Father's Day 2011

We kidnapped daddy this morning and took him on a new adventure for father's day! Ashley was up first at 5:20, ten minutes before we had Luke's alarm secretly set for, and we quickly and quietly loaded the car! I got Claire from her bed while the kids went in to wake Tyler, announcing that he needed to get dressed and get in the car. I was waiting in the driveway minutes later when he appeared, laughing half awake and wondering what was going on and where in the world we were going at 5:45am.
We went on an hour long drive to a place highly recommended by friends and neighbors, Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It was so perfect for us! A beautiful (for the desert) botanical garden with hiking trails, and flowers, and shade, and wildlife. We had a really fun time! And now we can highly recommed it to others.
By 8:30 we were ready to go have some breakfast so went to IHOP and came home by 10am. It was a great start to the weekend - and something I knew Tyler would really enjoy. So I'm glad it went off without a hitch - and the kids and I succeeded in our surprise! :)