Daddy Turns 40 - gulp!

It is a fact.  As much as I complain about our kids getting older, we are doing the same thing.  Alex and I just celebrated our birthdays back to back earlier this month.  Mine was less eventful as it was an insignificant number; for now anyway.  I thought long and hard about how to do something special for Alex.  It is really hard to get away because we don't have family in the area and when family is here, it is a lot to ask to have them take care of the girls on their own.

After a couple of months of debating, I took the risk of purchasing the very coveted Duke vs. Michigan State basketball tickets.  They were very hard to find!  Pulling the trigger meant that Mommy and Daddy were going to Durham sans kids!  Luck would have it that the game was on Alex's actual birthday, the same day that my parents were flying into town.  After going back and forth with friends, I thought I had enough help lined up to see my parents through but. . . lo and behold, Alex's parents decided to drop in for a surprise visit as well.  I think it was more of a surprise for them than us.  While intending to spend time with their 40 year old baby boy, they instead, tended to his children.  It was fantastic for me because I was confident that four grandparents could handle three girls.  It was the official green light.  We were going away!

I waited until the night before to let Alex in on the secret.  Charlotte's family came by for a birthday dinner that was shared with Alex's parents as well.  I had a cake made that said,"Go Duke."  Before lighting the candles and presenting it to Daddy, all four girls, yes Miss Charlotte too, threw on some Duke wear.  It was very sweet watching them walk into the room while singing to Alex.  Savannah was a little nervous holding a cake of burning candles but she did it.




Here is the actual spilling of beans.  Which, by the way, Savannah was able to keep under wraps for an entire month while I was trying to train her how to tell her Papa how to drive her to school etc.  



He was pretty surprised.

Here he is with all of the girls.

Here we are center court! We had a great time. Best of all was spending two days together without the rat race of our crazy life. I love my kids more than anything but taking a break from Mommy and Daddy and remembering what it is to be just Alex and Sara was really refreshing.