Happy Birthday Haven

April 20-21, 2008 Guy's birthday was Monday, and I managed to pull off a pretty good surprise for him. I had wanted to take advantage of the fact that I'm not pregnant or nursing and that my parents live close by, for Guy and I to run away for a short time. I'd looked online for some kind of cabin rental nearby where maybe we could do some hiking, and because I thought Guy would appreciate that the most. I wasn't having any luck, though, and brought it up at a visiting teaching appt., asking where the others would recommend. They mentioned some of the "theme" hotels around, and a couple other places, when I told them that I'd really been thinking about a cabin. At this point the gal I visit teach said, "well, why don't you go stay in one of ours?" (her husband has two cabins he's trying to get set up as time-share vacation homes, I believe, but they aren't "ready" yet, which means they aren't fully furnished and decorated, I guess). The dates worked out, and she and her husband generously gave me keys and directions to the place (this cabin was in Sundance).

So, on Sunday, Mom and Dad came over for dinner (I do have to backtrack here and say that I hounded Guy pretty good to get his Scouting responsibilities taken care of on Sunday BEFORE dinner, and I think he was getting annoyed with me--but they were done), and at the end of the meal they gave him their present for him (though they really needn't have brought one), and then I told him that his next present was that Mom and Dad were going to watch the kids for us while we went for a little ride. I'd managed to clandestinely pack the car (it's awfully challenging to surprise someone who is home all the time--but that's too long for this story), so we started driving and Guy started trying to guess where we were going. He noticed I'd put some DVDs in the car, so he thought we were driving into the canyon to watch a movie on our portable DVD player (we've actually done that before on a date--we also got Thai take-out that time--and it was really fun), but he was thrown by the fact that I had a garage-door opener with me. At any rate, he was very surprised when we got to the cabin and found we were staying the night. (Thanks SO MUCH Mom and Dad for your wonderful help with the kids!)

It was a nice place, to say the least, and we made good use of the hot tub and the nice AV equipment. I'd packed snacks and breakfast food, and it was wonderful to just be leisurely, to relax, and to have a conversation (several, actually :-) without being interrupted. I was thrilled that the surprise worked, Guy was floored by it all, and we both felt greatly rejuvenated to have had our little get-away.

The moral of the story: It pays to do your visiting teaching :-) Any suggestions on what kind of "thank-you" I can do for my VTee and her husband, or for my parents?

(The pictures show us on the front porch, Guy in the Theater room, the main living area--taken from a loft, and a view of the back.)