SURPRISE PARTY!!!!!

It was Friday, November 12th, SURPRISE PARTY time! Two couples hadn't shown up yet, but here are many of our dear friends, waiting to surprise Will for his 40th birthday! I love Julia's excitement in this photo... so typical of my sweet and good-humored friend. Allen and Bruce are pretty happy too. Thanks to all of you... and Ted and Caroline, Kimberlee and Steve (thanks a million for getting a Friday night off, Steve), Todd and Jessica, Nathan and Heather, Kirk and Heather and Eddie and Carri. And, Mick and Eden were on their way, along with Chad and Rachel. Of course, a million thanks to Chad and Kristy, lending us their lovely home!


Here's my gorgeous friend and the best hostess, Kristy, waiting at the door for Will and me to arrive. She's just so wonderful, and I can't thank her enough for helping me arrange this party and for all her hard work!


My SPEECHLESS sweetheart stood there in disbelief. He thought we were just coming over to Chad and Kristy's for dinner, with an appetizer and bottle of wine in tow. Little did he know......


Here are some of us girls, enjoying fab food and wine!



What a beautiful table Kristy set... so elegant and classy. Our amazing friends brought delicious food and wine to share in celebration of our Birthday Boy. I knew this would be a nice party... but I never imagined how beautiful it would be. Even the music was perfect. Chad and Kristy, I can't thank you enough for such a special evening!!!



Here's a still-in-shock Will, mingling with great friends.



We played a fun game where everyone was divided into teams to answer questions about Will. I made up the questionnaire... and I think the team with Bruce on it won. But it was a very close call with Kimberlee's team! I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much our friends know about my hubby!


Here's Will with Chad, the Host with the Most!


Will and Bruce.... all the way from Portland! We were sad that Cody couldn't make it in until the next morning.


Me and Julia



Mick and Eden, all the way from San Diego!


Kimberlee and Julia


Chad and Rachel


Allen and Julia


Kirk and Heather


Todd and Jessica



There's a story about this cake. It's too long to tell... but in a nutshell, I should have baked it myself. I LOVE to bake cake... but I just did NOT have the time, nor did I know how to hide the few things I was doing for the party. I ordered an amazing cake from a good bakery... but it was not amazing, nor was it what I ordered. But it's great for a laugh... and it looks okay with 40 candles.


It takes a great pair of lungs to blow out all those candles...


Wow! Look at all that smoke!



Here's a group picture at the end of the evening, missing only 2 couples who had already left. Thank you so very much, to all of our sweet friends who came to this party and blessed my husband immensely! We are grateful beyond words for the friends God has given us... what gifts you all are. And, Chad and Kristy, we're so very thankful for the time, detail and love you put into this evening. Thank you for your beautiful home and all of your hard work. We love you both!