Surprise Party For Our Better Halves

Finally.....the night of the surprise party has come and gone and was a great success! I'm so relieved to no longer have to "hide" things from my husband - I am the worlds wost liar and I felt awful doing it!

A couple months ago, Tessa and I decided that since our husbands were adamant about not having a surprise birthday party for their 30th (Nick) and 40th (Chris) - that we were going to have one anyway...for both of them together with their closest friends and all of our family. Planning commenced right away and I have to say everything went off without a hitch....well except for a couple things.

The biggest letdown happened early September when I had sent out a reminder evite to everyone who hadn't RSVP'd - well one of Chris' friends from AZ forwarded the email to Chris. While it was an accident and he was intending to forward the email to another friend, it was a HUGE bummer that Chris was let in on the surprise. However, it was much easier having him in on the surprise and to keep Nick off track.

We were still able to keep a few things a surprise. On the night of the party, Tessa and I along with our guys showed up at Stir Bar at Harrah's where mom had corralled all of the party goers for the big surprise. We lured Nick out under the guise that we were going to have a night out to celebrate Chris' birthday (just the four of us) and one last night away before the baby comes. He was SO shocked when we opened the door and he walked in first....then backed out to let Chris in figuring it was his surprise....then noticed the sign with both of their names on it!

Surprise! Walking into Stir Bar at Harrah's

It took a while for Nick to realize the party was for him too!

Shortly after, we sent the guys up to the stage for a couple surprises. Jeremy played emcee and announced our special dancer, Anna Roxia, a drag queen who was recently crowned Miss Gay Omaha. She performed two songs and definitely surprised the guys and the crowd!

Our emcee for the night & one of the roasters - Jeremy

Anna Roxia performing "Happy Birthday Mr. President"

And as Lady Gaga "Poker Face"

Getting frisky with one of the birthday boys!

Showing her stuff for the crowd

 After Anna Roxia, we moved into the Roast - and it was amazing! Four of their friends got up on stage and gave it to them. I laughed so hard I thought I was at a comedy show! I have to say Ross and Jeremy were so prepared and pumped for this opportunity and it showed - they were excellent!

Ross - roasting the birthday boys

Hawkeye Birthday Cake

After a few drinks!

Same for these ladies - except for me....

After the Roast, Stir had a cover band - Ten Club, a Pearl Jam tribute. Many of the party goers went down to try their luck at the casino and others came up to our suite for after hours. It ended up being a VERY late night, but all in it was AMAZING and I'm so glad we pulled it off!!

To cap off a great night, I had a special present for Nick waiting up in our suite. I had been working on this gift for a long time and was originally planning on giving it to him just after Cruzer was born....but, of course, I couldn't wait. Nick is a baseball fanatic and has always told me his favorite player is Ryne Sandberg who played for the Chicago Cubs in the 80s. Currently, he is coaching a triple A team in Pennsylvania and it took some time to track him down. I contacted the Marketing Director for the IronPigs and shared my story (Nick's been a huge fan forever, I wanted this as a gift for him & our first son). Two weeks later, he contacted me and told me Ryne would autograph the jersey and personalize it. Once I got the jersey back, I brought it to be framed.  Here is the finished product:

Nick's birthday surprise in our suite

Autographed Ryne Sandberg jersey - Nick's favorite player growing up

Personalized to "Nick & Cruz - all the best - Ryne Sandberg #23  HOF 2005"