Friday Night

The Plan:

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Take turns going into the temple while the kids enjoy a dinner and movie night in the comfort of our Toyota Sienna.

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The Anticipated Result:

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Enjoy a fun evening as a family, perform service in the temple, save $50 by not getting a babysitter, pick up some dinner and dessert to go and consider it a "date night" after the kids fall asleep on the way home.

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Execution of the plan:

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made great time

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found a fantastic parking spot

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walked the few short blocks to the temple

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remembered the temple is closed until Tuesday for winter maintenance

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sigh

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walked the few short blocks back to the van

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finished feeding the kids dinner

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changed the kids into pajammies (that's what we call them)

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turned on the Cars DVD

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headed toward Little Italy

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jumped out at Regali Handbags (this gem of a shop Dori told me about)

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made a quick stop at the Cafe next door

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jumped back in the van sporting my new diaper bag replacement, a new church bag, a sun-dried tomato and mozzarella panini, and a slice of Vesuvius Pie

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shared our dinner and devoured our dessert while the kids slept the whole way home

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Success?

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Absolutely. Well, aside from not being able to go to the temple which was the main objective for the trip. Nonetheless, the kids had fun, we had fun, the food was great, we still had a "date night", and I got two new bags. Temple opens on Tuesday; wanna do it again next weekend? Absolutely.

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Highlights of the evening:

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-upon returning to the van to inform the rest of the family about the temple being closed, hearing Garrett's response, "So what are we going to do now on this lovely night?"

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-observing Matt's exceptional NYC driving skills

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-cruising through Manhattan while listening to the Bed of Roses soundtrack with an imaginary wall between us and the backseats. We would have held hands if it weren't Manhattan and Matt didn't need both hands on the wheel.

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-Vesuvius Pie