surprise the first...and last

well, i did it. i actually planned and carried out a surprise party for ryan without him knowing. he was truly surprised! 

in the years i've known ryan, he has probably mentioned to me 30 bazillion times that he does NOT want any kind of party {especially surprise} for his birthday. i've been under strict orders for the past eight birthdays to never ever ever show up at his work on his birthday. no cards, balloons, presents or treats of any kind in public. a friend and i brought in "valentine" cookies one year and the look he gave me spoke volumes.

i guess what i'm trying to say is, i was walking on thin ice here. i really didn't know how he'd react, but i felt 30 years was reason enough to party and i knew he'd never agree to anything, so it had to be a surprise.

props to the mcphies for helping us get him out of the house. i asked him if he wondered why i was such a crazy person trying to get him out of the house in a hurry. he said it seemed pretty normal. um...

we had 100% attendance from the invite list, which goes to show just how awesome he is. and i think everyone had a good time. i didn't plan any games or anything centered on "how well do you know ryan?" - i think that might have been over the top, even though it was considered. so we just ate and chatted. 

and took silly pictures. everyone was disguised when he walked in the door in case he was angry - we didn't want him to know who we were. i think the mustaches were a success. we also disguised the cupcakes with a wide array of mustache toothpicks and the cookies with matching mustache frosting decor. {our monthly sugar cookie extravaganza was put to good use this month!}

and when the last guest left, ryan said to me, "you're in big trouble." and then he smiled. phew! success. 

do you think he'll suspect anything for #31?