the boys surprise

i really don't have a great memory, but one memory from my childhood i remember very clearly. my parents told us one late afternoon to get in the car. then my dad started driving. we kept saying "where are we going??" to which he replied "heaven". then we'd say "nooooo, where are we going NOW??" he didn't reply :) then we pulled into a hotel, and went swimming and spent the night. it was such a great memory.
i had the idea to do something similar. we told the boys we were going somewhere. they had no idea where (i had packed the car with the suitcase before they woke up-so they didn't know it was more than a day trip). as we headed to foxboro, about 5 minutes before we got there, we pointed out the sign for aj to read "Gillette Stadium". aj said "TRAINING CAMP??" they could NOT believe it! riley said "if i look wicked happy, it's because i am!"

we headed over, and got to our seat just as practice was starting. it was super sunny and really nice out.

we stayed for the whole practice, and then aj waited in line, (and kept running down the line) to try and get randy moss's autograph, but didn't get it.

he was ok...he said "randy moss looked RIGHT at me!".



then they had something called patriots experience. it was right outside the stadium, and they had a bunch of inflatables. the boys got to practice kicking a field goal, throwing passes, and doing obstacle courses. (this was all free!)



then we ate lunch in the car (i had packed a lunch and snacks and water - good thing, the water was $3.75 a bottle!) and then took the boys into the proshop. they loved that, and it was air conditioned!!
then we said we still had another part of a surprise. we drove about 55 minutes to a marriott that i had reserved. they were running a family special, so the package was a one night stay, use of the pool...obviously, pizza and soda, one ppv movie and late check-out. we got there and the boys were soo excited to see the pool. then we took out the suitcase, and riley said "we are spending the night here??" they were so excited and appreciative of everything. i loved that the most. everything was awesome. we went in the pool 3 times, and had such a great time. i was just talking to my friends about how i don't want to give my kids everything they want, because i want them to be appreciative. i think kids today are just so used to getting what they want, they aren't even grateful! the boys were so excited the entire time, and me and adam loved that. i am so thankful for my family!