last october, the boys got to spend a whole weekend with my parents (oh my goodness, the anticipation of that weekend was almost too much for them!) while kenny whisked me away on a romantic getaway to the middle of the state. my parents were troopers keeping the boys on a cold, rainy/windy weekend with one of them being sick, and one needing to go to a soccer game.  the boys keep talking about the fun they had, and we received periodic photos (via texts) of the boys throughout our weekend.

when we returned home, we celebrated our family birthday by taking the boys to Ballocity at Fun Fore All, and then out to Ichiban Hibachi Steakhouse for dinner. fortunately, it has now surpassed Chuck E. Cheese in the favorite restaurant department. unfortunately, we probably won’t return until rowan celebrates his own 10th birthday (as the price warrants only big celebrations for us!).

highlights of our 10-year-celebration week:
~kenny and i were able to check out the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA. The 2 mile long lane from Route 30 to the Memorial is sobering. a quiet, country ride demands silence and reverence, and the spot of the actual wreckage is subtly marked by american flags. the juxtaposition of our celebratory 10th, and remembering that scary day 6 weeks before our wedding was very obvious to the both of us.
~the best fillet mignon i have ever had in my entire life. coffee, cocoa and dark cherries over a medium-well filet: amazing.
~kenny totally surprised me with a gift: an edwardian dinner ring, to match the antique era of our wedding bands and engagement ring. i still gaze at it in amazement.  when i was in the post office the other day, the post man behind the counter complimented it and i told him it was a 10th anniversary gift from my husband. he replied: “i told my wife on our 10th anniversary that she hadn’t earned another ring yet.”  i don’t know what he meant by that, but i am thankful that my husband doesn’t see my role as his wife and mother to his children as a means to a gift that i earn.

~celebrating these 10 years of family with our boys: kenny and i both agree that all three of them are the biggest highlights of this past decade.