Our first night out

So, Jen and I hit another milestone in our marriage and in our life as parents tonight.


We hired a babysitter and went out with just the two of us.


We also headed home earlier than planned - an experience many parents share.


After a week long debate of where to dine, we settled on Benihana in Maple Grove.


Our criteria was that it was a place we wouldn't go with the kids. So, there would be no Applebee's or similar. In Maple Grove, we had a few choices and settled on sushi and/or hibachi.


Both of us were excited to see if this would work.


Our babysitter is a rising senior at Maple Grove High School who is acquainted with the boys via her work in the child center at Lifetime Fitness in MG. Derek and Spencer can be a handful in the evening after a long day. It was going to be an interesting experiment.


Our sitter arrived and the boys were asleep. She was hanging out on the couch with a book and Direct TV.


The weather in MSP has been very dry lately.


Yet, Saturday was steamy after about 3.5 inches of rain from Friday morning through early Saturday. And since the boys were awake at 5:30 on Saturday morning, I know what was happening on early Saturday morning.


The rain cleared and the sun broke through the clouds.


Then the humidity came. It was probably our second good old steamy midwestern summer day since arriving in Minnesota in March. After a decade below the Ohio River, Jen and I like warm summer days. So, today was refreshing after the third coolest July on record in the Twin Cities.


As we left and headed to dinner, you could see the clouds building. As a weather geek with marginal meteorological academic training at the Univeristy of Wisconsin, I knew it was going to rain.


I didn't think there would be tornado warnings and sightings as we sat with some fresh tuna and salmon at the sushi bar.


Jen and I walked into Benihana and ordered two sushi rolls. One with a crab and vegetable mixture. The second featuring tuna and salmon. We enjoyed both of them. My back was to the TV and about halfway through the roll, Jen tapped me on the shoulder.


Check out the TV - it's raining on top of us.


And then the radar looked like a Christmas tree. Red, orange, and tornado warnings right over Maple Grove and the northwest Metro area. Right on top of us.

(Not the real time radar)

I didn't really worry since tornado warnings are now issued based on computers, not on actual sightings. And, TV stations use weather warnings as a chance to make their mark in the consumer's mind and enhance their brand.

Then our sitter called.

The tornado sirens were going off. Should she move Derek and Spencer downstairs?

I told her not to worry about it. It was rain with a little lightning and thunder.

After hitting end on the wireless phone, Jen and I decided to finish up, sign the tab, and head home once the rain subsided. It was a torrential downpour.

Jen and I got to the car, rolled toward the house, and tuned into the radio.

That's when we heard the reports of sighted funnel clouds along Rockford Road and Hwy 169 - about 8-9 miles east of our house.

So, we knew we made the right decision to leave and head home.

We walked into the front door and the boys were half-asleep on the couch with the babysitter. The storms had startled them, yet didn't scare them.

We paid the babysitter and she hit the road. We put the boys back to bed.

All in all, it wasn't the first night with the babysitter we would have liked. However, you can't control the weather.

We got plans for another night the week of August 17th for the Pat Green show at the Minnesota Zoo. We'll see how that goes.

mp

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