Thank You and Goodbye!

Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Joanna and Eric, whose son Jared goes to school with Ben, and their other son Evan goes to school with Rebecca. We went to a hibachi restaurant, which I was really looking forward to since we hadn't been to one since moving to Charlotte.

Since Rebecca had never been to one, I was pretty sure she would freak during the cooking part, and I was not disappointed. She jumped into my lap and buried her head in my shoulder the whole time our food was being cooked. When the chef was done and was saying goodbye, she stood up on my lap and said tearfully, "Thank you! Thank you! Goodbye! Goodbye!" At least she was polite about it. She kept waving and saying goodbye until he had packed up his supplies and left - a not-so-subtle hint. But every time the waiter would come over to take drink orders, etc, she would jump into my arms again until they left. So she did not have the greatest time. The older boys, Ben and Jared, thought it was great, and Evan (a year older than Rebecca) watched the cooking while peeking through his fingers. I had steak and shrimp, and it was delicious!

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store so Joel could run in for some ice cream. The kids and I waited in the car, and Rebecca dropped one of her toys on the floor. I asked Ben if he could please find it for her, since he was out of his seat. He leaned over and started feeling around the floor for her toy, finally having to get down on hands and knees to get it. As he reached under the seat to get it, I heard him grumble, "I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!"