SuRpRiSe!

Every year I attempt something special to commemorate my husband's birthday. He doesn't care if we celebrate or not, but that's never stopped me! For his 31st birthday I arranged a surprise party with family and friends at the local park (w/a playground plus a pond for kids to feed ducks!). His birthday is Sept. 1st, but we got to celebrate his 31st on the 31st (of August).


Sadly, relatives could not join us due to some serious back pain that prevented them from making the road trip. Still, we had our good pals Josh & Natalie plus Shelley and her two sweet kiddos, Colby and Collette, each making the day wonderful!


Chris had to work, but not until the middle of the afternoon, and since I was keeping this event a secret, having him around the house hindered my preparations! But thankfully our friends stepped up and helped with all the last-minute preparations to make a nice birthday party for Chris! It was a real group effort: I'd gathered party supplies, food, and drinks; Knowing Mac & Cheese is one of Chris's favorite foods, Shelley made an awesome baked mac & cheese dish; Natalie helped prep the picnic foods to be packed for the park and even made us some "pigs in a blanket"; and Josh helped with the party decor since he was the tallest and therefore the best nominee for hanging streamers! Oh, and the kids played nicely together all day!







Chris was surprised and grateful that friends went out of their way for his bday! He also appreciated the food & gifts, including a Mt Dew shirt (if you know Chris, you know he's addicted!), new shoes, and a PDA. We're so glad our friends joined us for this party at the park, and look forward to more celebrations together!



More pics of Chris's birthday celebration

5 Years and 2 Kids Later...

We are celebrating our 5th anniversary!

Chris has a hectic work schedule, but was fortunate to have some unexpected time off on our anniversary weekend! We originally considered a child-free anniversary date, but Kyleigh had other ideas... Her first ever cold was on her 1st bday, and guess when her second cold came along? That's right, our anniversary of all times! So we decided not to expose grandparents (a.k.a. "Official Anniversary Babysitters") to her little bug, but to spend our time as a family. We spent the afternoon having lunch at the park and feeding the ducks at the pond with Kyleigh (Josiah slept!).

Then we spent the evening cleaning the house (I had to take advantage of Chris being home and able to help clean the bathroom!). Since I cleaned the big whirlpool tub, he got to scrub the shower! Not the evening we once considered for our big anniversary, but that's just us! Who except us would have found the greatness in such a day??? LOL We did exchange gifts, and that was sweet. He got me a camera to fill in for our beautiful but malfunctioning one, and I pre-ordered his gift of The Office Season 4 (which isn't out 'til Sept. 2nd)!

Ok, so here's the mushy stuff: I respect and appreciate Chris more now than the day we got married because I see Chris not just as a man, not just as a friend, not just as a husband, but now also as a father, and I love the way he loves our children. I don't know when things will slow down around here--likely they won't, but maybe they will at least balance out! All I know is five years and two kids later, I'm in love!