have somewhere to go on date night. About the time we got our pizza Ben said he had a surprise for me. Now, he doesn't have a good track record with surprises, because I'm curious, ask too many questions and watch too many mysteries/crime solving movies and shows. So I was thinking cinnamon sticks or something. He tells me to close my eyes and he pulls out this:Holy cow! I was surprised to say the least. He was very quick to make it clear that this was not for my birthday. He said it was for the mother of his children. I asked if it was a push present, he said sure, but he wanted to give it to me before, because he figured I would be preoccupied with our little girl after she was born. So if you never believed me before when I said I had the best husband ever, now you should.

After getting over my shock, I believe I started laughing really hard. Here's the story. There was another time when Ben truly surprised me. It was my last birthday. He said he had a surprise for me and to close my eyes. When I opened them I saw this:
Yep, the same necklace. I absolutely loved it and was thrilled and super surprised. Who thought my husband would by me jewelry for my first birthday together? And then I noticed the tiny diamond, and realized it was real, because there's no other reason they use tiny diamonds. I asked and he said it was and that the emerald was too. Then I mistakenly tried to figure out how much he spent on it. I shouldn't have asked. So the next day I took it back, got harrassed by the sales clerk who tried to make me feel guilty (don't you want your husband to love you?), and cried all the way home. It was a traumatic experience. The really funny thing is that we just talked about this trauma a few days ago, and I was saying that I still loved the necklace (Ben swears this was after he already rebought it).

Now you are probably wondering if I am taking it back again. Are you kidding?