Valentines Do-Over

If the first time fails, try, try again.

Jeff had to work last Saturday night so we decided to celebrate Valentines Day on Friday night. My parents agreed to watch the kiddos so we went out to dinner. Jeff wanted sushi but I was more in the mood for BBQ. In the end Jeff picked out a new BBQ place he wanted to try. We dropped off all three kids (I didn't want to leave Addison at first but then thought if I fed her right before we left it would be okay because she always has some formula around that time anyway and I didn't think we'd be very long cuz we were just doing dinner).

The place Jeff wanted to try was in Old Colorado; a place called Front Range BBQ. I was a little nervous driving so far away, and was already second guessing leaving the baby even though we had just left. Then when we got there the place just had a scummy feel. The two guys we met in the parking lot made me grab Jeff's hand for a reason other than affection. And once we got inside there was group of people waiting for a table that were having quite a colorful conversation. The menu looked good and the reviews got raves but the F-bomb that was dropped in the lobby as we were leaving assured us that we had made the right decision. It may have good food but I don't think we'll ever know.

So there we were back in the car again, 30 minutes gone from our "quick" dinner and we were back to square one. Where to eat? Sushi? BBQ? We decided to go to Texas Roadhouse. On the way Jeff is driving and plugging in the restaurant to see if we could find a closer location than the one we already knew of. We find a closer one, make a U-turn and call ahead to put our names in because the Roadhouse is notorious for long waits. 45 minutes they say. Its now 45 minutes already into our "quick" dinner so 45 minutes more seems like a long time. So we look up the number for the other location closer to home and think we'll just spend some of the time driving over there and which will save time on the drive home. But when we finally get them on the line they say their wait time is an hour and 25 minutes!

Now what? After another U-turn and phone call we end up at Old Colorado location and settle down to wait it out. The place is just insanely crowded (I don't even want to imagine how the other place was!). We calm the hunger pains that are now upon us with a lot of peanuts and check out the menu to save time. We get to know that faces of those around us really well because they do not change. I watch this lady dressed in sweats cry silently for some unknown reason and think it's the saddest thing I've ever seen. I mean, you must be in pretty bad shape to go out in public in a condition like that. Your family must be desperate to cheer you up, or why else would you be out?

After an hour of waiting, looking at the same faces of three different groups that were there before us we called it quits. We weren't even hungry anymore and definitely done waiting. The hostess told us with a straight face that it should only be about 10 more minutes, but in the same sentence added that there were 7 parties in front of us. Eight parties will be seated in 10 minutes? Riiight.

Jeff grabbed a hamburger on the way home but I passed, having totally lost my apetite. By the time we picked the kids up Addison had just finished a bottle and was not interested in what I had to offer. It was a pretty uncomfortable night for me and definitely not good for my milk supply which already not the greatest. Not the best Valentines date we've had.

When we got home Jeff's sister Natalie asked how our date went. When we told her our story she very kindly offered to watch the kids for us the next day if we wanted to go out to breakfast or lunch. Although we weren't too keen on the idea that night, but in the morning we decided to give it another go.

We chose Sushi and had a wonderful date. I guess everyone needs a do-over sometimes.