Surprise!

written by Dakotapam on February 24, 2012 in life as we know it with 14 comments

Can you believe that my sweet husband was able to pull off a surprise 40th birthday party for me using Facebook?! Yes, that man is king of the privacy settings, because I had no clue!

Last night after sharing ice cream cake with the kids, he whisked me off to dinner. We had dinner at the Pirogue Grill and it was marvelous. It is so refreshing to eat at a restaurant that takes advantage of all the local treasures that North Dakota offers. A seasonal menu offers many temptations. I could make a meal of the spinach salad alone! Dakotapastor had the pan fried Atlantic Cod with a pine nut relish and I had the New York Strip steak with Bourbon mustard sauce. The server even brought me my food on a special birthday plate. I saved a little room for dessert, which was hard to do, the fresh baked bread was fabulous and I am a sucker for the barley pilaf. But the steamed lemon pudding with blueberry compote was worth it. It was practically health food, no? Blueberries and lemons! Getting to the Pirogue is a special treat and the quiet time with Dakotapastor made it even better.

After we finished dinner he asked if I would like to go over to Peacock Alley for a cocktail. I’m a people watcher and this is one of my favorite spots, so I obliged. We walked to block there and much to my surprise, as I walked in, many of my friends were there singing Happy Birthday! Dakotapastor also had flowers and balloons stashed there for me. I had a great time talking and laughing and enjoying the mixture of people who came out to celebrate with me! There were friends from church, friends for our seminary days, Moms Club friends and mom friends and Bible Study friends. I’m not sure I’ve smiled so much in a long time! Of course, Dakotapastor was having fun too…so much fun that he forgot to take any pictures, until right as we were gathering things up to go! Here I am with my friend, Lori!

Of course, today I am back to my mom reality. However, it was wonderful to have such a fun surprise to celebrate the day! Do you know that Dakotapastor has been by my side for every birthday from my 21st until my 40th yesterday? What a patient guy! He even had some long distance friends send cards, those too put a big smile on my face! So thank you sweetie for making my already great day even better!

Chime in! Have you ever been surprised by a surprise party?