Birthday Surprise

It's birthday number 30 for Clark on the 5th, and although that just so happens to be my due date, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do something special for him this year! So I planned a surprise party for him, with some good friends. No big deal I thought....I'll just keep it simple, and have a little get-together. It turns out that even a "little get-together" is a boatload of stress when it's a surprise!

Keeping it from him up until the day of the party was no big deal. I thought I had everything under control! I told Clark I was going out with my sister in law to the mall for some girl shopping, which was my alibi for getting all the food and decorations I needed for the party. Our little nephew got sick though, and she couldn't come out with me. Clark had a work meeting, so I had no way of getting out of the house to buy everything! I started calling people, but with no luck! My last resort was my next door neighbor. I showed up on her doorstep practically in tears! Luckily she was available to drive me around, and stored it all in her garage until I needed it in the evening.

I had arranged with one of Clark's friends to take him out to rent a movie or something. He was coming to pick him up at 6:00...all the guests would arrive, and he was to be home at 7:00. Clark called him at 3:30 however, and asked to be picked up at 4:00 instead because he was bored at home! It actually turned out for the best....there is no way I could have been prepared with everything I needed to do in just 1 hour! I felt bad that Shane had to figure out how to entertain Clark, and keep him out of the house for 3 hours though!!!!

Another dilemma was attendees! I had invited about 13 couples along, half of which had to back out on me at the last minute due to the H1N1 epidemic that's hit Lethbridge! It seems like everyone is getting sick around here!

Thankfully almost everyone showed up on time! We had a few late comers...people that couldn't make it any earlier, but the surprise remained a surprise until it was supposed to, and the rest of the night went smoothly!

Clark's first comment was in reference to masking tape. haha...he was very concerned about the decorations taped to his walls! I had streamers hanging down...he thought I must have decorated for halloween, and didn't understand why I had used GREEN streamers! All these thoughts were fleeting until he walked far enough around the corner, and everyone shouted surprise! And don't worry too much...the tape didn't wreck our walls!

There was no cake at this party. Clark isn't a huge cake fan, so I had his Mama make 30 miniature Lemon Meringue pies. Those he IS a big fan of!

He was a happy boy after the kids fingerprints had been wiped off all the glass at the end of the night! So the stress was worth it. I was kind of hoping all my nervousness would put me into labor! No such luck yet.

He's not ALWAYS right

I officially own a diaper bag....and a cute one. Clark suggested that we already had a few black backpacks somewhere in the basement. Thanks for saving me with your cuteness, Petunia Pickle Bottom.

Landscaping

Our landscaping is finally done! Clark worked overtime for a solid 3 weeks to get it all finished, and what started out as a couple of piles of dirt, now look awesome!

Here's the front yard, we still intend to plant a tree in the front, probably next year though. What a difference grass makes!

Entryway...

Clark put a rock water feature in the front. It's sooooo heavy! Quite the ordeal!

Walking into the backyard...

Clark built the retaining wall, and came up with the idea for the rock steps to overcome the sloping backyard! The Bulldog statue we found in Regina during the summer, his name is Iceman.

We have 9 trees in our little backyard! It'll look great when they're all grown!

Our little garden. Hopefully we'll be able to plant something one of these years!

Staining the fence is still on the schedule. Clark started doing it, but then it got too cold, then rained, then snowed! It could be a while until he's able to finish it!