This afternoon, Tyler announced that he had a surprise for me, and that it would "happen" this evening! Eeee! I am a total sucker for surprises large and small, getting wide-eyed and giddy with excitement and anticipation. After his announcement, I proceeded to do a little happy dance and then I peppered him with guesses as to what the surprise was.
My guesses ranged from the ones I thought for sure were right (We're going boating! We're going to get beers on the roof of the Gunflint Tavern!) to the ones I knew were not even on the radar given our saving goals (We're going to eat fish and chips at The Angry Trout! We're going shopping for handcrafted jewelry!). Tyler has a great poker face, so even when my guesses are correct, his convincing scoffs derail my brain, leaving it like a confused bloodhound who has lost the scent.
Tyler's Note: I love telling Tara and I have a surprise for her—it means she will spend the rest of the day with a glint in her eye, peering at me inquisitively, trying to figure out what it could be. No matter what she guesses, I will cooly deny it. Seeing as how she often guesses correctly, maybe my suprises need to be less predictable. Also, note to self, I should probably pay attention to those wrong guesses for future ideas!
As it turns out, my first guess was correct. Around seven o'clock this evening, Tyler told me it was time to get ready for the surprise, and to bring a hoodie. Then, we went walking out to the beach, where he left me to wander around for awhile on my own. Eventually he came back with a knowing smile, and led me to the surprise. There on a corner of the rocky shoreline were two kayaks!
"I knew it!" I shouted, smiling widely. Then, we climbed into the bright plastic crafts, and hop-scooted into into the water like dogs with itchy butts. And thus we spent a happy hour out on the water, paddling around, deciding that we really do need more kayaking in our lives.
Eventually, the sun began to set and I started feeling a bit barfy from all the choppy little waves, so we paddled in and called it a night.
After hauling the kayaks back to camp, we ended the evening in front of a crackling fire, fueled with odds and ends from the scrap wood pile in the shop. God I love days like this! Thank you, honey!
Tyler's note: A huge thanks to Dave and Rob (two of our fellow classmates) for letting me borrow your kayaks for Tara's surprise. Thank you especially for conspiratorially delivering them to the beach beforehand!