The kids are expecting us in Phoenix in time for the new baby arriving in December. We decided to leave early and get there for the baby shower today and surprise them, so we made this entire trip in stealth mode, talking in our nightly trip reports and phone calls about anything except being on the road, until after the big surprise moment. Finally, after a thousand miles and a week on the road, we showed up for the shower…. But the only ones surprised were us. We had the time wrong. We arrived at two and the shower was at eleven. They’d all just left! Darn. That was a bit of a letdown. We had to call and find out where they were going to be next. We all met up at their house and had a nice afternoon together with them and the kids. 
Then Alex babysat while the four of us went out for dinner. It would have been nice to surprise Matt and Lindsay at the shower, but we’d have spent the next two hours in a large group, not being able to hear each other in a noisy restaurant. This way we got a nice long quiet dinner on an outside patio, at a restaurant where we could all hear the conversation. A very nice end to the day of course. 
Then Alex babysat while the four of us went out for dinner. It would have been nice to surprise Matt and Lindsay at the shower, but we’d have spent the next two hours in a large group, not being able to hear each other in a noisy restaurant. This way we got a nice long quiet dinner on an outside patio, at a restaurant where we could all hear the conversation. A very nice end to the day of course.