Birthday Surprise

Andrea orchestrated a fantastic surprise for me this year for my 40th birthday.

She started a few months ago by announcing that we were going to take a surprise trip to celebrate both of our birthdays. But mainly mine. Then she didn't tell us anything else.

So I penciled in some vacation time for Thursday afternoon and Friday and I didn't ask any more questions. The kids asked lots of questions, but they didn't get any answers.

She said she would pick me up at work on Thursday, so I figured she was planning a short road trip and that we were heading in the general direction of South. Also, she did ask if I could find the little kid life vests, so I was thinking maybe a lake house. Probably not camping, because that would require finding more than just life jackets, and probably not flying to Tahiti because, well... just because.

A few days before we left she kicked us all out of the house and packed our suitcases, then on Thursday she had me go pick up Kenrick and Anthony from school while she loaded the van. When we got home the van was full, but there were still three coolers of food left to load. I put the luggage basket on the top of the van and strapped it all down. Hmm, that's a lot of food for the weekend. Also, why do we need the jump seat in the van?

I was in a rush to get on the road by what I thought was our scheduled time, but Andrea didn't seem to be  in any hurry. And she was driving, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. We stopped in Decatur for lunch. Then we stopped at an antique mall somewhere south of Springfield that she claimed to be curious about. And got ice cream. We got caught in traffic outside of St. Louis. Then stopped for a potty break. Still no hurry.

Finally, she announced that we were heading for the airport.

So we were going to pick someone up, but who could it be? I'd just talked to Mom and Dad earlier in the week and had commented about how fun it would be to have them here for the big birthday party that we were planning for the next weekend, but... SURPRISE!, here they are, standing on the sidewalk outside of the airport terminal looking for a ride! Wow.

So I'm trying to wrap my head around how my folks are all of the sudden in the van with us and I still don't know where we are headed. We go a ways further west, then south off the freeway into the rolling hills of Missouri and turn right into the little community of Lake Sherwood. Then DOWN and back UP a few times and through the woods and around a little lake that suddenly appears out of nowhere, nestled into steep little ravines and surrounded by some very nice looking houses, then SLOWLY down, down a steep drive to a really nice looking lake house. Wow.

This is really cool. So we all hop out and Andrea starts working on unlocking the front door to the house and dad pokes his head into the garage ("Huh, there's a car parked in here, must be the owner's.") and I start untying things from the top of the van and taking some pictures of the place ("Rob, come inside! Get in here!" "Okay, okay, I'm coming.") and I about fall over because, SURPRISE!, my brother and his family are standing in the living room. Oh wow.

The kids are instantly buzzing around looking at every nook and cranny on all three floors of this place and Mia declares that we just have to see the lake, so we wind our way down flights of stairs clinging to the steep hillside, past hammocks and a little bath house and a fire pit and down some more steps to the dock. The lake is quiet except for one canoe. The canoe has a girl in it, fishing. That's cool, must be the neighbor.

Dad says, "Who do you think that girl is out there?"

How should I know? Wait. Long blonde hair. It looks like. No. Sally? "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!?" SURPRISE!

I'm speechless.

I really don't know how to say what it meant to have all my family together for my birthday. Sally's husband Matt came in on a later flight, so everyone was together for the first time in two and a half years. We spent the weekend relaxing, eating, and catching up. And fishing and swimming and canoeing. And playing pool. And eating, did I mention that one already?

On Friday we took little trip into St. Louis and crawled around in the City Museum (you have to go), tracked down a little barbecue joint called Pappy's Smokehouse that rated five stars in everyone's book, and visited the iconic St. Louis Arch.

On Saturday we had family pictures taken and relaxed some more (see the list above).

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's day, ate another excellent meal, and parted ways, still proud to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Andrea, thank you so much for a fantastic surprise.

The story of all the finagling that Andrea had to do to plan everything, coordinate everyone's travel, and keep it all a secret could fill another few pages, so I won't tell it here. You'll just have to ask her about it sometime.

Instead, I'll post a few pictures.

The house, before discovering the surprise inside.

The view off the back deck.

Our little fishergirl.

Her grandpa taught her everything she knows.

Lots of paddling about. Me, Kenrick, Anthony, and Anya race Cooper in the kayak.

Auntie Sally supervises the Pandemonium Crew in the paddle boat. Yes, that is an oar in the water.

Kenrick got quite proficient in the kayak

Uncle Matt is always willing to give a hand. Um, is that the recommended launch procedure?

We couldn't take the boat out, but made good use of it anyway.

The City Museum from the outside.

And from the inside. It's really hard to describe the mazes and ramps and slides and displays that fill this building - again, you just have to go.

Paxton was a bit tentative about climbing too high but we got around all right anyway.

Our meal at Pappy's Smokehouse was an experience to remember. Pappy (the owner) came out to shake our hands and thank us for coming while we stood in line waiting to get in, then took a liking to Paxton and presented him with a shirt. The ribs were excellent.

The whole family fits under the arch.

Mom cleans up at the billiards table.

The girl who made it all happen, serving cake and still smiling! Thanks again honey!