30th birthday surprise

So in order to make my man’s 30th birthday extra-special, I arranged to have his bestest friend, Ryan Larsen, and his wife, Rachel, fly in from Minneapolis to surprise him. And after months and months of sneaking and planning, we were able to see the shock and awe in Chris’s face last Thursday when Larsen greeted him with a beer after he got home from work. And the fact that I was able to keep the entire set-up a surprise deserves a little credit, because not only do I have the worst poker face in the entire world, but keeping a secret from my husband requires more will-power than turning down ice cream. So, Cheers to everyone!

And while Chris was working on Friday, I took the opportunity to show them around town. Rachel had never been to Asheville, and Ryan hadn’t been here since our wedding, so I decided to treat them to some authentic Carolina barbeque. Nothing like a good serving of ribs and pulled pork to soak up the previous night’s fun. And, surprise-surprise, Taylor very much enjoyed her macaroni and cheese.

Saturday was the big birthday, not to mention Chris’s very first working-man’s weekend, so we took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and had a picnic overlooking the great Smokie Mountains.

That night Taylor stayed home with the babysitter, and the adults went to the Grove Park Inn for a few drinks and some spectacular views.

We then had a deliciously spicy meal at Limones, followed by more debauchery downtown at Scully’s, where Chele and Paige surprised the birthday boy with cake and balloons. And a few shots of Wild Turkey.

And after a foggy Sunday brunch, we were sad to have to say goodbye to our friends and send them back up north. We had a great weekend celebrating, which is obvious from our overflowing recycling bins, and Rachel and I are only waiting until the end of the week before we start planning our next adventure.