I haven't teased Mike much about his age, but I'm glad someone else did! We woke up to a funny surprise courtesy of some awesome neighbors. It was a great way to kick start the day and make sure Mike got lots of attention (and teasing) on his big day.
My phone snapshot might be too far away to read the head stones... hilarious!
I had a few surprises up my sleeve as well. When Mike got home he opened the garage to this:
I've wanted to get him one for ages, so it was about time to have a real grill! (We've been using our portable camp grill since our wedding!) I was pretty proud of myself for buying, loading, unloading, and assembling it myself so we could use it for his birthday dinner.
A man and his BBQ. He looks like a natural! We broke it in with some salmon and grilled pineapple. YUM!
Another surprise was his best friend growing up, Scott Haymore. He happened to be in town from Georgia and I asked him to come for dinner. Dana & Landon had arrived, but not Grandma Osmond so Mike didn't think much of another knock on the door, but he was surprised! These goofballs go back waaaaay back, almost 30 years now! (He he)
After dinner came a few more gifts. The kids were excited about a surprise of their own. At Christmastime Mike bought a batting tee, wiffle balls, and a big plastic bat to play with the kids. He hid it too well and forgot to give it to them, so we thought we'd just give it to Ty for his birthday. But I didn't want to wait till June so the kids gave it to Daddy!
Happy Birthday dear Mike! The cake burned brightly with all those candles! (Jake had been playing with the camera so there may be a smudged effect to the glow.)
The last surprise of the day was this wall mural... it served as decoration, but was actually envelopes filled with memories from nearly 40 people from Mike's looooooong past. :) He always says he just wants a letter or card for special occasions, so in lieu of a surprise party, I had friends and family send me their favorite "Mike Memory."
Anita stayed to read her's with us. She had compiled excerpts from her journal of the birth and blessing of each of our children. Mike was very touched and it meant a lot to him.
After we put these crazies to bed, he and I spent the next few hours reading and reminiscing. This is what he said about it on Facebook:
"It
was a fantastic birthday! Thank you for the messages and especially the
memories that many of you sent to Lauren. I haven't laughed or cried
like this in a long time. Thanks for seeing things in me that I do not
see in myself. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and
great friends. You guys are awesome! Am I a lucky guy or what?"
2 comments:
Happy birthday to Mike! Looks like it was a fantastic birthday. I'm super impressed that you had that grill ready to go when he got home! I would have been very intimidated by it! And I love the 40 memories wall. I'm sure that was super special and something he'll treasure for a long time.
And I see you finished your bench seat! I love it! That room looks like a perfect sanctuary... I think I'd escape there often. Actually, I do escape to mine often but not to read and relax like I would in yours! :)
Um, so I think I'm related to Mike's best friend. Long story. Des he have a brother named Richard, who would be my age? We'll have the chat sometime and try to make the connection.
Happy Birthday, Old Man!!
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