Scott turned 40 this year, and I could not wait to surprise him with a big birthday weekend. I had been planning it for months! I think he loved it!
It started on Friday when he got his first clue… I wrote these little poems that were kind of like a scavenger hunt, that led us from one place to the next.
I should also go ahead and note, that I could not have pulled this off with out the help of a lot of church friends… Who took turns watching the kids over the weekend, showing up at certain surprises, and everyone keeping it a secret!!!
The first clue took us to Nashville and we checked into a hotel. A funny side note here… as we checked into the hotel we were second in line. Scott again, has no clue what we are doing from clue to clue. All he knows is we are now in Nashville. So as the people in front of us in line are checking in, the hotel manager asks them are they here for the Justin Bieber Concert. Scott looked at me… trying to act like he would not be disappointed if that was the next surprise, but I could see in his eyes the look of please don’t make me go watch Bieber. So of course, for a few seconds I played it up. I wouldn’t tell him if that was the next surprise…until we got to the hotel manager and he asked us the same question… So Scott breathed a sigh of relief when I answered “No, we are not here for the concert.” Then we just laughed and laughed about the possibility of that being the surprise.
The next surprise led us to what I consider to be the best Steak House in the nation… Ruth’s Chris. It had been about 10 years since I had eaten there, and they did not disappoint. Still #1 in my book! This was Scott’s first time eating there, and he loved it too!
The next clue led us to our own private Salsa dancing lesson. It was so fun, and rather hysterical to see the dance teacher’s face as I walked in with my big pregnant belly. 🙂 But I held my own, baby belly and all!
Then next… Krispy Kreme Donuts for a late night snack… I don’t even need to explain why that was chosen! 🙂
The last clue of the night told him he would not get his next clue until the morning at 8am.
In the morning, he was like a little kid looking at his cell phone waiting on the clock to turn to 8. It was perfect timing… I had prearranged for two of our most favorite people to be at our hotel door to surprise him to go to breakfast. Dr. Frank and Dayle Page, our pastor and pastor’s wife from Taylors FBC, SC (my home church and where Scott served on staff and we met), now live in the Nashville area and they were eager to get in on the surprise. Dr. Page even delayed a flight so he could be there… have I mentioned how much I love them!?! 🙂
As I mentioned before it was perfect timing… They knocked on the door at 8am. Scott went to the door and said.. “Yes?” Dr. Page responded, “This is the Southern Baptist Morality Police.”Haha Immediately Scott knew who it was. He was surprised to see them. They took us to a cute little place in Franklin to have breakfast and we visited with them for a while. At this point, I don’t know who is having more fun…Scott or me!?!
Our next clue told him we were headed to Murfreesboro, and the next event would involve a gun.
We ended up at a laser tag place where a bunch of his friends from church showed up to play laser tag. I was fortunate enough to get to sit inside the dark neon show and watch these grown adults act like teens all over again! So fun!
The next clue led us to a state park in our town. Originally some friends of ours from Taylors FBC, SC (the church I mentioned earlier) were going to be there to surprise him. Unfortunately, one of them had a death in the family and they could not come. So, I had a back up plan… my parents were coming in for the surprise, and he did not know that… so they were there at the park with our kids to surprise us.
My Mom was funny, she jumped out her car and was like “Surprise Scott! It’s your mother in law… just what you wanted for your birthday!” 🙂
We strolled around the state park and visited for a bit, and it was nice to see the kids, and my parents…we always miss them when we are not together.
Then it was time for the next clue… this one involved guns again. Hey, I know the way to my husband’s heart, ok? 🙂
We ended up at a shooting range owned by one of our church members. I have to give a shout out to some more friends from church here… because while we were in Nashville they got Scott’s gun for me and went and bought ammo for the range. So everything was in place. But there was still more to the surprise at the range. We got out of the car and started walking towards the range…
But what Scott did not know is his Mom, and two of his closest friends from Mississippi were there. They walked up behind him and surprised him good! The look on his face was priceless.
Finally the last clue… led us to our church fellowship hall where we had a huge turnout of church friends who all brought pot luck. Scott said he knew the moment we walked in the door at church what was about to happen, but what he did not know was how many people would be there. He thought it would just be a small group of people. We feel so blessed to have such a loving church family!
Here he is walking around the corner and seeing some of the crowd.
This is just one side of the room. I think there were about 150 people.
Yummy church pot lucks! It doesn’t get any better than that!
Oh, and there was one more surprise… Our youth minister’s wife and my dear friend, Becca, made the birthday cake for us. And inside this particular cake is the big gender reveal for Parkison Baby #4! So all of our church friends got to be in on the surprise. Even Scott and I did not know the gender…only Becca. She keeps secrets really well!
First off, let me just say… is this cake not so cute? It is a little hunter tied up and being roasted by the deer. Scott thought it was hilarious!
Just before the big reveal… he is asking who thinks it is a boy? Notice I did not raise my hand… I thought it was a girl.
Screaming out…It’s a Boy! 🙂
Then finally the big weekend ended with a video montage in the Sanctuary of Scott’s life and some video clips of his out of town friends and family wishing him a Happy Birthday.
I have to say… I did good! It was a fabulous weekend and one I hope he will never forget! I love my husband so very much… I can’t even describe how blessed I am to have him. Planning all of this was just one small way I could show him how much he means to me. Now I have ten years to plan the big 5-0!!! haha