We have been wanting to try and do family night every week for a while now, but there always seems to be something that keeps us from doing it. We just keep pushing it back. We finally decided that we were not going to do that anymore, and we were going out! We love going to the Drive-In, and we promised the kids we would go as soon as we could, so Jason and I planned on it. Tonight was the only night out of 7 days that he has off this week, so we had one shot to make this happen. We checked the listings at the Drive-In, but they were not very good. At least not for kids. The only kid thing showing was, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” but I am not sure my little ones would have like it very much. If it isn’t a cartoon or if it doesn’t have superheros, it is a crapshoot on whether or not the kids will like it. We figured this might not be the best night for a movie afterall, so we started thinking of something else.
The kids found a way to amuse themselves i the parking lot before we went in.
We remembered a gift card we had gotten for an area full of restaurants and figured going out to dinner would be fun. We ran it by the kids and they LOVED the idea, so dinner it was. Since this was Jason’s only night off, and he had barely slept in the last three days, we decided to eat at 8:30 so he could get a good “night’s” sleep before we went. I started getting the kids and myself ready at 6pm, knowing it was still going to be close. I am really trying to get better at not being late to things, and I did a good job tonight! We were waiting on Jason for once! I made sure Jason knew all about that accomplishment, and he was good enough to acknowledge it for me.
On our way out to the restaurant, we tried to decide if we wanted cheeseburgers or BBQ. Our gift card was for “The Legends,” which is a built up shopping area about a half hour from us that has a lot of good places to eat. Jason looked it up on his phone and came up with another idea: Longbranch Steakhouse. Now, being that we have all lived in Kansas City most or all of our lives, just the mere mention of steak turns
Jason got a picture of me right before we went in.
us into Pavlov’s dogs. There was no more need for discussion. Steak it was. When we pulled into Longbranch, we realized it was actually Lone Star. We shrugged our shoulders and went in. It was about 9pm, so we were all ravenously hungry. We got seated right away and the waiter came to take our drink order while I was still passing out crayons and coloring books. I looked up and saw it was a former student of mine whose family I had gotten to know fairly well. I had not actually had him in class, but I had taught his sister, and knew him as well. (I taught at a relatively small Catholic High School for a while). I chatted with him for a bit and then he went to get the drinks. We decided on the spinach-artichoke dip for an appetizer, and then began the grueling process of figuring out what the kids wanted. After much deliberation, Troy wanted a steak, and Derek and Jason decided on the cheeseburgers. Ash was getting bits and pieces of everyone’s meal. I chose a sirloin and Jason got the Porterhouse. When he brought the drinks, we were ready, and so we ordered. We then all sat back and just chatted and laughed and colored together, and just had a nice time. We only had to do a bathroom run one time, and I was fortunate enough to have Jason volunteer to take the boys instead of having me go. I got to sit in relative quiet for a few minutes, sipping my diet Pepsi and playing with Ashley. While the guys were gone, the appetizer came. I swear to God that was the best Spinach-Artichoke dip I ever ate. (The are not paying me to say that. It really, truly was that good!) We all devoured the dip and the rolls and I ate my salad, and then dinner came. One of the benefits of eating so late is that you are so hungry, you can eat just about everything you order.
Troy thought he was “hot stuff” for having a steak like mom and dad, so he made a big deal out of how good it was. Jason tried some and asked Troy if he would share some of it with him, and Troy could have some of his cheeseburger. To my amazement, Troy agreed. Everyone ate and we talked together, telling stories about school and the puppies, etc. It was really great. As the meal was winding down, I looked over at Ashley, and she had balled up her fists and placed one on each eye and then put her head down onto the table, only her pigtails showing. I guess that was her way of saying, “time to go!” The waiter came and brought the check and some to-go boxes. (We ate most of everything, but there is still some left, and there is no doubt someone will eat it all tomorrow). I looked at the check and realized that he had not charged us for any of our drinks and he had given us the military discount (Jason was in the Navy, so he must have remembered that). I was pretty excited about that and figured, that, with the gift card, we were going to make out like bandits! I handed the waiter the gift card and my debit card. A few minutes later, he came back apologetically and told me that Lone Star was not part of “The Legends.” Apparently, only Longbranch was. Lone Star was just in the area. That explains the name change at the restaurant…I wonder where Longbranch is located? Oh well. The bill was still less than I expected, so I still felt good. I tipped the waiter pretty well. He honestly deserved it. Then we left.
We herded the kids into the car, but not before I got some pictures. We had so much fun while we were inside, I forgot to get pictures of the actual meal, but I still got some good ones. On the way
Satisfied and happy boys leaving the restaurant!
home, everyone but Derek fell asleep. (Well, and me. I was driving, so that is a good thing). When we got home, I was getting the little ones out of the car and Jason went in to get the pups. All of a sudden, eight paws and a couple of fluffy tails blew past me. I looked up to see my husband standing in the garage, flabbergasted. You could see in his face the shock over the fact they had gotten away from him. I tried real hard not to laugh. I got the little ones into the house and suggested Jason try to get the kids into their PJ’s and I would get the dogs.
Ashley and her Daddy!
I drove around for a few minutes, looking for the little punks when I got a text from Jason telling me they were home. Apparently they decided they didn’t like being loose at night, so they turned around and went home. They had let themselves into the house through the garage door that was apparently not shut all the way. Cool! I came home and dressed the two kids Jason had yet to change, and had everyone brush their teeth and got them into bed. Within seconds, they were out.
Jason and I decided to watch a movie together and settled on a comedy show by Larry the Cable Guy. We ended up laughing hysterically for about an hour and a half. If you have never seen him, you asolutely must. He is the funniest comedian ever! We had seen him live when he came to KC right before we had kids and had never laughed so hard for so long in our lives!
All in all, it was an amazing night. After a long, hard first week of school and Jason’s extra hours he had to put in, a good family night was what the doctor ordered.
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