Two weekends ago Dan and I were going to the temple on a Saturday night. We were in need of a babysitter for Joseph. The girls had plans with friends, and Brandon and a (cute) young woman from our ward were studying German at our house. Dan and I devised a plan which would allow everyone to still have a fun evening, but provide a babysitter for us so we could go to the temple.

Dan proposed to Brandon and his friend that we would pay for them to take Joseph to the movie (Where the Wild Things Are.) They agreed, maybe somewhat reluctantly on Brandon's part. I'm sure going to the movie with his little brother wasn't top on his list of things to do that evening.

On the other hand, when Joseph heard the plan, he was ecstatic. His eyes grew as round as saucers and he said, "I have to get ready!" A few minutes later he came down the stairs wearing his full Sunday suit, including white shirt and tie, black socks, and Sunday shoes. "Oh, honey," I said, "let's save your Sunday suit for Sunday. Just wear normal clothes." Joseph ran back up the stairs and returned a few minutes later.

His new outfit still included the blue suit jacket, but he had swapped out the white dress shirt for a blue-striped dress shirt, no tie, khaki pants, with Sunday shoes. He looked downright dapper, if not still a little overdressed for the movies. When I pointed out that fact, he said very seriously, "These are not my church clothes, Mom. These are my going-to-the-movie-with- Brandon clothes." What could I say, really.

As I was gathering my bags and preparing to go out the door, Joseph said over and over, "I'll be good at the movie, Mom. I'll have fun. Bye! I love you!"

I hope that Brandon was able to step back from the annoyance of having a little brother tag along on a date to savor how precious it is to have a little guy so thrilled to be spending time with him. The "date" was a huge success, at least as far as Joseph was concerned. Popcorn, Slurpee, spending time with Brandon . . . . perfect.