I have been planning Kevin's surprise for his B.I.G. 30th Birthday since last July, ever since we went to the Grand Canyon with my parents. We happened to see the helicopters taking off on tours and thought "now that would be the way to see the Grand Canyon...without kids, of course"!!! And so the plans were set in motion! It was sooooo hard keeping it all a secret, but I did it!!
So I booked Kevin off of work on last Friday, I had called his front desk lady WAY back in December, I think. And I just kept waiting for the day that he would ask me why he wasn't scheduled to work that day. But that day never came...and the closer it got to this last weekend, the more nervous I got that he knew what I had planned!! I even arranged to have his parents come stay for the weekend and planned for them to show up Thursday afternoon, then Kevin would get home from work and I'd have his bags packed and we'd head out the door.
Well, Kevin got off work a little early on Thursday and so he got home about 10 minutes before his parents were set to arrive. I hadn't told the girls anything until Thursday after Kevin had gone to work because I knew they would spoil the surprise if they knew in advance. So when he walked in the door, they were so excited that mommy and daddy were going somewhere and I told him to go upstairs and make sure what I'd packed would do for two days. Then Alexa yelled, "yeah, you're going to Flagstaff". He said once he heard that, that he hoped it meant the helicopter tour but he still didn't know for sure!
Once we were on the road, I told him all the details and he was completely surprised. He said he'd known since about February that he was booked off from work and figured it had something to do with his birthday, so it was best not to ask questions!
We got to Flagstaff late Thursday night, so our first thing on the agenda on Friday was to have lunch at Salsa Brava, a Mexican joint featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. These were our meals and they did NOT disappoint!
Then we headed to the Grand Canyon. We got there right at the same time as a HUGE tour group from France. Thankfully though, we ended up with only one other couple on our helicopter so we weren't cramped and it was perfect! Here we are waiting for our tour to start! Soooo excited!
Our fellow tour companions took our picture....almost on our way!!
ON the helicopter now!!
And I'm rockin' that headset!! :-)
Coming over the edge of the Grand Canyon! This is most definitely THE way to see the Grand Canyon! The views were breathtaking!!
Our friendly tour companions took another picture of us during the tour.
More breathtaking views!
I just had to take a picture of the guy on our tour....we were matchy-matchy that day. He was wearing a hot pink top and capris!! It's like it was meant to be that we were on the same tour!! :-)
Man, I was sad when the tour was over but it was soooo completely worth it!
That night, after getting back to Flagstaff, we headed to Oregano's for dinner. And we couldn't pass up the free dessert for Kevin's birthday! Yum!!
Then we headed back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub! It was the perfect night for it...still kind of chilly up in the mountains but the sky was clear so the stars were beautiful and it was so relaxing just the two of us!
What a wonderful little getaway we had! I'm so glad I was able to surprise Kevin. I'm so grateful for all he does for our little family and I wanted to spoil him on his 30th!!
Yesterday, on his actual birthday, we had cake and ice cream with the kiddos!
Happy Birthday Babe! I hope it was the best yet! Sure love you tons and tons!
