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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / family / {a pair of sweet surprises}

{a pair of sweet surprises}

July 7, 2010 · 31 Comments
Filed Under: family

Friday morning I woke up and thought I was going to sew and work on Gussy until mid-afternoon. But Zack had the day off for the holiday weekend and soon enough swept me away to Red Lobster for a late lunch.

I tried so hard to not leave my sewing machine early… I had made a lovely to-do list and since the holiday weekend/my birthday was almost here I knew once I stopped working it would be a few days before I would start at it again. I wanted to work so badly, but Zack had other plans.

We sat down and ordered drinks and stuffed mushrooms {yummm!}, but Zack wouldn’t order anything else.

Hellooooo, please pick something to order, I kept saying…

Then my mom sat down next to me and a half second later I was looking at my dad’s brown eyes.

LET ME JUST MENTION THEY LIVE IN MICHIGAN AND WERE SUDDENLY WITH US IN MINNESOTA!

Surprise!!! Happy birthday, Maggie!, they said to me :]

From then on we spent the rest of the weekend with my parents. And it was so amazing! My dad had never been to our apartment in Minneapolis. We moved here from Michigan so quickly that he wasn’t able to continue on with us after helping to pack up our house. This was a special treat for me — yeow!

***

Our weekend was full of adventures as we:

* ate lots of ice-cream {at least 1 serving per day, per person}
* rented bikes and rode around Lake Calhoun
* went swimming
* ate a hot dog lunch in the park
* saw Grown Ups {hilarious, by the way}
* shopped the Mall of America
* ate out for nearly every lunch & dinner
* enjoyed coffee and bakery treats and homemade bread in the morning {thanks, mom!}
* stayed up late which resulted in…
* sleeping in and giving each other sleepy morning hugs
* played cards
* had lots of good chats + laughs
* shared inside jokes + stories
* had an impromptu stop at a “Cowboy” bar
* rode on a train
* dodged the rain
* listened to a local Tigers game play
* visited Zack’s work {and the building next door where I used to work}

They took off for Michigan Monday morning and of course I went back to bed so I could dream of our super amazing, incredibly-surprised-to-see-them weekend of fun!

I’ll share what Zack and I did on my birthday later today :]

***


♥ enter my birthday giveaway here — I’ll be closing the comments in a bit!

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31 Comments
Filed Under: family

« {Gus’s birthday giveaway}
{birthday goodies} »

Comments

  1. Southern Gal says

    July 7, 2010 at 6:26 am

    What a fantabulous surprise!

    Reply
  2. Jill says

    July 7, 2010 at 6:36 am

    Way to go Zack! Very nice!

    Reply
  3. Michelle says

    July 7, 2010 at 6:54 am

    What a lovely birthday surprise!! :)

    Reply
  4. Renee CandyStickLane says

    July 7, 2010 at 7:25 am

    How special! Im so very happy for you! GREAT to see your parents! XO

    Reply
  5. Meg says

    July 7, 2010 at 7:29 am

    What a great Birthday surprise Maggie, i am so happy that you had such a wonderful day! Red Lobster…yummy!
    xoxo~Meg

    Reply
    • Gussy says

      July 7, 2010 at 8:52 am

      thanks Meg!!! :]

      Reply
  6. Stacey says

    July 7, 2010 at 7:37 am

    what a nice surprise… sounds like an amazing weekend to me!

    Reply
  7. Ann says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:02 am

    How sweet! Aren’t parents (and great hubbys) the best?!?

    Reply
  8. hiyaluv says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:13 am

    gussy! what a fantastic and fun weekend!
    smiles,
    gina

    Reply
  9. amy @ twirl bird's blog says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:17 am

    Such a happy surprise! It looks like you had a wonderful weekend.

    Reply
  10. meg says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:46 am

    As someone who lives far away from her mom, I almost cried reading this post. This is the most excellent surprise I have heard of in a long time. Zack is something else. You know he was up to some super sneaky planning with your parents! What a great guy. The bike picture is too cute. It looks like you all had a great time and I’m sure your dad was so happy to see where you were living now. I just love this post and this story. Happy, happy belated birthday, Gussy. I wish you only the best in your 25th year = )

    Reply
    • Gussy says

      July 7, 2010 at 8:58 am

      ahhh, it WAS the best! :]

      thanks for the birthday wishes, Meg! can you believe we’ve known each other for over a year???!!!!

      Reply
  11. MosaicMagpie says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:49 am

    Now that’s a Happy Birthday!!
    Debbie

    Reply
  12. Naomi says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:51 am

    What a wonderful birthday surprise! My mom lives just up the street, I would have a hard time being away from her. Has it been any easier, or are you so busy making beautiful items you don’t get a chance to think about it?

    Reply
    • Gussy says

      July 7, 2010 at 9:00 am

      we’re mainly focusing on Minneapolis as a season in our lives, not trying to guess where we’ll be living next or anything like that. trying to see this as an adventure, that life is to be enjoyed so we should focus on being happy.

      it is really hard, especially for holidays because it’s just me and Zack… but it’s hard not to think of where Gussy wouldn’t be if we weren’t out here… and I think our family knows/supports that.

      Reply
  13. Jessica Erickson says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:56 am

    so fun! my mom comes in town this afternoon for a few days and i can’t wait!

    Reply
    • Gussy says

      July 7, 2010 at 9:00 am

      have fun!!!!!! :]

      Reply
  14. Cristy says

    July 7, 2010 at 9:14 am

    You’ve got a keeper there! He should write a book…

    Reply
  15. thursday says

    July 7, 2010 at 9:27 am

    That sounds like a wonderful way to spend your birthday weekend. Keep the good times coming!

    Reply
  16. Pamela says

    July 7, 2010 at 9:52 am

    Good life. I think that weekend, that surprise, are the definition of living the “Good Life”.

    Reply
  17. mandiesmithsegura says

    July 7, 2010 at 9:53 am

    Yay! That’s so awesome, Gus! I got to spend the weekend with my parents from Michigan, too, but I’ve known they were coming for a long time! it was their first visit- & I’ve been here for just over 4 years! how fun! i love surprises!

    Reply
  18. Annie says

    July 7, 2010 at 9:54 am

    What a fun birthday surprise! Aren’t parents (and sweet husbands?) the greatest?

    Reply
  19. Megan Lane says

    July 7, 2010 at 10:16 am

    that sounds like an amazing weekend maggie!!! so happy for you that you got to spend lots of qt with your parents… i’m sure you had been longing for that!

    Reply
  20. Sarah says

    July 7, 2010 at 11:44 am

    I’m so happy for your birthday surprise…a VERY good reason for taking a break from all things business!

    Reply
  21. Emily says

    July 7, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    Oh what a wonderful surprise!! I love that you’re close to your family and love them so much. I am the same way :) Glad to hear of such a fantastic weekend!

    Reply
  22. jodi @ back40life says

    July 7, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    love it – how fun! surprises are the best!

    Reply
  23. melanie says

    July 7, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    What a great husband! and a great way to spend the weekend…

    Reply
  24. becca says

    July 7, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    aw, so you really had no clue that your parents were coming? how awesome is that! glad that it was a wonderful weekend and that you had a beautiful birthday.

    Reply
  25. Mama Gus says

    July 7, 2010 at 11:24 pm

    I think for the first time in our lives I actually SAW Gussy “speechless”…. She looked like she was going into SHOCK when she looked at me; I could see her mind “whirling and twirling” with thoughts of “is this a dream? or am I having a stoke???” PRICELESS!

    Zack……you are THE BEST! Thank you so much for keeping a secret and planning our arrival at Red Lobster (yummy)!

    Hugs,

    Mama Gus

    Reply
  26. Mindy says

    July 10, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    How AWESOME!! That is one great birthday surprise!

    Reply
  27. mom whitley says

    July 10, 2010 at 10:22 pm

    Looks like an awesome weekend, pretty nice birthday!

    Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in northern Michigan. She has been writing online since 2008.
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