DH's birthday surprise, aka "the trip to Scotland!"

[RebeccaT]

akk, pay no attention, accidentally posted when I wasn't ready!

I'll fill you all in a little later!

[Molli526]

The suspense :)

Anxious to hear how it went :)

[Gracie]

Noooooooooooooooo!! I was so excited to see this thread! Rebecca - come back soon! :D :D

Loren

[sneezles]

OMG! I hate the suspence! But will wait patiently... http://kit.netpoets.net/toetap.gif

[cniles]

Rebecca!!!!! Come back!

[RebeccaT]

Ok, sorry about the false start there!

So, many of you know that I have been hatching a plan to surprise DH with a trip to Scotland, a place he has wanted to visit as long as I have known him, for his 30th birthday. And to make as big a deal out of the whole thing as possible, I planned a surprise birthday party for him where I could make the big presentation of the plane tickets in front of friends and family.

I have gotten a LOT of help from folks on this BB, planning and strategizing everything from the trip itself to the cake! So I wanted to let you all know how it went...

Well. First of all, let me just say what a RELIEF it is to not have to lie to my husband anymore! I was HORRIFIED at how easily I was able to make stuff up to throw him off! I had him thinking that we were going to New Orleans for his birthday, I even sent him hotel rates and information! He had no idea I was planning a much bigger vacation!

But most of the lies came later. The party was on Saturday night, and there were more disasters averted then I care to count. But for you, dear friends, I will:

Near-disaster #1: The cake. Cake #1: I made right under DH's nose under the auspices of a "practice cake" for his real cake, which I would make a week later on his actual birthday. Because of operator error and not enough chocolate, it wasn't very good - we tasted the shavings and agreed it was bland. Cake #2: I had been planning to make the mousse filling (thanks to Kayaksoup for the AWESOME recipe!) and take the unassembled cake over to my friend's house (who were hosting the party) on Thursday night, while DH was at an after-work function. While cake layers wouldn't really concern DH, seeing an actual, assembled birthday cake on the counter a week before his birthday might be a signal that something was up. I now needed to make another cake as well. I decided to make a tried and true, since I was experimenting with fillings and frosting. So I made EW's chocolate cake, in layers... I knew he'd be home around 9-9:30 pm, so I had 4 hours to make a cake, mousse filling, get the cake transported, and get home before DH. No problem... until I dropped the cake layers. Broken layers, all over counter and floor. I now have 1.5 hours to make ANOTHER cake (Cake #3, for those counting), transport, and get home. It can be done. I had to borrow eggs from my neighbor (I was at this point out of eggs after the number of cakes I had made that week). I made the cake, baked it, ran it over to friend's house still hot, turned out layers, gave her directions to wrap them when they were cool, and ran back home, beating DH's phone call by approx. 5 minutes. Whew.

Near disaster #2: Saturday early afternoon. Party day - I had to play it cool all morning, but DH was finally out the door to get a haircut and meet a friend at a sports bar to watch NCAA basketball (arranged by me, I wanted him out of the way!!) When he asked me what I was up to for the day, I told him I was having lunch with a girlfriend, maybe going shopping, you know, girl stuff. All is fine, he's out of the house, I ran to the grocery store to pick up wine, beer, etc. and went to my friend's house to assemble the cake and help her prepare for the party. I spent most of the afternoon there, feeling good until I checked my messages on my cell phone... there was a message from DH. "You just cut me off in traffic! You're driving like a bat out of h***, what are you doing? You're supposed to be with Kimberly!" :eek: :eek: I hoped he'd forget, but when I got home, he was already there, and the first thing out of his mouth was "Did you get my message?" So, on the spot, I tell him "Um, I remembered it was Kimberly's birthday this week,so I had to pick up a little gift, and then I was running late to meet her for lunch." He seemed to find that plausible, gave me a little lecture about not driving like a banshee, and dropped it. <whew>

Near disaster #3: This was the biggest one... the party invitation had specific directions and the address of my friend's house, but it was from me. You may be able to see where this is going... the party was supposed to start at 7:00, and DH and I were going to arrive at 7:30. He thought we were just going over for dinner. At 6:45, a neighbor drops by to introduce her new fiance. We are chatting in the kitchen, knowing that we need to leave around 7:15. At precisely 7:01, my phone rings... I answer. "Hello?" "HI!" "Um, hello?" "WE'RE HERE!" (I should mention that we live in a gated community and have to buzz people in from outside) "Um, who's here?" "IT'S KELLY AND SUZANNE!" I freaked. I ran outside to the gate, and I must have had this look of utter terror on my face. I yelled "You're at the wrong house! The party isn't here, it's at Amy's! Go! GO! Call Kyle, he'll tell you where to go!" They were so confused, but then Suzanne got this look of panic, and they ran off. Of course, when I go back inside DH goes "Who was that?" I made up yet another lie on the spot, "Um, FedEx guy. He had to deliver a package across the street." Of course if DH had thought about it for even a second, he would have realized that it was 7PM on a SATURDAY!!! Why would FedEx be there? But he didn't. I was so glad, I had not been scheming and planning for all this time to spoil the surprise 30 minutes before it was supposed to happen!!

But after all that, we got to our friend's house, everyone was there (except for Suzanne and Kelly, but they found us about 30 minutes later), and DH was totally surprised. :D :D Once he realized how close he had come to finding out all week long, he thought it was hilarious. And of course, he had no idea about the BIGGEST surprise... after everyone had eaten and were milling about, I presented him with his birthday gift and asked him to open it. He unwrapped an antique map of Scotland that I had found and gotten framed, and underneath the map were the two British Airways tickets. I have not seen my husband glow like that since our wedding day... he was so overwhelmed and thrilled, and it was absolutely just as I imagined it!

:D :D :D

If you've taken the time to read all of this, thank you!!!

[cniles]

OMG Rebeeca you had me rolling!!!!!:D :D :D

What a story - I'm so glad everything worked out!!! You guys are going to have a wonderful time!

Congratulations pulling it all off!!! (amazing what you can think up when you need to!!!:p )

[linsleyd]

Rebecca you and you're idea rock! I can only hope that I can come up with something that cool when DH turns 30!

And good job on avoiding all of the mishaps!:D

[lhall]

LOL, what an adventure! :D

I'm glad that DH liked his surprise, and that he really was surprised!

Have a great trip!!

Leigh

[sneezles]

Well, you know what they say about "the best laid plans" something always gets in the way! Can't believe with all the cars and all the roads in Houston you ended up on the same one as Charles! Thaks for sharing your disasters and glad it all worked out! Have a wondrful trip!

[SueK]

Rebecca- glad to hear things went well- and I got a kick out of the tales leading up to the party. :) Congrats on pulling off a great surprise!

[lisas3575]

Nice job, Rebecca! :) I loved reading about all your mis-adventures, esp. the part about Fed Ex. Hilarious.

Have an awesome trip!

[Kayla]

Hi Rebecca :)

My goodness with all of those close calls, I would have had several heart attacks ;)

Congratulations on pulling it off, and I must say, you are such a sweet wife for doing all of that for him.

Have fun on the trip!!

Kayla

[Wendy w]

Wow Rebecca, what a story! :D Have a wonderful trip and am glad to know that everything went well after all of those close calls.

[jjsooner73]

Oh wow, my blood pressure would have been through the roof! Glad you were still able to pull it all off. :D

Thanks for sharing (and getting me an afternoon laugh)!

[RebeccaT]

Originally posted by Kayla
My goodness with all of those close calls, I would have had several heart attacks ;)


Oh I did. I just didn't show it. DH commended me later on how I kept it cool... that's very out of character for me!!! :o :)

[Alethea]

Great story! I'm so glad everything worked out! You're much calmer than me; I probably would have lost it when the second cake hit the floor.

Have a wonderful time!!!:)

[HealthyinMN]

I agree what a story!! Sounds like everything ended well! Hope you guys have a great time on your trip!

[colleency]

That is so cool! I had tears in my eyes when I read that he finally opened the map, etc.

And I would have completely broken down and confessed all in tears by the third cake!

[LaraW]

Wow - what a story! I would have lost it by the 3rd cake too. What a great present, though - it was worth all those close calls.

When do you guys leave?

[Kismet]

I'm so glad it all worked out in the end! What a great wife you are! :D

[RebeccaT]

Originally posted by LaraW
When do you guys leave?

We leave a week from today! :D :D

[Molli526]

What a great story! So glad everything worked out in the end :)

[Kayla]

Originally posted by RebeccaT


We leave a week from today! :D :D

So soon! I cannot wait to see pictures and hear stories... you guys will have a fabulous time!

[Robyn1007]

LOL! Rebecca, I can't believe he didn't suspect anything, talk about thinking on your toes! Have a great time!

Robyn

[ellery]

What a fantastic story! Thank you so much for sharing!

I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have a wife who goes to such effort. Lucky lucky guy!

Have a great time and I look forward to hearing about it!

;)

Leah

[Jessica]

What a great story. Can't wait to hear all about Scotland. Have a fabulous trip...

Jessica

[greysangel]

yay Rebecca!!! Count me in as another teary eyed gal by the time I got to the end! Have a great time and I'm sure Chaz will love to read about your adventures..I know I will :D

j

[RebeccaT]

Aww! Thanks guys!

I should also add that the cake turned out BEAUTIFULLY, after all of that! Like I said, I used EW's Died-And-Went-To-Heaven chocolate cake recipe, doubled, to make 3 9-inch layers (I had some batter left over). I used Linda's (Kayaksoup) mousse recipe from her Dark Chocolate Orange cake to fill the layers - it was amazing. And I used the ganache method from Great Cakes, which involves adding a Tbs. of corn syrup to the cream while it heats up, and stirring in Grand Marnier along with the chocolate. It was one of the prettiest cakes I have ever made, and DH loved it! :D

[gertdog]

Rebecca, I was so happy to see this thread and read that everything went well, if not exactly as you planned it! Like Colleen and Lara, I'd have given up after cake #2, I think... :D

[wallycat]

WOW....what a fabulous wife you are to do all of that for your DH!
It is sooo sweet and soooo romantic, I have tears reading the part where he glowed looking at the map :)

THanks for sharing your ordeals and joys :)

[seathyme]

Rebecca you are an awesome story teller! Thanks for sharing the details of your fabulous birthday surprise!:D

[Lauren]

What a funny story! Glad I'm not the only one who got a little teary at the end. Of course, I have pms and would cry at a charmin commercial! :D

[ErinM]

That is so awesome! And I love the way you described how he looked! I don't know him, but I can just imagine it! How wonderful that you were able to make him feel this way!

[Robyncz]

Rebecca,
You should print out this synopsis and keep it for posterity. What a hoot!

Have a great trip!

Robyn

[Kayaksoup]

Glad everything worked out. Your story had me cracking up, but glad it came together in the end.
And I am glad you liked the mousse.:D

[Gracie]

Rebecca, what a great story! I can see why you needed some time to write it!

The antique map sounds beautiful. I'm so glad he was genuinely surprised and happy. Does he work? How did you ever arrange his time off?

Now we'll all be looking forward to pictures!

Loren

[HejazSunKat]

Rebecca - Congratulations on pulling it off and thanks so much for sharing the story with us. The look on his face when he found out about the party and about the trip must have been priceless. What great memories for the two of you. Hope your trip is fantastic (and you have to tell us about that too!).

[MrsReber]

I love this story!!! You should print it all out so you never forget any of this. It's hilarious! I hope you have a great trip!

[RebeccaT]

Thank you so much, guys! That is a good idea, to print out this write-up... although I don't see myself forgetting all those near-misses any time soon! :eek: :D

Originally posted by Gracie
Does he work? How did you ever arrange his time off?


His manager is wonderful. I called him (the manager) up in late January, told him what I was cooking up, and asked him to please make sure that there were no presentations to the board or the CEO or major trips scheduled for that week. He said no problem, but asked me to call him again in February to remind him. So I called him in late February, and talked to him again last week just to make sure. As much as I would have loved to just "whisk him away," I knew that, practically speaking, it would be impossible, so I gave him a week to wrap up what he is working on. But his manager was wonderful and made sure that nothing else big got scheduled!

I have had a LOT of help with this surprise - I couldn't have pulled it off without th assistance of some wonderful people!

[phantomcg]

What a cool story! I'm so glad that they were all "near distasters" only! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! I can't wait to hear all about your trip and see the pictures!

Cheryl

[KristinK]

Oh, Rebecca, what a great story! Congratulations on pulling it off. I know I would not have been able to keep my cool like you -- the cake alone would have set me off. If I ever plan something for DF, I might have to come to you for advice!

Have a wonderful trip, and when you report back, try not to open with such a teaser, OK?! :D

[Kay Henderson]

What a delightful tale! Thank you so much for posting it for us.

I agree about saving it -- either in print or as a word processing file. Imagine sharing it at a later anniversary or birthday party?

I love your presentation of the present. My DH has a "decade birthday" coming up next year. I've already got the present in mind and you've given me a terrific idea for wrapping it.

Have a WONDERFUL time in Scotland!

Kay

[buffygirl]

What a lucky many your DH is to have you, Rebecca! What a great story!

Thanks for the offer for the help, btw. You are too sweet!

BK

[KathrynY]

Rebecca what a great story - thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful trip, and I look forward to reading about it when you return! :)

[Peggy C.]

That is just awsome! I'm so glad everything worked out in the end. When I had DH='s 40th surprise party I just picked a fight with him a few days ahead of time so I could give him the silent treatment!:o Which was kind of hard, because we rarely fight.

[jphilg]

Yay! I'm so glad that it went over well, with all of the hard work you put in! I can't wait to hear about Scotland.....

[rinsav]

I love it, Rebecca!!!!! The whole story is hilarious and you tell it so well! I'm so excited for you guys and know you'll have an amazing time. Can't wait to hear all about it!!!:)

[RebeccaT]

Thanks Rindi! We leave on Monday, ack, so much to do!!! :D

[JenniferJJ]

Great story Rebecca! Thanks for sharing.