Birthday Surprises... Keep Comin

If you haven't caught up on Justin's SUPER fun birthday weekend in Waco, check out the post below... 

For now we've got some talkin' to do about today's festivities!

Today, May 29th, 2012 is Justin's 30th birthday. Traditionally, Justin and I do not make much of a fuss over our birthdays or anniversaries or any gift-giving occasion. We never really have... but there are certain milestones in life that you just have to go a bit over the top for. In my book 30 is one of them, especially for a guy like Justin who has been not so shy about lamenting over the passing of another decade. 

One of my favorite character traits of Justin's is his humility. He is humbler and humble and I love this about him! He never wants anyone to make a big fuss over him, he doesn't like attention being drawn to him and certainly would never want ANYONE to make a BIG DEAL about his birthday... ever! So leave it me to make all of his worst nightmares come true! :)

I was worried that he may never forgive me for making a fuss over his birthday in a VERY PUBLIC way this year, but I was hopeful that he'd give me this opportunity to make him feel like the special person he is to me and our kiddos! It was the least we could do and it was a way for us to "brag" on our Daddy without truly having to "brag" on our Daddy. We just did a little extra to show him how much we appreciate all he does for us! And we were EXCITED!

I started planning for the big birthday surprise... WAY BACK! I contacted one of his coworkers about a plan for me to get into the office to decorate. I asked his mom to dig through all of her pictures and find a picture for every year Justin was alive years 1-19... and she did... SO graciously! I know that took a lot of time and I am so appreciative of her hard work... thanks Sharla! :) I took care of pictures 20-30 and made a banner... displaying one picture for each year he's been alive. Complete with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Justin. It stands just over 6ft tall... just like my man! :) Between the banner and the life size statue I figured I had surely done enough to embarrass him so I just filled in the blanks with some star banners, and balloons to fill his floor. 

Caden, Kaki and I ended up decorating in the middle of a work day when Justin was out of the office. Friday, actually... he wouldn't be back in the office until today, Tuesday, with the Memorial Day holiday. It was a bit awkward decorating with his onlooking coworkers around and I found myself more embarrassed than Justin probably EVER felt, but I just kept thinking of the end goal and worked QUICKLY so we could bust a move outta there and let everyone get back to work! :)

This morning Caden, Kaki and I had our own little family surprise breakfast and gifts ready for Justin. He was sure that this was the extent of his birthday surprises and was so grateful to the kids for everything. And then we sent him off... to work...

I have been about to pee my pants every time I think about him walking in to his office, especially being greeted by a statue of himself... so I was VERY anxious to get a phone call from him this morning when he arrived. And so was Caden... poor kid has been SO GREAT at keeping a secret... and there were lots! There was hardly anything I could do when we got down to the last few days without Caden knowing... he was a champ and he is so proud that we pulled off the ultimate surprise for his Daddy! :)

Not 15 minutes after he walked out the door my phone rang... and he said..."Well, done!"

Haha...

And he snapped some pics for me...since I forgot on Friday!

He couldn't fit the banner in one picture... 30 is a lot of years!! :)

The speech bubble on the statue says, "I'm Teed Up About Turning 30!!" Hehehe! It was one of the only full length shots I had of him... and I think it turned out pretty darn awesome!! And I think he might like it too... maybe he'll be sticking around for a while longer! :)

Caden and I have been working hard over the past few weeks getting everything ready. We housed the statue in our storage shed and had a special hiding place for all of our pictures and banner making supplies. I am pretty sure that Justin thinks I've been taking naps EVERY day for the past few weeks because when he asks me what I've been doing every day I am SUPER vague with my answers having nothing that I could actually show for myself... Now he knows!! And understands why I think I have arthritis in my right hand... lots of circle cutting!! :)

If he thought the surprises were over after this morning he was wrong... just ONE more! The kids and I brought a big cake up to the office just before the lunch hour! He ended up having a schedule change and had to leave soon after we got there, but they are going to enjoy the cake this afternoon while hopefully poking a little bit of fun at their birthday boy! 

Looking at this picture is kind of hilarious... it's like I have two husbands... and I'm not too sure how I feel about that! :) It kind of makes me blush... ha!

Tonight we have soccer practice and are going to head out for a fun family dinner... and hopefully Daddy saves us a piece of cake to enjoy for dessert! We hope our birthday boy has had a great (memorable) day and appreciate him being such a good sport about being celebrated even though it is certainly not within his comfort zone.


Happy Birthday Justin! We love you!! Whoo whoo for 30!!