Party (Like It's Nineteen Sixty Nine)

My darling husband turned forty in February. I had known for several months that I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, but naturally, I procrastinated until a panic-inducing two weeks before the big date. Then it was crunch time. Oh, crud! What to do...and where to do it?

I finally opted for a 80,000 sq. ft. family friendly entertainment center called Power Play. It seemed they had something for everyone - an arcade, bowling alley, mini golf, go-karts, a full bar, and a game called Whirly Ball - a 10-player team sport involving bumper cars, a whiffle ball, and a scoop. This was it! My friend Michelle and I staked out the place one day during our lunch break. We were impressed and I booked it on the spot. Party invitations were sent out and the surprise preparations began.

The Set Up

Now the problem was...how could I lure Stacy to Power Play without him suspecting that something was up? Normally, he wouldn't go near a place like this with a ten-foot pole. It was too reminiscent of Chuck E. Cheese, which he loathes. Hmm, this would take some imagination and/or bald-faced lying. I decided to get my daycare provider Lisa involved. We cooked up a story where it appeared that Lisa's daughter was inviting Allison to a party at Power Play. We plotted that, on the day of celebration, I would suddenly be called into work for an "emergency," forcing Stacy to bring Allie to the party. Lisa and her daughter even went so far as to create a special hand-made invitation - it was convincing. And brilliant.

Devious Doesn't Begin to Describe It

For two weeks, I downplayed the importance of the"big-four-oh" whenever I talked to Stacy. I'd say non-chalant things like, "Would you like to go out for a nice dinner on your birthday?" or "Maybe we could rent a movie and I'll cook." He didn't say much, but I could tell he was disappointed that I wasn't making a bigger deal of it.

His parents came into town the Friday night before the party, and we all went out to supper. While we were waiting for our meal, Stacy kept staring at pictures on his phone. I asked him what he was doing. He showed me a photo of his work cubicle, which had been decorated by his co-workers. "See?" he mumbled. "This is what people who barely know me do for my birthday." Deep sigh. Puppy dog eyes. His attempt to make me feel guilty was impressive. "Oh buddy," I thought. "If you only knew."

Party Time...Excellent!

The big day arrived. Everything went off without a hitch. Michelle called my cell phone and pretended to be my "work emergency." I should have won an Ocscar for my performance as I told Stacy I had to go in to the office. I think I even cussed for effect. Stacy's parents (who were in on the whole thing) said they'd be happy to go with Stacy in order to take Allison to "her" party. Awwww yeahhhh. I raced out the door and headed to Power Play.

3:30 pm. Party time. The guests were all ready. Balloons and cake were in place. My cell phone rang. It was my mother-in-law. "We're here," she whispered. I ran to the lobby and met them at the door. Stacy was surprised to see me. I told him that my work emergency only took a few minutes to fix and that I came right over afterwards. Woo hoo! He seemed to be buying it! Then I led them back to where the guests were waiting. We rounded the corner, and ... "SURRRRRPRIIIIIISE!"

At first, it didn't register with Stacy that people were shouting "Surprise!" at him. He was still under the impression that it was a party for Lisa's daughter. But...slowly...he began to recognize friends, co-workers, and relatives all around. Then he got it. And smiled.

Gophers and Games and Xbox, Oh My!

After the initial shock wore off, Stacy really enjoyed visiting with friends and family. (Some of which had traveled a long way, in bad weather, to make the day special for him.)

The kids ran off to play in the arcade, while the adults enjoyed drinks from the bar and ate a crappily decorated ice cream cake. Then it was time to open gifts.

Let me just back up a little bit here and say that Stacy has been begging for an Xbox for three years. So that's nearly 1,095 days of subtle hints like, "I sure love the features on the new Xbox." Or "Wow, that is a cool looking Xbox game. Too bad I don't have one." Or, "Do you know what would be fun to do right now? XBOX." I am not kidding.

So when he opened the big green package from his mom and dad and me...he was one happy dude:

And here he is, receiving a classic over-the-hill gag gift: The "Gopher" pick-up-and-reach tool:

Whirly Ball

Finally, it was time for the main event...Whirly Ball. We organized a team of ten players, and after a brief explanation of the rules by the referee, the game was underway. The object is to scoop up a whiffleball, pass it to a teammate and throw it at a backboard goal for points. Pretty easy, right? Oh yeah, but you're in a bumper car. And your opponents try to crash into you repeatedly.

This is Chris Wehrli. (pronounced "Whirly.") Coincidence? I think not.

Special Thanks

It was a wonderful day. And it couldn't have happened without some key players in the party planning process. You know who you are, Michelle, Cary, Marge, Daryl, Lisa, Amber, and Brittany. Thanks to everyone who showed up and celebrated with us. Thanks to Cary for opening up his house afterwards for socializing. Thanks to Blake and Crystal and family for sticking around another day and hanging with the Zogs.

Allison with her Nebraska cousins, Zach and Ashley.

And thanks again to Nillachic Photography for taking these professional photos. To see ALL of the pictures taken at the party, click here and type in the password: Stacy. You can even order your very own prints, if you'd like.

Whew. Now I can rest easy. Or, at least until birthday #50 rolls around.