Small children and fancy dinners

We were at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake for the last two days. I had a work conference and lucky us! Tad and the kids are on spring break. 
The first night there, I wanted to go out to dinner at one of the hotel's fine restaurants.  We headed down there to check out the quiet, elegant restaurant with "panoramic views of the lake".
Tad whispered to me as we entered to make our reservation, "Are children allowed here?"
"Are children allowed here?" I asked the woman behind the bar.
She laughed. "Of course." Our children's menu has buttered noodles, grilled cheese or chicken fingers."
"Grilled cheese! Grilled Cheese!" Lucy chanted loudly (Lucy's loud is enough to hear through thick glass windows. I don't know where she gets it--ha ha.)
"I bet they're excited for US to come back." Tad said, as we left.


Later, as we headed down for our 6:00 reservation, Tad told the kids they'd have to be nice and polite at this restaurant.  "Yes" I said. "It's really fancy so we have to be on our best behavior."
"Well" Tad added.  "Let's be on our best behavior because we want to be, not because it's fancy."
"Okay" Lucy said. "I won't fart in my soup." and then exploded in giggles.
Coen laughed. "Yeah, we won't fart on your head either."
I may have looked a bit panic stricken. Tad touched my head reassuringly. "Get it out now." he said.

As we entered the restaurant, Lucy turned to me "I pinkie swear to be good!" she said, extending her pinkie.  We shook.

We were seated and the children ordered their own drinks very politely.  Coen leaned back and produced his Pokemon books which he had apparently smuggled in under his shirt.  He let his long hair fall over his face, settled in and read for nearly the entire meal.  Well, at least he was quiet.  When our candle went out, Lucy turned in her seat and said loudly to the bus boy "Excuse me! Our candle's not working!"  He promptly got us a new one.

All in all it was a lovely dinner.  Except for the fact that there were nuts on and in everything. Why do nuts always have to become involved when things are fancy?  Nuts on the vegetables, nuts IN the duck that went with the cheese platter.  Nuts on the foccacia bread.  What gives?  I'm allergic to nuts, so thanks to Tad's insistence I got my own basket of rolls, which the children devoured.  And we got the mixed nuts for the cheese platter on the side, for Tad.

At dessert time, Lucy and Coen started getting fidgety so Tad took them over to see the dessert tray.  They both got a scoop of ice cream, Coens' with caramel and Lucy's with chocolate.
"Whoah!" Coen said, dipping a finger into his. "This is REAL caramel."
"AND" Lucy said, with all the grace and elegance of a herd of elephants "This is REAL chocolate." Several patrons turned to look.

Tad and I smiled back at them and ate our creme brulee.

Delicious. But a bit too upscale for our tastes.

 Ice cream at Dairy Queen on the way home was WAY more our speed.