Surprise!

Tomorrow our little family is headed off to San Diego to celebrate Chris's birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but a certain three year-old couldn't help herself. I bought the kids a toy rake and shovel, and I told Molly we could bring it with us to the beach when we go for dad's birthday. I told her we were going in one week, which is seven days. When Chris got home that day, she proudly showed him the rake and said "We're going to play with this on the beach for your birthday! We're going when you are seven years old!" Chris seemed to just chalk it up to the strange ramblings of a three year-old, but the next night (after we had a long talk that this trip was a surprise for dad, so we don't talk to him about it) she started in again about the beach birthday party. Chris asked her who told her we were going to the beach and she announced "Mom did!" I said "Molly, it was supposed to be a surprise..." so she threw her arms in the air and shouted "Surprise!!" Oh well, I guess it was fun while it lasted. We were all laughing about it for a few minutes, then Molly exclaimed "Oh! I can't even stand it!" which kept us laughing even longer, and she kept repeating it until it started get old, which didn't take too long. In the future I need to remember not to tell her secrets, but this was such a fun one I couldn't help but let her in on it.