Surprise!

This weekend I was able to pull off the surprise of the half-century! I threw my husband, Mark, a grand surprise 50th birthday party. Today I am exhausted. I never knew that lying took so much out of a person, but I can honestly say that I pulled it off! AND that the kids didn't give it away makes a huge deal, too. Can you imagine a 9, 6 & 5 year old boy trying to keep a secret from his daddy? Well, somehow they did and I couldn't be happier!

(I am a little surprised though because I never knew that I was able to lie that well. I knew that Mark was a good liar, but me? I really thought I was a bad liar. He swears that he had no idea that we were having a party for him which means that I am a good liar, right?)

How do I think I was able to pull it off? Well, see his birthday was Tuesday and I took him on an overnight date locally so he really thought that was all that was going to happen. Planning the party for after his birthday was the perfect idea. (I still think he's just teasing me and he really knew it was going on.) On the day of the party, my niece (Jamie) and her boyfriend (Steve) came over. It was Steve's job to distract Mark for 90 minutes while Jamie and I took the kids to the park to play with her new camera. I'm still not sure how Steve was able to keep it a secret, but when he walked in the room at the party, he really did seem genuinely surprised!

I was able to do one better even. I borrowed the idea from this post and had friends and family send in their favorite memories of Mark. I put the letters in a notebook so that he could easily read through them and see just what an impact he has had on people's lives in his first half-century. I hope that he w will re-read them many times in the next half-century as he continues to affect people. I know Mark is sentimental so I'm sure that he will re-read them time and again!

I made a pirate cake from ideas on Pinterest and a banner with some fat quarters I found at the store, and that was pretty much the extent of the decorating, BUT the folks were really the center of this party anyway. Mark's 80 year old uncle came with his daughter and son-in-law. Mark's best friend since 3rd grade -- though they were in the same carpool in Kindergarten - traveled 3+ hours to attend and surprise him. There were lots of people from his current teaching job. A childhood babysitter as well. There was also a host of other friends and family that we were so honored to host for the party.

AND the best part about this party was that I was able to just enjoy the event without having to worry about taking pictures. My niece and dad both did a wonderful job of documenting the event and I can't wait to share the photos with you...that is once I get to see them all, too!

Mark isn't always confident in himself, but I hope that now he knows that he is well-loved by many an that he is a great guy with a wealth of greatness to pass along to others still!