A night with no kids!!

That's right, folks, John & I went away without the kids! Just the two of us! For a whole night! 32 kid-free hours! Woo hoo! Now don't get me wrong, of course, I LOVE my children and leaving them, even for just one night, felt really weird. But...can I just tell you how nice it was to have peaceful meals, to lay by the pool for a total of 7 hours and read a book, to go to bed and not have to get up until I was good and ready, to have several uninterrupted conversations with my husband. Awwwww...it was wonderful! Just a note: this it the first time John & I have gone away alone since Kate was born- yes, over 3 years- so when I mentioned that all I wanted for my birthday (my last twentysomething birthday :( ) was a hotel stay, John was all for it.

Not wanting to waste a minute, we started our mini-vacation yesterday morning at 8:30 am. Our first stop was an old family favorite, Ricky's Restaurant, for breakfast- by far the best french toast you will ever experience. We were able to get an early check-in at our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Spa & Marina, and wasted no time getting settled in and down to the pool.

The hotel was very nice and our view was great. We even watched the fireworks show put on by Sea World (right across the bay) from our bed.

That evening we headed to the Gaslamp District, aka downtown S.D., for sushi and a movie. It was a nice date night and even nicer was not being on any kind of timeline. We weren't in a hurry to relieve a babysitter or to go to bed at a reasonable hour knowing we'd have to be up early with the kids. Ahhh, freedom. I did not appreciate it enough before the babes. Although, at the same time, every time I saw a little one Kate or Luke's age I would say, "Oh, Johnny, don't you miss the kids?" We decided that, while it was nice & necessary to have time alone together, we feel a little empty-handed without our little munchkins. But that did not stop us from enjoying breakfast in bed this morning and more pool time and lunch this afternoon before heading back to reality.

We aren't real big on spending money on trips (obviously, since we haven't done this in over 3 years) but during this trip we decided you can't put a price on reconnecting with your spouse and being reminded that your not just a parent. So for that, it was well worth a little indulgence and we highly recommend it. =)