Bicycle Date Night

I don't know if all the other moms are with me on this -- but, lately, by the time I get to the weekend, I desperately need a night out. This usually means hiring a sitter and going out to dinner with Bri. If we have the foresight to make arrangements to go with friends, it's a bonus. And, sometimes we stop by WinCo while the babysitter is still on the clock to restock our produce (for green smoothies). Ahhh . . . nothing says romance like a kid free visit to your local grocer, right?

Tonight was different. At Brian's urging, we finally made it to Salt Lake for our bicycle date. He mentioned the idea last summer and I balked at having to pay a sitter for all the extra time it would take. This time, I decided to phone my angelic mom, who, of course, said "yes" to taking our four cherubs for (what turned out to be) seven hours.

Brian delivered our kids to my mom's while I showered (I spent the day planting our flower beds -- hooray!). He came home to find me in workout capris and a t-shirt. After he explained that I could wear regular clothes, I changed into a black and white polka dot dress, leggings and sandals. Who knew you could be so stylish while biking around town?

We rode our bikes down (as in, downhill the entire way) to the Ogden Frontrunner station and boarded the train. I was dying to get serious about relaxing, but, alas -- the transition from stay-at-home mom to working mom has been tricky. And, even though I am busy doing something every spare second of every day, there was still more to be done. Brian patiently played games on his iPhone (I'm pretty sure he didn't mind) while I called three more restaurant owners and completed one interview. By the time we reached Farmington, I put work away and thanked Brian for all the nice things he did today. "Thank you for bathing Katie (and, dressing her in a cute new summer outfit for my mom to see). Thank you for taking the boys with you on your photo assignment this morning (taking pictures of volunteers filling sandbags -- how convenient that the boys could play in the sand). And, thank you for making them feel special by taking them to IHOP after. Thank you for installing a sprinkler system last year so I could plant flowers again. And, thank you for not getting mad when I was being grumpy and stressed about the demands of life (how was it already 4 pm when I hadn't even accomplished the things that had to be done before 2 pm?)."

Then, he wanted to make the night extra special and relaxing. So, he pulled out his iPhone and played clips from a funny stand-up comedian. Laughing out loud was the best! And, he told me I looked hot in my polka dot dress. By the time we reached Salt Lake I was in pretty high spirits.

We had plans to meet some of our favorite friends at one of our favorite restaurants (Frida Bistro). We were feeling so giddy and high on being relaxed -- we neglected to think about making a reservation or actually showing up early at the restaurant to put our name on a list. Instead, we cruised around Salt Lake on our bikes and looked around a few shops at The Gateway.

I highly recommend the bicycle date night. It's relaxing and lovely and a nice change from the norm (that is unless you always ride your bike, in that case you should consider a driving date).

By the time we arrived at the restaurant, we found out we could not get a table until 8. Too late for two couples who have eight kids between them. The saddest part was not getting to spend more time with our friends. But, in the end we parted ways with plans to dine at the Frida soon.

Brian and I opted for quick and inexpensive instead, and halfway through our meal we realized we had just missed the 8 o'clock train and we would have to wait another hour. I'm telling you, we were quite irresponsible in our carefree state. My mom, being the wonderful lady she is, agreed to drive our kids to our home and PUT THEM TO BED (always the best thing a babysitter can do for us -- [ahem] besides being pro bono). So, we lazily rode back on the train and watched some more comedy.

When we arrived in Ogden at 9:45 p.m., there was a strong eastern wind blowing (I am listening to it right now and it is powerful indeed. I just checked - 23 mph winds with 40 mph gusts!). This was bad since it meant riding several miles uphill in a headwind. It turned out to not be too bad. At least it wasn't raining. All part of the adventure. And, kind of romantic pedaling around in the dark together. Definitely more romantic than strolling the produce section.

It was the perfect night. Perfect enough to get us through another week in the sweatshop of life.

Anyone have a fabulous idea for date night?