I got him good!

Well, Chris changed decades this weekend (leaving me alone in my 20's--ha!). He made it abundantly clear to me a few months ago that he expected big things for this milestone year. So, I set to work planning a surprise party. The plan: go to my parents' house for the weekend and Saturday "decide last second" that we should come back early to attend our own church (Chris unknowingly helped this out when he called last week to see if I cared if we came home Saturday night so he could make coffee at church. "I guess, it's your birthday" was all I had to say. Brilliant.).

We celebrated his birthday at the house early. I made one of his favorite dinners and we gave him his presents. Love this picture of him and the kids:



Amongst other things, I got him an electric fly swatter...so tired of him going Rambo on the flies in our house and sending any picture frame that gets between him and said fly, flying.



I underestimated how hard it is to plan a surprise party in time to go out of town (and have a clean house, food cooked etc) with no one being the wiser and without help from hubby. Thankfully, our friends, Jonathan and Leigh-Ann, helped me (and her mom helped her out by taking her kids for the weekend...a big thanks all around!). I baked at their house Thursday evening and left everything that needed to be chilled there (cheesecakes, sausage balls, white wine and beer). Friday, while Anna-Kate was in school, Ryan and I baked cakes. This was his first cake baking experience, so I had to document:





We made a double recipe for a 2 layer 13x9 inch cake. I was a sad girl when the second cake broke into multiple pieces as I took it out of the pan (not sure if it wasn't cooled enough or not greased well enough after baking the first cake???). I had to get Anna-Kate from school, feed the kids, bake another cake and pray it cooled quickly enough to ice/decorate it before Chris got home (early) to go to my parents'. I had just put icing in my decorator to begin when he called saying he was 10 minutes away and to load up the kids. I decorated it faster than I ever have before, (not my best work, but whatever) and threw the cake in the microwave when I heard the garage door opening. I was very sad to leave my floors unswiffered, but figured that would give it away if I said, "oh, let's wait a few extra minutes and get stuck in more traffic so I can just swiffer real quick, 'k?". So, we left (crumby floors and all.). I had to try really hard not to give it away when he asked why the kids weren't already loaded in the car, what I had done all day ("oh, nothing...") and, "then why are you so tired?". We had a nice dinner at my parent's house (with my aunt and grandparents there) on Friday. Saturday we layed low and enjoyed doing nothing most of the day. Then, as my parents were in on the plan, we went to a yummy dinner at Chris' favorite bar-b-que place, they hurried us off ("to get us home by dark") and away we went. Disaster was averted (Leigh-Ann had given their key to our house to my parents after Jack was born since they couldn't find theirs, so they had to track down another key to the house) and I casually texted our e.t.a. along the way.

Verdict? Success! He was surprised! (I may or may not have taken a few years off of his life with this one...) Side note, watch Ryan's facial expressions change. Pretty funny. I guess he thought everyone was yelling at him? Or maybe he just doesn't like surprises. Ha!










The table of goodies (trail mix, sausage balls, bruschetta, cheesecakes, cake and homemade peach icecream).





That's a lot of candles!



I'll huff and I'll puff....err, wow, he got them all in the first try! Hope he made a good wish (I wonder if it was to stay at the Polynesian, like Anna-Kate's wish was? Ha!).



Ryan and his buddy Jack were extremely excited about cake and icecream!



Anna-Kate and "baby" Lauren enjoying cake!






Family shot. To be fair, this was 8:40 at night and my kids were about done. O well.



Happy Birthday, Chris! I love you and am so thankful for you!! Here's to the next thirty, and more. :)