Fabulous Forty!!!

It happened. I turned forty...whether I like it or not. And actually, I do quite like it very much. Just like I liked thirty. I've been told fifty is not as fun...but I'm not banking on that. I feel like people should take me seriously. I'm forty, after all...I've been around a long time and know what I'm talking about. I'm seasoned, as we "leadership" spouses were referred to at our last Family Readiness Group meeting. I prefer spicy (more specifically "spicy lady", as I was dubbed back in 2005 by a waiter in a Mongolian restaurant...but I digress).

Anyway, my husband said he and the kids were taking me out to dinner for my birthday. Which was fine. Although, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking that turning forty was a whole lot bigger deal than going out to dinner would be. Just sayin'. He also said he got me a big gift (even went so far as to tell me not to check the credit card statement). I'm not a real "big gift" kind of person...but I still took this as some consolation.

I should also add, that I was certain Cliff didn't have anything up his sleeve. Why? Because he's just not that good at surprises. He always either (1) Gets tired of waiting for me to have/find out about whatever it is (Seriously...can't tell you how many "early" presents I've gotten because he can't wait!) or (B) Slips up somehow and gives it away.

So, I decided to be a good sport about whatever "lame" dinner plans the family had and pretend it was a really big deal. I was really patting my martyred-self on the back for this.

First, we had to stop by Cliff's office because he forgot his ID card. When he came out of the building and got back in the van, he said, "OK, guys...time for Mom to put on the blindfold." I said, "Are you serious?" The kids were enthusiastically trying to come up with something to cover my eyes. At first, they put a green, commissary shopping bag on my head. Playing the role of the martyr good sport that I was, I offered to wear my own floral shopping bag:

I was just playing along for the sake of the kids. They were very enthusiastic about this now. Traffic was really bad, I lost my sense of direction after the first turn, and dosed off a couple of times. We spent so long sitting in traffic, I wasn't even sure how far we had gone. I thought we were probably going to Sam's or Jack's. I'm usually the one who finds new places, so what were the chances of Cliff having found someplace new that I didn't already know about?



Here they are taking me out of the van...unbeknownst to me, we are back in our neighborhood...headed to the Officers' Club. I'm SO glad Cliff had Troy take pictures!



At this point, I'm believing we are headed to a Japanese restaurant, thinking, "I'm going to give these Japanese people a real treat...crazy American lady and her wacky kids." I should add, that at this point, they are giving me instructions like, "duck down...stay down...OK, get up"..."step to the left...one more step" and the whole time I was just walking through the parking lot. How mean are they?

Then the floor changed from concrete to carpet...and I still didn't hear any normal, restaurant-patron voices. Now I started to get a little panicky and wanted to take the bag off...but I trusted them. (Again...Cliff is not capable of this kind of surprise, remember?)


All at once, the bag was ripped off and the crowd yelled, "SURPRISE!!!"



I was in total, complete shock...



Then, as I looked around the room at the mix of people singing "Happy Birthday", I sort of lost it.



I'd notice someone...then someone else, and think, "How'd he know to invite them?!"



There were so many beautiful details. Purple balloons and flowers (February is Amethyst, you know). And there was even a prepared slideshow on display...on OUR iMAc, which had been smuggled out of our house by an accomplice after we left.



I LOVE this cake...and cliff picked it out and had Joanne pick it up. Isn't it darling?



Carrie-Oki! Love it!

(Just in case you don't get it...I LOVE Karaoke...and I live on OKInawa. Carrie-Oki.)



Troy and Patrick are missing because they went to join friends at Mongolian BBQ next door. I guess they had to have their priorities!



The guest list was mostly friends from work...but I was SO happy Cliff thought to invite the Joneses!



And this sneaky, spicy lady...she was Cliff's partner in crime helping him to pull off all of this craziness!



And he invited Amie, too!



This was the part where I gave a speech...



And tried not to cry again.



I have the most awesome friends!



Don't they look like a hoot?



I love the balloons...and the Asian buffet was all the stuff I love. I wish I would have thought to get pictures of it.



Doesn't he look rather smug? I think so. He's my smug man and I love him.



Then...the karaoke began! (On MY system, which was borrowed from me on false-pretenses, I might add. I was SO relieved to know that a bunch of Fifth-graders did NOT really have their hands all over my beloved karaoke machine.)

To kick things off, I dedicated "At Last" to my sweetie (and either it was the crying, or the fact that I hadn't warmed up my voice...but it wasn't spectacular). Then Jake got things riled up with Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."



Complete with air guitar.



Where does this kid get this stuff? Guitar Hero...that's where.



I know there's a lot of these pictures...



But they are just so cute, I couldn't resist.



Here's a clip of the performance. He was disappointed I didn't tape his "School's Out" by Alice Cooper.



I don't know what I'm jamming to here. I do remember Cliff and I sang Elvis' "Love Me Tender" and it sounded pretty nice, I think.



I gave the Colonel my best pouty lip...and he and his wife did "Goodbye Earl" for our entertainment. I felt SO honored!



Kelly, do you remember what we sang together? I already forgot.



This one was "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash.



And this one was "My Best Friend's Girlfriend" by The Cars.



Amanda and her hubby could SING!



And, of course, the Joneses are ALWAYS good for lots of old favorites. We love us some Joneses!



Summer Lovin' here. I have video, but I'm saving it for my own personal collection. ;^)



And Patrick and Josh were good for LOTS of entertainment...






This one ^, was the highlight of my night!



The next day, I was SO happy to wake up in my room with my pretty balloons still floating on the ceiling. I was floating right along with them.


And I also had these beautiful flowers to remind me of such a special night:







One of the most fun parts, was going through all the stories of the lies that were told to cover this up. ("Remember when I told you my husband needed Cliff's email address?" "Remember when I was taking so long that day?") Molly even went so far as to invite a couple of friends to lunch to celebrate my birthday earlier that day, so that I wouldn't be suspicious. It was a twisted, deceptive, tangled web.

And I LOVED every minute of it! Except now that I know my husband is capable of pulling off such a deception...I'm wondering if I should be worried?