Surprise Get-Away!

I surprised Shane and took him on a little Get-Away at the end of May!... My sister's husband was going to be gone for a couple of days & she asked if she could watch the kids that weekend since she'd never had them overnight before. A few weeks later, at my church's Women's Retreat, I won a free-nights stay at the hotel we held our retreat at. So, that's what started the plan... I knew I needed to make some $ for this to be a complete surprise. Shane would have known if money was disappearing from our account, plus I knew we didn't have the money for a trip at this time. I began selling things on craigslist & then had a garage sale at my parents house. I made more than enough money to cover the weekend. So, I booked the free night at the hotel, plus 1 more night to make the weekend even longer. The week before the trip, I was able to get approval from Shane's boss' to get 1/2 day on Thursday & all of Friday off. They were so helpful! They kept it a secret from Shane and got other people to cover his shifts without him knowing. So, it was finally here! I packed mine & Shane's bags and a friend drove me to his work (so we would have 1 car on our trip). I thought there was a good chance Shane had found out somehow, but I was still excited to be able to get away with him & spend time together. He was 100% surprised! He saw me at his work and said, 'What are you doing here?' I told him I'm taking him away for a couple of days. My plan was to go straight to the beach, or go kayaking, but it was raining :(. So, we checked into the hotel, (The Double Tree in Orange), walked around the block at Orange, rented a couple movies, grabbed dinner to go at Lucille's BBQ, then ate dinner in the hotel while watching the Laker game. Sleeping in was so nice! We haven't been able to do that in quite some time :). Then we headed to the beach, which we hadn't been to in quite some time. This beach has a special place in our relationship. It is where Shane asked me to be his girlfriend. Then over 8 years ago, it is where he proposed! So, we love going to this beach! Another fun part of our get-away was that I had a certificate for 2 free breakfasts, 2 free appetizers & drinks and 2 free dinners! So, we had a full day of free meals...wonderful! We went to check out & were supposed to pay $26 for parking, but the hotel waved that as well! What a blessing! It was so fun to be able to have a trip fully paid for & to relax and spend much needed time together away from the kids for a few days. We had a blast laughing about old memories, talking about the kids & just walking side by side. I'm so thankful for that time with him...and I can't believe I pulled it off!!! I love surprises! (I wish I had pictures to show, but we don't have our camera hook-ups right now).