We cashed in a Christmas present from Andy and Jennifer for a weekend of bliss without Benjamin. No, no, that's not right. Benjamin cashed in HIS Christmas present for a weekend of fun and excitement with Uncle Andy and Auntie Jennifer. Actually, both are true. It was Benjamin's Christmas present - but it turned out to be our weekend of bliss.

I dropped Benjamin off with his aunt and uncle Friday evening and then met up with Mike back at home. We decided to stay in and get Chinese food because we had planned on taking a road trip the next day down to Lake Mills, Wisconsin for a half marathon that Mike had signed up to run. I ended up not going along on the trip though because I wasn't feeling well and my cousin, Erin, wasn't able to meet up with me as planned. And really, riding in a car with 5 potentially stinky male runners isn't exactly on my to-do list for this year. Maybe next year.

So while Mike was off running the Tyranena Beer Run half marathon and Benjamin was having a fun time at a park, I stayed home and caught up with some household stuff. Among other things, I painted a desk I had acquired for free in a new coat of a really brilliant shade of green and white for Benjamin's room. Mike's race went well. He said the weather, while marvelous for doing just about anything else outside on a November day, was a bit warm for running. After the race the guys all enjoyed some beer at the brewery and Mike was home around 9pm. We spent our second childless night at Whistle Binkies enjoying a live band.

Sunday morning we were both able to sleep in and then watch some tv while reading the newspaper, two things we enjoyed in our past life. Since the day was so beautiful we decided that we would get the most out of it with a bike ride. We both have loved riding independently but have not had the ability to go together since we were in college. It was awesome. We had a nice 14 mile ride all through Rochester. It was one of the nicest days I have had in a long time.

Even though we thoroughly enjoyed our time as non-parents, we sorely missed Benjamin and so we drove up to the Twin Cities on Sunday eager to see him. Before picking him up though, we had one last moment to ourselves over dinner at one of our favorites: Sawatdee, a Thai restaurant in St. Paul. Benjamin had a great weekend and is still talking about everything he did with his aunt and uncle.