Stay Awhile

Recently some of our very best friends came to visit us in Austin. Jenny and Blaine are the first set of friends to stay with us, and we had a fantastic time! They have never visited Austin, so we had a blast showing them what this great city has to offer. We're pretty new here ourselves, so there were some things we got to experience right along with them! I'm pretty sure they fell in love with Austin :) We hope they'll be back soon.

I am taking this opportunity to gush on my little Jen because I just love her so much. Jenny and I have been friends for about 5 years. We met at my first job after college. Jenny and I both recall our time as coworkers with fond memories -- I've never laughed so much at work in my life!! I was only with the organization for a year before Joey and I moved to Wisconsin, but we've remained very close over the years. Jenny is truly an amazing friend. She is someone I can go to for advice and encouragement, yet also someone who will act like a complete nut right along with me! What started as a fun working relationship quickly grew into a friendship that I will forever cherish. In just 5 years we've seen eachother through a lot - job changes, weddings, my moving to 3 different states in 5 years (sorry about that Jen), graduate school, blessings (like a baby boy!) challenges, countless tears of joy and a few sorrows sprinkled in. I'm just so grateful to her because she is a friend who I can depend upon, who will always be there no matter what. Good friends are so precious! And, I can't go without saying how I love my Blainey too, he is so often my voice of reason, and it's so great that the 4 of us have such a fabulous time together, rather than the boys just tolerating mine and Jenny's antics :) We love you both so much! Ok enough gushing. Here are a few pictures from Jenny and Blaine's stay in Austin! So much FUN!

A Big Surprise

I know this was a few months ago, but my darling husband hit a milestone at the end of May. He turned 30, and I couldn't not blog about it, even if it's a few months late.

Joey is not one to get excited about birthdays. . .his motto is that it's just another day, which I'm pretty sure he got from his dad :) They're both laid back men who don't like a lot of pomp and circumstance. Sorry kid, but you married into a family that is all about the razzle dazzle. Enter stage left, Fleur and her merrymen...

In light of his birthday, I was a little bummed that we had just moved to a new place as I had always planned to throw a big shindig for his 30th. And it wasn't like I could just convince to go home for the weekend -- it's 8 hours away, therefore not an easy weekend trip at all.

So I had succumbed to the fact it would be a hohum birthday, when I realized we were planning to come home anyway right around his birthday in May for another event! An event that I really wanted to go to, my 10 year high school reunion to be exact. So I had to make a decision and a difficult one at that. In the end though I decided that Joey will only turn 30 once, there will be other reunions and this would be the perfect way to surprise him in a way that I hoped he would never forget. 

It's stressful to plan a party. It's stressful to plan a surprise party. It's stressful to plan a surprise party for someone with whom you share a house. It's stressful to plan a surprise party for someone with whom you share a house especially when the party's venue is 8 hours away. 

Also the digital age makes things even more difficult. I was scared someone would accidentally write on my facebook wall about the party. I was scared that he would see a text message pop up on my phone about the party. We use the same computer at home, so he could easily see my inbox up with emails about the dang party! Ugh!! So I pulled out all the stops. I changed the password to get into my phone. I removed the preview on my text messaging. I even had a fake twitter conversation with Joey's best friend so he had no doubt we were going to that reunion (just in case he had any suspicions...he didn't). When I told Joey all of this later on, I think he was a little frightened at the level of my sneakiness...anything for the success of a party! 

So while I was sleuthing and planning from afar, my party fairies were working very hard on the action items to make sure the party came to fruition. I would not have been able to do it without the help of my mom, my grandmother and my friend Loren. They truly did everything and were so happy to do it. Thank you again, ladies! 

Needless to say, the party was a huge success! Many friends and family came out to celebrate Joey's 30th year of life. It took about 20 minutes or so for Joey to recover from the shock once we entered the party and everyone was waiting for us. As you can see, he was completely shocked! Here are a few party photos: 

Surprised much?

I'm relieved the surprise is done!

I didn't let Polly B in on the secret, so she was just as surprised as her daddy!  She was tuckered out after a night of new people to kiss. Joey's godson Trey enjoyed walking her everywhere during the party; it was adorable! He was so good with her. She found a new buddy!

 

Joey's best friend Mark with son Trey, Joey's godson

With Loren

Joey with my Mom

Planning a surprise party is no easy thing, that's for sure! It's the surprise element that gets ya, but Joey says he had absolutely no clue as to what was happening. I was worried after a few close calls in the month or so leading up to it, but I should have known that guys are generally clueless about subtle details. Thank goodness!

Joey was so happy to get to see friends and family and of course I was too! Thanks again to everyone who made it a birthday I'm sure he will never forget! We love you all! 

fleur