Chris' birthday surprise
The day before Chris' birthday, I had to call my parents about something unrelated, and mentioned that Chris' birthday was coming up. They LOVE Chris dearly (don't blame them, he's pretty awesome) and were mildly freaked out that they had forgotten his birthday.
My dad suggested that he had a fortune cookie and bottle of Guinness he could give Chris (hehe) but Mom wanted to do something more. She asked me if there was anything they could do that would really make Chris' day.
Well, turns out that there was. For the past several years Chris has dreamed of going to a big indoor water park for his birthday.
I told this to my mom, who said I should go find out how much it would cost and she'd help me make it happen.
Well, it turns out that getting a room at the Radisson at the MOA was insanely affordable ($78 after taxes!) and the park was only about $20/person.
Between my parents' donation and the money I'd saved for costuming fabric (I should be able to set aside some more out of my next pay check), we were able to make it happen!
Chris had no idea what was going on. The plan was set on Wednesday, his birthday was Thursday, and we were celebrating on Friday.
Now, how to get him to go to the Cities on a Friday afternoon without raising any questions?
I told him that my parents had to be in Maple Grove for a business meeting and wanted to meet us there for dinner at 3pm.
Fortunately, my parents' lives are wacky enough that it sounded absolutely plausible.
So, I loaded up Morgan's diaper bag with our swim suits and overnight gear, and asked the neighbors to watch the dogs. We made it down to the Cities in good time (hindered a bit by an absolutely horrible looking car accident that turned out to not be as horrible as we first thought, thank God!).
When we reached the 694/494 split, I told Chris to grab something out of the glove box. This way he wouldn't see that I was taking 494.
He pulled out an envelope with his name on it. Inside was a card from my parents in which my mom wished him many happy "wet" memories (minds out of the gutter you pervs!). He muttered "no way..." as he pulled out the folded up pieces of paper inside, which were the confirmation pages I'd printed for the hotel and water park.
He was blown away! It was wonderful :)
So, we went to the hotel and had an absolutely fantastic time at the water park. I had to leave early as the Munchkin was tuckered out, but Chris was down there from about 6:30 - 10. So I know he had fun :)
It was great being part of something like that. Chris works so hard, so giving him the opportunity to unwind and have fun was as much a treat for my parents and I as it was for him!
My dad suggested that he had a fortune cookie and bottle of Guinness he could give Chris (hehe) but Mom wanted to do something more. She asked me if there was anything they could do that would really make Chris' day.
Well, turns out that there was. For the past several years Chris has dreamed of going to a big indoor water park for his birthday.
I told this to my mom, who said I should go find out how much it would cost and she'd help me make it happen.
Well, it turns out that getting a room at the Radisson at the MOA was insanely affordable ($78 after taxes!) and the park was only about $20/person.
Between my parents' donation and the money I'd saved for costuming fabric (I should be able to set aside some more out of my next pay check), we were able to make it happen!
Chris had no idea what was going on. The plan was set on Wednesday, his birthday was Thursday, and we were celebrating on Friday.
Now, how to get him to go to the Cities on a Friday afternoon without raising any questions?
I told him that my parents had to be in Maple Grove for a business meeting and wanted to meet us there for dinner at 3pm.
Fortunately, my parents' lives are wacky enough that it sounded absolutely plausible.
So, I loaded up Morgan's diaper bag with our swim suits and overnight gear, and asked the neighbors to watch the dogs. We made it down to the Cities in good time (hindered a bit by an absolutely horrible looking car accident that turned out to not be as horrible as we first thought, thank God!).
When we reached the 694/494 split, I told Chris to grab something out of the glove box. This way he wouldn't see that I was taking 494.
He pulled out an envelope with his name on it. Inside was a card from my parents in which my mom wished him many happy "wet" memories (minds out of the gutter you pervs!). He muttered "no way..." as he pulled out the folded up pieces of paper inside, which were the confirmation pages I'd printed for the hotel and water park.
He was blown away! It was wonderful :)
So, we went to the hotel and had an absolutely fantastic time at the water park. I had to leave early as the Munchkin was tuckered out, but Chris was down there from about 6:30 - 10. So I know he had fun :)
It was great being part of something like that. Chris works so hard, so giving him the opportunity to unwind and have fun was as much a treat for my parents and I as it was for him!