Sunday, September 28, 2008

Your Parties: Marta Tyler, Surprise Birthday Dinner

Happy 30th Birthday Chris!!!! We had a really great semi-surprise birthday party at our house to celebrate the event. Chris has worked so hard this year, I was really excited to do something fun, and wanted to make this a special day.

It all started out with the invitatons. I filled large prescription bottle filled with Mike and Ike’s to look like capsules, and attached the invitation to the bottle. I thought it turned out really cute, and it was fun to put in the mail to those who live out of town.

Then came the day of the party. I started preparing the house at 7:30 in the morning, after Chris had left for work. I worked like a madwoman all morning, making sure everything was perfect. I even had a welcome table for everyone to sign in at as they came in. It has been included in the book of Birthday letters for Chris. I made personalized candy bars for everyone to take home, and these were also placed on the table with old childhood photos.

We had a total of 18 of Chris’s friends present. It was so much fun for all of us to get together, and we even had the pleasure of having our best friends Chris and Shawn Syphus from Phoenix. We were also blessed to have our good friends Chad and Ulma Booth drive from St. George to celebrate with us. We are so grateful for the sacrifices that people made so that they could join us this evening. It could not have been an easy task, but it makes us appreciate them all the more. Thanks you guys for helping make this such a special evening for Chris!!

For dinner I served a yummy mexican appetizer salad, and for the main course I served Chicken Tamales, Black beans, and Spanish rice. DELISH!! I think my mouth is still burning…..but in a good way!!!

After Dinner we played “Battle of the Sexes”. That was actually a ton of fun considering how little thought I put into it. I kind of made it up as I went along. We had some good laughs though, but unfortunately the boys ended up winning. I gave the winning team an antibacterial hand sanitizer with a tag that says “Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness”. We all got a kick out of that….. totally a Chris obsession.

After the game we gathered around to cut into the Homemade German, and Carrot cake, (By the way…..YUMM!!!!) but before I gave Chris one of his gifts. I had contacted 30 important people in Chris’s life to write him a Birthday letter. They could write about a funny experience they had together, or tell him a character trait they admire about him, or simply just wish him a happy birthday! The book turned out AMAZING, and right before we cut the cake, I read the letter I had written to him. Of course, I got teary….I hate that!!…..but Chris really loved it, and literally spent the rest of the night pouring over the letters he received. I think it turned out to be a really special gift, and he’ll treasure those kind words always.

(Ummm….sorry about the photo….this is right after I cried reading him his letter….nice)


Big thanks to everyone who helping me plan and execute this big event!! It was tons of work, but it was worth every minute. Chris was COMPLETELY blown away!! He was overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness, and well wishes!! He had a smile on his face the entire night….and that to me was worth every moment of stress and work that I put into it. Chris has been such a blessing in my life, and I’m so grateful for his love and understanding in our marriage.





No comments: