Surprise!

Anna has been looking forward to the big Father Daughter camp out for a couple of months now. She was so sad when she realized that her dad was not going to make it home from Canada in time to take her. She had conceded that she would go with a friend and her father but when that didn't work out she was really distraught! What she didn't know was that we had already booked a ticket for her dad to come home and take her! It was nearly impossible to keep the secret and I almost blew it several times. The same weekend was also Aiden's birthday so he too was going to benefit from this huge surprise! The day that dad was expected to arrive I picked up Anna from her friends house and when she told me that they were getting ready for father and daughter the next day she started to cry. She was so upset that she was going to miss all the fun and begged me to find someone to take her. I pretended to call a friend in the neighborhood and then told her that they agreed to take her, just so I wouldn't have to watch her suffer any longer! That night Trent's mom went to the airport to pick him up so that I wouldn't have to explain to the kids why we were going to the airport. At about 8:30pm, when the kids should have been in bed, there was a knock at the door! I told Aiden to answer it and while he took some convincing since he was only in his underwear, he finally ran upstairs to see who was there. I was a little disappointed at the level and shock and awe but he was nonetheless very happy to see his dad standing there! When he yelled "daddy," Anna came bounding up the stairs and flew into his arms! She too seemed to be expecting him or something because I didn't think she acted that surprised but they were both thrilled to have him home.

The following day, with several hundreds of dollars worth of junk food, and new camping gear (including a toilet Anna insisted that Trent buy because she was terrified of the bathroom situation) they headed off to the mountains. It was supposed to rain, so instead of pitching their tent they decided to sleep in the van (I knew that was a smart purchase). Trent said the evening was a bit awkward at first because he had set up camp away from what became the "main" camp and didn't feel comfortable walking over to a group of dad's he hardly new to hang out! (Men are so funny)! He just sat around his own fire while Anna ran around with her friends Crystal and Natalie and a new little girl Sage. Eventually, Sage's dad came over and sat at Trent's fire, so Trent made a new friend too! At bedtime, Trent said that he and Anna stayed up for awhile just chatting! Anna asked about a hundred questions such as "what's your favorite color", "what's your favorite t.v. show", etc.! Oh if I could have been a fly on the wall during that conversation! The next morning they woke up and had breakfast with everyone and then played some games. Anna very excitedly told me about all the fun games they played including one game where she smeared shaving cream all over Trent's face and then threw coco puffs at him! She then got to shave off the cream with a Popsicle stick!

I am so thrilled that Trent was able to come home and that they could have this time together! Anna had a great time and it will be a memory she will never forget! I'm not sure how much fun Trent really had but he is a good sport and I know he loved spending time with his little girl!