Monday, August 27, 2018

The Embassy Suites

One of our 20 Dates for 20 Years. 
Eric and I decided that for 20% of our Dates, we'd take the kids with us.  Frankly, it's very difficult to find anyone interested in taking all three boys overnight.  
That amounts to 4 Dates that they can tag along on.  
One of them was the Embassy Suites.  
We decided to go to this hotel because when we were dating we'd go here of an evening, and ride the beautiful elevator.  Glass elevators were something we loved to do, just ride, talk, enjoy the view.  
Now we've introduced the kids to the same thing. 

It used to be a pink hotel, now it's a bit more peach/tan, but still beautiful inside. 



The lobby has been updated since we were here last.  
The kids loved it though.  And they didn't even act like nuts. 




Here we are, riding in the elevator, just like old times. 


Introducing the boys to riding in glass elevators.  
Sure it's a little blurry, but we're all moving. 
They are cute and happy. 


On our way back from dinner. 
The plan was to go to Yen Ching, a nice Chinese Restaurant, not buffet, but with tablecloths and the most amazing pu pu platter.  Their beef on a stick was the stuff that pregnant women dream of. 
But they were closed.  After 40 years. I was so sad.  Heartbroken. They were an institution, so it makes sense they'd retire.  Still, it went against our plan.  The restaurant wasn't the Date, it was the Hotel. But we had to find a backup plan. We went to Tian Fu, a pan asian mix of culteres, in that we got thai things, sushi, and chinese things.  All of it was pretty good, but no amazing way over the other.  And the kids weren't as impressed.  They were happy with chicken fingers.  That doesn't do it for me for the cost.  Still, everyone ate. In public.  So I'll take the victories where I can get them. 

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And they went back to the hotel for a lovely evening swim. 


You'd think that a hot date, I'd end up with a handsome fella in my bed. 
You're right.  
This was my bunkmate. 
He's awful sweet. 


He has to touch me all the time he sleeps. 
And that belly. 
I can't even take him seriously.


The next day... rain clouds coming in. 
Not exactly a scenic view... of the Costco parking lot. 
Still, the cloud formations were cool. 


Jacob got a hold of my phone. 
Goober.


Then the next round of crazy. 
These two took the morning and went for a swim with Daddy. 


Sam and I went to Gymnastics and swung by Target for a Disney thing.  I was on the hunt for matching shirts.  I couldn't find them, but I did find this cool Star Wars shirt in Sam's size. He was thrilled. Then we grabbed everyone else, in time for Jacob's gymnastics class. It was pretty handy staying the night 10 minutes away instead of our usual half hour commute.  From there we met friends for lunch, and visited the Indy Disney Meet in Noblesville.  So really, it was handy that we stayed over night 'in town'.  The kids loved the place.  And I'm sorry to tell my husband, we all really like the Hilton Chain of hotels like the Embassy Suites.  It wasn't super sexy, but it was fun. And I love having adventures with my family. And I guess I'm developing expensive taste in my old age. 

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

End of Summer Break


Missions Accomplished!  

Tonight, we did the last on our List of Goals for Summer. 


The last item on the list was Family Bike Ride. 

Jacob asked for this item to be put on our list since he learned how to ride in May.  So I figured at some point, we'd fix Eric's bike and get us all riding around the block together.  Nope, Eric's bike was toast.  But mine was ok.  So I rode with them once.  Tonight we took turns. 
I had Daddy take my bike off the wall, and I took these cuties around the block after our supper. 
Jake started off sprinting like a maniac.  I had to push to keep up, but by the corner he was slowing down. We kept a steadier pace, and at the end of the street pictured above, he needed to turn towards home. So we came home, Jake and I stopped, and Daddy took the boys around the loop a few more times.  


I love this, with the sun shining behind them.  Perfect. 

Actually, we had a great last day of Summer Vacation. 
We went and Kidnapped Daddy for lunch.  
We took him Mug-n-Bun. 


The kids didn't remember eating at Mug-n-Bun before. 
They wanted to eat outside at the picnic tables, instead of in the car, killing dolphins leaving the car on wasn't going to be an option, and outside in the breeze seemed better. 
So everyone got the sunglasses and looked awesome. 


And then there was the Root Beer. 
Eric's first job was doing dishes at Mug-n-Bun, the frosty mugs, or refilling them for folks.  
Nowadays, only the medium serving comes in a frosty mug, and the large comes in a take home plastic cup.  Our cups died long ago, so we opted to pick up a few new ones. ;)


Jacob with his Kiddie size root beer. 


Sam downed his root beer before his food arrived. 


Chris was open minded enough to try the root beer, but opted for water, a wise choice, since while we were there, the sun finally came out, and it got toasty. 


Mmm... fried with a side of fried. 
My foot long hotdog with sauce and cheese, a tenderloin, and onion bites tinier than the full onion rings, but still awesome.  The great thing we've always appreciated about their onion rings has always been that when we bite in, the onion doesn't come sliding out, they stay together. Mmm. 

This amazing lunch filled me to the brim, and we still took half home.  
Dinner was salad bar at Noble Roman's with E's Mom and Dad. 
What a great way to end our Summer Vacation!