Surprise! I said, SURPRISE!!

So this is how it went down. A few weeks ago, I intercepted a text on my husband's phone... all I read was something about a "girls night" and then I backed out and didn't read any more, since I like to be surprised and the odds were good that that message was in fact, about a surprise, for me, involving my birthday. I then tried to eradicate it from my mind.

I dig surprises. Good ones, primarily. Some people that I'm married to like to sneak around and figure out all the surprises ahead of time and thus are rarely surprised. How many times will the word surprise show up in this episode? It's a surprise.

So anyways, then we drive to Texas and I know everyone is fasting and praying all weekend, so the likelihood of a birthday party is well, unlikely. Then I was talking to my sister about seeing Stephanie and she was all like, well, maybe we can do something for your birthday next week. So I, at this point thinking the girl's night was a no go, started talking about her house. Then she said, maybe at a restaurant or something... and that was it. Plan for no plan.

Then the hubby mentions that if I do something with Leah, I won't have the kids.

Do you know what a trial it is to be a smarty and to try very very hard to be un-observant? I should not read or listen to anything for the month of October and maybe that way I can miss it all....

So Monday all day I know something is coming. I got busted in the afternoon and tried to play it cool and not get any more surprise info. So at 6 we're supposed to be getting ready to go on our date, just me and Leah. And she's puttering around in her yoga pants and folding laundry and such.

And I know the party is not at her house. It's a mess by their standards, meaning there is a toy on the couch and the trash is full. So I am all gussied up and waiting- now maybe you're thinking, well, maybe Leah was just planning on going out in her yoga pants with her hair laying down flat.... and no glitter. If so, you don't know Leah.

So finally she gets all her bling and her glitter and sparkly clothes and her hair is vertical and jagged... Then she stands and looks out the window for a while. I so knew she was up to something. And unless the 5 minutes of casual window-watching was on the official schedule, she was acting a little wacky.

Again, I try to blank out my mind to be surprised. So we leave, after a very dramatic breakdown from a little person. (But I am a girl TOO! I want to go on the girl date!!!) and then we stop by Jen's house to pick up a check. We walk in and River is kinda hanging around and Wade is pretty excited, but he is Wade and all and that's how he is. So I think, blank slate. No party at Jenn's. THEN they all pop out from upstairs and yell surprise! And I actually was, mostly!


Then they made me change out of my normal looking (well, fairly) outfit and into a crazy ridiculous getup. Leah said since thirty's a big deal, I have to do whatever they say. So I got all dressed up and hairsprayed and we went out on the town. It was such a fun night, after a pretty lonely year.

The whole night was great, the Mexican food and the cheesecake and the bookstore and almost getting a tatoo, and making me stand on a chair and wear a sombrero.... we had a lot of fun but my favorite thing was just the talking. Such a diverse group of very close friends... several times, in Jenn's jeep and elsewhere, I just sat back and listened to them all talk. Oh, man. I have missed home.

Everywhere we went, people thought we must be drunk. Maybe it was my outfit. It sparked some good conversation.

Happy Birthday week continues!