Day 19 - Surprises

I love surprises.  I don’t mind being caught off guard (much) and I love the fact that someone cared enough to surprise me.  I love surprising people too.  It’s fun to anticipate their reaction and plan a ‘big reveal’.  Big or small, I think surprises are fun.  We’ve got a few up our sleeve for the kids this holiday season (including a real train ride! 🚂).  And today, we definitely started off the season right with a little surprise visit from Kiki and Pops.  Mitch was up before dawn and the morning was a little exhausting.  He and Evelyn spent the morning squabbling.  I folded laundry.  Mitch and I ran to the store and grabbed some donuts on the way home.  We watched a Christmas cartoon and colored pictures.  All before 10 am. And then, just after 11, Crosby started barking like crazy.  I figured someone was walking their dog past the house and ignored him.  But Mitch didn’t.  He ran to the window and said “I think I see Pops’ car.”  I told him that was silly, but Crosby wouldn’t stop barking so I looked outside to see... my parents!  Their electricity went out and was supposed to be out most of the day so they decided to drive up and spend the afternoon with us!  We were so surprised and happy to see them!  Once I got past the fact that the house was a disaster, I just relaxed and enjoyed their company.  We went out to lunch at Liberty Tavern.  Delicious!  After lunch, we came home and watched E.T.  My mom really wanted to watch it with Evelyn and I’m so happy she suggested it.  Evelyn absolutely loved it.  She cried a little when E.T. died, but she was really into the whole movie and I loved sharing it with her and my parents.  It’s always been one of my favorites ☺️.  Mitch was less than interested and fell asleep halfway through.  After the movie, we hung out and talked a little before my parents headed home.  It really was a great day.

It may seem like I say this a lot, but I truly do not take these moments for granted.  This year, we were reminded that life can change in an instant.  Seeing my parents smiles, hearing the kids gleeful squeals, watching them snuggle to watch a movie... these are simple moments that mean so much.  They are moments to remember and reasons to be thankful.

No pictures from today, but here are some oldies, but goodies.