It's been a "surprisingly" busy weekend......

Jay took me to dinner on Friday night for what I thought was a birthday date. Little did I know, it was just a ruse to get me out of the house so Katie, Anna and Rachel could decorate for what was to be my Surprise 40th Birthday party. The girls decorated with the help of the sneaky Jennifer Watkins and the help of party mastermind Megan Asay. Just as Jay and I were finishing up dinner at McGrath's, Katie called and said that Tyler had forgotten to take his lacrosse gloves to practice and that we needed to come home and take them to him at South. I thought we were heading to the mall so I was slightly annoyed with this departure from our plans. When we got home, I was downloading songs onto my iphone and didn't want to get out of the car. Jay said he wasn't feeling well and that he had to run to the bathroom so I needed to come in and get the gloves while he....well, I'll spare you the details. He practically pulled me out of the car as I was still reluctant to come in, telling him he could just get them on the way out. Through all of this, I still had no idea. Once he dragged me out of the car, and I was probably grumbling, I came in and was greeted by a large and loud group of fun friends yelling "SURPRISE!!" I was most definitely surprised! I can't believe no one accidentally mentioned something....I probably would have. I feel very blessed to have such a great husband, kids and friends!! I don't have any pictures of my reaction, but you can view those on Laura's blog.

Here is my coffin cake......it was yummy but turned your teeth black The Grim Reaper paid me a visit.....with a smile on his face. I had such a fun night! Thanks to everyone for coming! I felt so special!!
The next day, we went to the Awesome 3000 at Willamette Stadium. The girls did great and Anna posted her best time ever!
Rachel proves that slow and steady is a great strategy and ran (speed walked) the entire way, kicking into high gear for the last 100 meters.
Rachel saw this tree on the way back to the car and wanted to have a picture with it and pulled Grandpa into the shot.
Here are the hilarious and amazing things I received......(not pictured is my new potty chair)
The weekend's events tired out poor Tyler.....what a sleeping beauty!
The coffin obviously tasted good......
This will show where I get my offbeat, yet funny sense of humor and general lack of inhibition to dress up and be silly.....
Oliver got in on the dressing up as well, donning a Build a Bear shirt and accessorizing with a flower clip. Anna put the shirt on the dog and he actually seemed to like it. Doesn't my mom look fabulous?
My dad added the tie to complete the ensemble......think he's ready to compete on Project Runway?

Having my parents come down to my party was such a great surprise, especially when I learned of their afternoon's events. My dad came home from running a couple of errands to pack up the car to get ready to be here by 7 for the party. Upon entering the house, he heard noises upstairs and assumed he'd left the radio on. He went up to his room to turn it off and discovered a teenage boy kneeling in front of my mom's jewelry basket, putting items into his pockets. My dad grabbed him and squeezed him in a bear hug type hold and wrestled with the guy. The guy got up and my dad chased him down the stairs and wrestled him again, this time removing the guys shirts up over his head to incapacitate him. The guy started to text his accomplices and my dad became worried that he was calling for reinforcements and let him go. He then called 911. The police came and told my dad what a lucky guy he was, as most home robberies end with injury or worse. Keep in mind that my dad is a 64 year old guy with no experience in wrestling. Hopefully he scared the guy so badly he won't attempt that again. I'm extremely thankful that not much was taken, that my dad is okay (the thought that he could've been shot or stabbed haunts me) and that the guy left behind some evidence so hopefully they'll catch him. I am also thankful that they still came down to surprise me.....I don't know if I could have. My cousin is a police officer in Yakima and kept watch over their house all weekend. Thanks Curt!

So, all in all, it was a great and fabulous weekend, sans the home invasion. Thanks everyone for such a great surprise!! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my family and friends!!!