Ahhh...I love the smell of sunblock in the morning!

Background:  I whine a lot for someone who leads a charmed and greatly blessed life.  Yesterday it was the leaves that Gabriel's fall arrival caused us to not care about until the snow receded...at which point they appeared on my radar in a big way, rapidly becoming the bane of my existence.  I spent several days sweeping, mopping, and muttering about how our top floor looked like Rivendell on a bad day and why you never hear about Elrond's wife (she started the exodus to the Grey Havens, mad as a hornet about the leaves on the floor of her bedroom).  Jon, being WONDERFUL, took the hint (a non-too-subtle text that read, "we either get rid of the leaves or the dogs!") and de-leafed our backyard, which was no mean feat.  Do you know what happens to leaves under a protective layer of snow?  Nothing you want to put your hand into, that's what.

And then TODAY, he took me on a surprise HAWT DATE in Salt Lake.  I love that Lost Wages is no longer the closest big city.  Nice.

First, he started by teaching our already devastatingly cute son how to charm the ladies:

See, with the sunglasses, no one knows you're staring.  

Subtle.  (unlike his behavior when he wants to nurse)

Then Jon humored me and took our picture under the disturbing beheaded elephant:

Am I the only who thinks beheaded animals and a cafe 

called "the Beastro" are kinda creepy to find at a zoo?  

Aren't we there to enjoy the beasts in a non-digestive sense?

Then we saw the ACTUAL elephants, where I discovered that human parents aren't the only ones who can't eat a meal undisturbed:

I had hoped that Gabe would enjoy the real elephants, given how enamored he is with Robert the Epileptic Elephant:

But, no...he was most impressed by:  1)  the finches  2)  the ceiling fans and 3)  the monke...hey, wait, is that a WALMART BAG IN A TREE?!?!?!  Yes, we could have saved ourselves time and money and entertained Cute-o-Potamus just as well at home.  But then we would have missed the silverback gorilla fiercely guarding his expensive plaything (a piece of a cardboard box). Parents everywhere, can I get a "boo-yah!"  Or at least a "Duh!  He's not even ONE!  Of COURSE he loved the ceiling fans best!"

Jon finished out our FantastiDate at the Pie, which has the BEST PIZZA ON THE PLANET.  I don't like pizza, but I would have driven to SLC for that alone.  Delish.  However, I refused to become one of the stereotypical masses who must take pictures of themselves eating.  (I've been shamed into stopping.) You'll have to take my word for this, too.  Recommendation if you go:  the Wise Guy zappi.  Awesomeness in the form of a calzone.  And you simply CANNOT get bad pizza there.

All in all, it was a fun date, although we missed our oldest boys, who were visiting their mom...and so were also in Salt Lake, just not with us.  Man were we tempted to see if she wanted to come, but that would have been a little too creepy, especially on the tour of the Brigham Young home.  Awkward.

And because I think it's charming:

Elijah was worried Gabe was getting bored during tummy time, so he decided to read him a book.  You know, to help him pass the time.  I have the BEST boys.

The end.