i got him good
for joe's turning a quarter century last week, i surprised him with a weekend trip to Yosemite...and i got him good, baby! let me tell you, he's HARD to surprise. but after almost five years of marriage, it was definitely time for surprise success. :)
when he woke up friday morning, i told him he had to obey my every word. so, i first told him to get out of bed. next, brush his teeth, do his hair, get dressed in the clothes i laid out for him, wash the dishes (yah, i actually made him wash the dishes!), take out the trash, and pick out a book to read. meanwhile, i snuck our pillows and toiletries in the car, and he was shocked when i said i was driving (i don't love to drive, so that really shook his world).
as we headed to scotts valley, he thought he had a concept of where we were going...until i made a right hand turn toward my parents' house. that really threw him. (he said later that he thought maybe they had rented him a convertible for his birthday...can we say conceited?) :)
it was 9:30 in the morning, and it was HOT out already. we rang the doorbell, and joe walked in to our "parents-four" singing happy birthday, trudy rocking out the tune on the piano, and a huge breakfast spread awaiting us at the table. we ate like kings, and then i gave him "the binder," which gave away the travel secret in pages. surprise is not a strong enough word for his reaction. he was speechless. and then he freaked out for about an hour, since he of course assumed he'd be working all weekend. i reassured him that his boss okayed his leave, and gave him permission to make unlimited work related phone calls before we left. he needed to make sure his work world was in good hands before he left. after he got all that off his chest, he was stoked. so, with car full of goods and a huge jug of ice water, it was off to yosemite.
dad and i rented the cabin online, and i was just a teensy bit apprehensive as to what kind of place it would actually be. but thank the Lord's kindness, it was heavenly. every kind of amenity was there (except for cell phone service, which was perfect!), and joe and i even got a steam shower and jetted tub.
our first evening there was spent recovering from random illnesses: i had a plugged up ear and a swollen ankle, my mom had a migraine, and donovan was on antibiotics for his recent cold. i also spent our entire saturday gimping around yosemite, joe got "lost" for an hour trying to find me an Ace bandage, and then spent sunday nursing a gashed toe after running into a well-camouflaged tree root. :) but God was SO kind, and despite it all, we had a BLAST and did get some good rest. we all needed it in a bad way.
here's only a few on the pics we got...joe took all the fancy ones, except i take credit for the blackbird on the fountain. :) i love you, honey! happy, happy birthday to you. and thanks, sweet parents, for going with us!
i'm consoling a freaking-out hubby
lunch at Casa de Fruita
yosemite tunnel vision
our sweet cabin!
i had bought these candles six months ago and had been storing them in my sock drawer! then i lost them, and then found them again, and almost forgot to bring them along. but trudy made brownies (we didn't have oil or butter, so we used coconut milk!) and we turned into a birthday cake. :)
i'm icing my sprained ankle. it was bizarre to get up to the cabin, feel some pain and look down to find my ankle completely swollen. why? well, i the only thing i can figure is that i had just spent 4 days running around in hundred-degree weather coordinating a conference in flimsy flip flops. needless to say, when we got back home, the first thing i did was purchase a good pair of summer shoes.
when he woke up friday morning, i told him he had to obey my every word. so, i first told him to get out of bed. next, brush his teeth, do his hair, get dressed in the clothes i laid out for him, wash the dishes (yah, i actually made him wash the dishes!), take out the trash, and pick out a book to read. meanwhile, i snuck our pillows and toiletries in the car, and he was shocked when i said i was driving (i don't love to drive, so that really shook his world).
as we headed to scotts valley, he thought he had a concept of where we were going...until i made a right hand turn toward my parents' house. that really threw him. (he said later that he thought maybe they had rented him a convertible for his birthday...can we say conceited?) :)
it was 9:30 in the morning, and it was HOT out already. we rang the doorbell, and joe walked in to our "parents-four" singing happy birthday, trudy rocking out the tune on the piano, and a huge breakfast spread awaiting us at the table. we ate like kings, and then i gave him "the binder," which gave away the travel secret in pages. surprise is not a strong enough word for his reaction. he was speechless. and then he freaked out for about an hour, since he of course assumed he'd be working all weekend. i reassured him that his boss okayed his leave, and gave him permission to make unlimited work related phone calls before we left. he needed to make sure his work world was in good hands before he left. after he got all that off his chest, he was stoked. so, with car full of goods and a huge jug of ice water, it was off to yosemite.
dad and i rented the cabin online, and i was just a teensy bit apprehensive as to what kind of place it would actually be. but thank the Lord's kindness, it was heavenly. every kind of amenity was there (except for cell phone service, which was perfect!), and joe and i even got a steam shower and jetted tub.
our first evening there was spent recovering from random illnesses: i had a plugged up ear and a swollen ankle, my mom had a migraine, and donovan was on antibiotics for his recent cold. i also spent our entire saturday gimping around yosemite, joe got "lost" for an hour trying to find me an Ace bandage, and then spent sunday nursing a gashed toe after running into a well-camouflaged tree root. :) but God was SO kind, and despite it all, we had a BLAST and did get some good rest. we all needed it in a bad way.
here's only a few on the pics we got...joe took all the fancy ones, except i take credit for the blackbird on the fountain. :) i love you, honey! happy, happy birthday to you. and thanks, sweet parents, for going with us!
i'm consoling a freaking-out hubby
lunch at Casa de Fruita 
yosemite tunnel vision 
our sweet cabin! 
i had bought these candles six months ago and had been storing them in my sock drawer! then i lost them, and then found them again, and almost forgot to bring them along. but trudy made brownies (we didn't have oil or butter, so we used coconut milk!) and we turned into a birthday cake. :) 
i'm icing my sprained ankle. it was bizarre to get up to the cabin, feel some pain and look down to find my ankle completely swollen. why? well, i the only thing i can figure is that i had just spent 4 days running around in hundred-degree weather coordinating a conference in flimsy flip flops. needless to say, when we got back home, the first thing i did was purchase a good pair of summer shoes. 
posted by jen at
3:43 PM
2 Comments:
How fun! I love that it was a surprise for him too - you did get him - GOOD!!!
WHAT FUN!!!!!!!! brownie points for planning that one, girl! ;)
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