Tuesday June 5, 2007
This is why I’ve been too busy to post even though we’ve officially moved and I should be getting some much needed r and r. For about a year and a half I have been secretly scheming up a big bash in celebration of David Lee’s 30th birthday! Mostly, it was mental ramblings amidst the jumble of house plans, lighting decisions, and phone calls about carpet. As things stretched out, I got really nervous. I’d sent out invitations in February and it was getting all too close to June. Hosting a big crowd at the cabin hardly seemed feasible. Well, we moved, nerves and all exactly ten days before the guests were to arrive. I frantically planned menus, compiled grocery lists, and lined up lodging. Shopping, hiding items, hiding lists…. the last ten days were certainly much harder than the past ten months. David Lee couldn’t figure out why I was pressuring him so much to keep working in the evenings. During the last few evenings I backed off. I was afraid if I pushed non-sensical issues any harder (like, we really need door hardware in the guest bedroom) he’d realize something is up. And truth be told, a sock worked just fine for a visual blockade!
The best part of the entire weekend for me was seeing him actually be so completely surprised Friday night. He certainly didn’t help me out. Tuesday he told me he’d made an appt for the car Fri morning. I managed to talk him out of that one since the air conditioner did a little better Wednesday. The next day he told me he scheduled an appraisal with Invisible Fence for Sat morning at 9:00. I decided, fine. You can make your own life tough. But, of if you only knew. Then he further proceeds to get work scheduled so that he would only be working fifteen minutes from home Wed – Fri. HELP. To make matters worse, Thursday eve at the supper table he said he has a really unstructured day. He needed to get Matt started on Ned’s job (the close one) then go to Tally Ho to do an exterior door knob they wanted replaced. Help. Especially since it was Friday I could just see him finishing up around 3 and deciding it wasn’t worth starting anything else. His Bald Eagle camp friends showed up at 4 to help me out since I expected him home around 4:45. Amazingly enough, he ended up being home late and didn’t show up til close to 6 when most of the other guests were expected to arrive. We were all sitting on the front porch waiting for him. I laughed when I saw him throw his hands in the air as he drove in the lane……..exactly what I’d expected him to do!
Both our families and friends from church joined us for the evening as well. The next day he and his chief friends found a good swimming hole close to Crozet …. sort of a recreation of a day off years ago. It was so much fun to have them here ….there were seven guys who were really close at camp and it would have been so much fun to have the other three here too. Schedules. Schedules. Schedules. I love watching him interact with his friends from camp. They’re a great group of people and so much fun to hang out with. And now a few pictures ….
I’m proud of you for pulling it off!!! Jason hit his 30th a couple years ago and the party I was dreaming about never happened.
All my fault of course.
Wow, what a lot of brain work went into that! Good job on totally surprising your man.
By the way, the outside of your house is beautiful, too. ~Jo
wow michelle……you are quite the lady! and you must have felt exhausted after that whole party/weekend! i hope your week is easy and laid back and you’re having some much needed time off. but what great memories i’m sure.
it’s so fun for us when you put pics on of something like that! thanx! looks like it was a fun evening. i had to laugh when your mom was telling me how you already knew exactly how he was gonna react ….and he did the very thing you figured he’d do!
have a spectacular day!
Good job for getting the party done, and a surprise at that! Whew! You’re probably glad that’s all over.
Happy 30th David Lee!!!!!!! uh-hem so when is your 30th coming up, michelle???? ooooops;):)
enjoy the beautiful weather and take time to drink tea on your front porch, doing nothing for at least 30 minutes!!!!????!!!! k? :):) i love you, 30 or not!!:)
It was a great evening for a great son-in-law and it was fun being part of it! Don’t forget about finding time for r and r. I could help you with that. : )
Three Cheers Michelle!! You got Him good š That was worth all the extra set of nerves you needed aye? Now Lady, it’s time for some REST! C U Soon
Hey…good work there. It’s an accomplishment to surprise a man. I did a party for Dan’s fortieth but despite all efforts to keep it a secret, he had it sniffed out. I’ve been w/o a computer for nearly two weeks so I’m enjoying reading up on what’s been happening with you. I would so love to come see your house now that you’re in it.
When you moved, you could have just left the nerves back at the other place.
Happy 30th D Lee! I thought wives were supposed to tell their men EVERYTHING! Can’t wait to see the rest of your nest. I do like your kitchen ; ) So cute Adam finding himself on the short end of things.
30th birthday surprises are so much fun! About your questions, yes, I’m a consultant. I’m one of those consultants who are in it for the discount! About the exercise, we have a treadmill that I keep hot during Anna’s morning nap. I do 45 minutes on that four days a week, which is enough to see results! I’d been doing 3 miles during that time period, but just increased my speed a little so I’m doing 3.3 miles. Our first treadmill (which we wore out, because my husband runs a lot harder than I do) was a Christmas present. There are lots of people who buy exercise equipment and then never use it, so if you have room in your house, I highly recommend keeping an eye on garage sales, etc. for good barely used stuff. John knew someone at the hospital who didn’t have room for their treadmill anymore, and he paid way less than what a new one would cost. It just makes it so much easier if it’s right there and you don’t have to go somewhere to exercise. The thing I love about a treadmill or an exercise bike is that you can SEE what you’ve done. Watching how many calories I burn is great incentive.