"Restaurants"

Restaurants, or rester-nauts, as Sarah used to call them. They can be great for parents. They are there when your life is too hectic to cook. They can be there when you are just plain tired. They can also be the bane of your existence.

There was the time at Steak-n-Shake with Jenna's kids. This was before we had any. Tommy and Kelci were little, and it seemed we were just doomed that day. There was a sequence of horrid events that passed, but in the end, it was the soda that did us in. One of the kid's cups had fallen over and the straw went through the bottom of the cup. So any way you turned it, you were wearing soda.

Then there was the time at the Roadhouse when Rachel was little. We were out with the neighbors before they had kids. This was the one and only time we ever had to leave without eating. Rachel was throwing an ever-loving fit over who knows what. We had already ordered so we had to change the order 'to go'. And our teeny-bopper waitress says to me, "Do you want me to try? I'm really good with kids!" She doesn't realize how lucky she is to still have her head attached to her cute little body.

There was the time we were at Nine Dragons in Epcot with Val's family. We had taken vacation there together and were having a good time. My family loves the Nine Dragons. Val's, not so much. The meal ended with Sarah flinging her red bean ice cream at Valerie's head, and while this was amusing to us, she doesn't realize how lucky she is to still have her head attached to her cute little body.

And finally, there was King's Crab House. It's in San Diego, and we went with our neighbors. We went directly there from getting off the whale watching boat, and we were all ravenous. Some of us more than others, it seems. When the server brought us a big hunk of bread for the table to share, Michael picked it up with his hands, and started eating. The laughter was loud and long, much to his embarrassment.

Moral of the story: With kids, every time you enter a restaurant, you take your life and sanity, into your own hands.....well, at least into their little slimy ones.


For those keeping up, this is my last entry from our vacation. We saw gray whales on Wednesday, and on Thursday we went to Balboa Park and did a bazillion museums. We went out to dinner without incident. Today we are taking it easy. We will go to the Birch Aquarium later, then hang by the pool and pack. Thanks for coming with us on this most awesome trip!