A weekend from the weekend

So. Busy weekend to say the least. But as busy as it was, it was also a really fun one. It's safe to say that I need a weekend from the weekend.

FRIDAY:

Darin's surprise party. Phew, am I glad that was over. Too many accidental spills from friends. His birthday's not until the 21st of October...but it's his 40th, and I knew he would expect something from me. So we did it a month early.

Here was the set up.

Kelly, one of his good friends (guy, not girl) called him up last week to see if he wanted to go hang out that Friday night. He obliged and the two planned what they would do. Kelly would meet him at his office and the two guys would then head for Burger Barn.

I on the other hand would wait at the house while a babysitter came. I planned to leave for the restaurant when Kelly called to tell me he was on his way to Darin's office. Everyone involved (except Kelly, Darin, and possibly another buddy named Buddy) would meet at the restaurant to do the whole "surprise" thing. You know how that goes. They were all supposed to be there at 5:30. Darin and the Kelly were supposed to come at about 5:40.

So 5:30 comes....and goes. Only half the people were there. Had to do a quick text to Kelly to tell him to stall. 5:45 rolls around and the rest of the crowd finally shows up. Text Kelly again to tell him it's good to come on.

5:50...receive a text from Kelly saying they're there. Crowd gets up and hides in the corner ready to jump out and say "surprise". Waitress on the other hand takes Darin and his small crew through the other door and proceeds to seat them at a table across the room. Umm...ok. "SURPRISE!!!!!". Didn't hear us. We had to be pointed out to him. Urgg...so obviously no pictures are posted of the big surprise look on his face since there was none.

There weren't as many people there as I had hoped, but it was a good crowd. There were about 15 others who had some previous engagement or who were too far out of town to make it after work.

Anyway - we ate, talked, made fun of the fact that he was turning 40 - had a great time. He also was handed this book that I've been working on since early August. Several of you reading this may have contributed in some way. It was a "roast" book of sorts. Each person that I contacted to submit a story was asked to submit funny stories that they remember about him growing up and/or "inspirational" stories about what Darin's life meant to them or what how he has impacted their lives. I had over 30 entries. They were fantastic to say the least. I couldn't have asked for anything better...mainly because it is something I think he'll cherish for years to come. There were a few stories in there that were tear jerkers, so I wouldn't let him read it at the restaurant...but you could just see the pride in his eyes as he read them. Thanks to those of you who participated in that!!


This was his piece...literally.





A BIG thanks to Tina for making and decorating the cake. Well, her mother-in-law made it and she decorated it, actually. Great cake!

SATURDAY:

Date night!!! First in, oh, about 7 months or more. You just don't realize how long it's been until you actually go out alone and forget how to talk to each other without the distractions of kids. Ok, so it's not that bad...but it was awkward not having to wipe spitup and get onto your toddler for throwing peas at the dog.

We decided that since Ethan was still fairly young, we would stay in town. OBU was putting on a play, so we went out to eat, went and saw the play, and then went to sonic and walked around downtown while we ate ice cream.

We were actually treated to a free night out - babysitting included. Darin sponsors one of the social clubs on campus and got an e-mail from the president saying they wanted to treat us to a free night out including babysitting. Little did we know that half of the club of guys and two of the little sis's would be our babysitters. Both kids were a little overwhelmed, but did well. Little Miss Diva thought they were her audience. They said she danced all night.

So first off - the brand new mexican food restaurant, El Parian (or something like that) is AMAZING. The service...AMAZING. I've never had better service at a restaurant in my life! We essentially had four servers b/c they were constantly checking on us to make sure we were satisfied. The food...AMAZING. Oh my gosh..I can't even describe how good it was. Price...AMAZING. We're talking almost everything in the $6-8 range.

The show - "Goldilocks on Trial". Really good...very funny.

Sonic - Good as always.

Great night, great company, great few hours with no kid responsibilities..the end of a great weekend.