A downtown date and a sleepover

Kevin's parents very generously took the kids Friday afternoon for an overnight and day of play at their house on Saturday.
Kevin and I got to have a curfew-free date downtown. Woo hoo! (Of course, Kevin had gotten up at 5 am for Men's Fraternity that morning, so we knew our old and tired bones wouldn't make it too late!)

We dined at a newly-renovated and overhauled  "Pump Room" at the Public Hotel. The place couldn't look more different from the old school Pump Room.  So modern and chic.
Dinner (for the most part) was delicious -
Tuna Tartare with ginger dressing and spicy radishes,
Beet salad with Homemade Yogurt and Balsamic Vinegar (who knew we both would love beets so much!)
Scallops in a cauliflower-lemon broth with sofrito and raisins. (Delicious! even for someone that is not a cauliflower or raisin lover!)
Crispy Suckling pig in a bacon marmalade (This was Kevin's entree. I give him MAJOR props for trying something different and not going with the easy route of fried chicken. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite different from what we were expecting and maybe a little too "wierd" for our tastes. )
Luckily, we ended well with homemade butterscotch pudding (a Kevin fav), and a salted caramel ice cream sundae with candied peanuts &popcorn, whipped cream & chocolate sauce.
It was a wonderful evening.  The next day, we had the house to ourselves. (It was SO quiet!)

The kids had a BLAST with Gamma and Boppy. They played at the park, made their own pizza pockets, did a groundhogs day pudding craft/dessert, and made a candle craft.

 The highlight was going to the "Choo Choo Restaurant" in Des Plaines where a model train actually brings you your food. As Gamma put it "I wish you could have seen Austin's face when that train came around..."