Surprising my kid

One of the side effects of owning our own business is that L and I often get recruited to help run errands for the shop. This typically is no big deal; L actually likes going into many of the car parts stores for parts or delivering things. Yesterday, Stuart had to deliver a car to Wichita to be tested on the dyno. He had to drive the customer's car there, since it was lowered so significantly that it couldn't be loaded on the trailer. So L and I followed him in our car so that we could drive home with him. However, what we did not tell our dragon-obsessed child was that we were going to stop at the Warren Theater to watch the movie "How To Train Your Dragon". L has been fascinated with dragons for about 4 years, creates her own, collects stuffed animal versions of them, miniatures, etc. So she's been dying to go see the movie. And she's never been to the Warren, with the comfy plush seats, the tuxedo-wearing staff, the malt shop, the cool lights...an experience. So we pulled into their parking lot and she didn't even seem to notice - she was reading a magazine, and was apparently in her own little world. However, it was PRICELESS to see her face when she focused on our location and realized what we were doing - her little face seemed to actually shine with excitement. She was feeling a little car sick, so we went in and got a root beer and some popcorn to settle her stomach. I love being able to surprise her with new experiences like that - as an only child, she is privy to way more of the adult world than your average child, and as a teacher's kid, she goes with me to work every day. There is very little that goes on in our lives that she is not part of, so the experience of surprising her with a genuine "I-have-no-clue-this-is-coming" surprise was memorable.