Jake's Surprise 30th!

Seems I have been planning Jake's 30th birthday for years now... me being a 2 years older than him, I've spent the last two years mulling over ideas and thoughts for what I wanted to do for HIM when HE turned the big 3-0! So, as this year drew around, I was excited that it was finally time! I gave myself until after Christmas to really get serious about the planning, but by then, I already had ideas and thoughts as to what I wanted to do. So, as the planning began, so did all the secrets! I've never been great about keeping a secret from Jake, but I'm ECSTATIC to say, this one I kept up until the last minute (although still VERY hard!). Here's how it all played out:

The first secret I had to keep was that our really good friends, Jeff and Julie, from Utah, were flying up JUST for Jake's birthday. I had extended the invitation to them months before and they were so gracious to commit to coming. I knew this would thrill Jake. I definitely had to keep that mum. So, as the week came, I busied around finishing up last minute party details and preparations for their arrival. Since they were flying in Friday morning, and the party wasn't until Saturday night, I knew we had to be on the same page about why they were here. So, we both came up with a great story and I led Jake to believe that he and I were going to do something fun together on Friday and he needed to take the day off. I told him it would be one last chance for us to do something together before the baby arrived and a small celebration for his birthday. He totally bought into it, so as Friday morning arrived, we all got ready and I told him he had to just do what I said for the day. After all, it was my surprise to him! So, he reluctantly put on the blindfold as we left and we drove ourselves to the airport where he was shocked to see Jeff and Julie standing there waiting for us! Yah! First surprise a success! We spent the day showing them around and having tons of fun together. First, we took them for scrumptious fish n' chips at Spuds on Alki.

Afterwards, we drove up to Snoqualmie Falls.

After we were done with our touring, we made our way back home, relaxed and visited for a while, then took the girls to grandma's house so we could enjoy a dinner out. The next morning, we had a great breakfast together and then Jake, Jeff & Julie set out to Pike's Place Market to gather some smoked salmon. Since me and the girls were pretty wore out from the day before, we stayed home to finish a few last minute things. They had a great time exploring Pike's Place and of course, people-watching! Jake took them to Triple X in Issaquah for a late lunch where both he and Jeff somehow each downed a Triple X burger! (For any of you that don't know the size of a Triple X burger, they are about the circumference of a PLATE!). Yuck. Because I wasn't there, I don't have pictures, but trust me, they will be posting later once I receive them from Julie. Both guys returned home stuffed, uncomfortable and a bit sick (to say the least!).

As the day started getting closer to party time, my nerves and anxiety started kicking in. He hadn't been suspicous at all and I was so close to making this happen I just wanted it to come. I had been "prepping" Jake earlier that we had a party that night for my older brother (who's birthday is the 16th) at the place he co-owns, Super Jump Party Zone. Jake didn't seem to think anything of it, and Jeff and Julie were going to "see their other friends while we were gone," so everything was going great so far. As I picked up the babysitters, I had to make sure even THEY were on the same page- I didn't want anything to ruin this surprise! So, as we made our way there, I tried distracting him by talking about anything and everything besides this party. He didn't suspect a thing- I was so excited, nervous and getting sweaty palms! As we pulled in, I was so happy to finally be there. My other brother, that owns the place too, was outside so he made small talk to Jake about "blowing the party early" and led Jake into the room. As he opened the door and Jake walked in everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!!!" He was in shock- he didn't know what to think!

And since there is no better decade to party to then the 80's, the party was an 80's theme and I had requested everyone come in 80's attire. Everyone looked TOTALLY AWESOME!

The next surprise I had was that one of his best friends, Louis, also from Utah, flew into town too. When Jake saw him, it made my night! Here's Jake with his friends, Alan (on the left) and Louis (on the right).

We rocked the night away to 80's tunes, jumped and partied like fools, ate delicious pizza and salad while washing it down with grape and orange soda and even had the hula hoops, limbo and Twister to boot!

Of course, no party is complete without embarrassing the guest a bit, so we had a very clever and fun game of True/False about Jake. From the look of these pictures, I think we accomplished our goal!

To all my friends and family, a huge THANK YOU for all your help! I couldn't have done it without you all. And to my babe, Jakey, "I GOT YA!!!"

Happy 30th Birthday! I love you very much!