Catching up... Surprise Sunday

Sunday was the day I knew little about. For a couple of months, Brad had been planning a big surprise for me and had given me few details (despite my begging). The only thing he had ever told me was that we needed to be back in Dallas around noon and that he had bought me "a surprise for my surprise". He was having a great time torturing his planner of a girlfriend.

So, we got up early the next morning and headed to breakfast. A very good friend of Brad's is a Singles' Minister in Tyler. So, we met Jim, his wife and their daughter for a quick meal before they headed to church. They are great people and we had a great time even though it was short. After we said our goodbyes, we were on the road again, Dallas bound. 

About 10 minutes before we arrived at our destination, Brad told me to close my eyes... so, I kicked my seat back and closed my eyes... I had NO clue where we were. The car slowed and Brad rolled down his window and began to talk to someone- I hoped for a clue. Nothing. They were just negotiating parking arrangements. I stayed where I was and kept my eyes closed as Brad parked the car. He tells me to wait and I hear bags rustling in the back seat. Then he says, "You ready?? Open your eyes!"

I open my eyes to him holding my "surprise for the surprise", a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt. I screamed something like "GET OUT" or "NO WAY" and then shot up out of my seat. I looked all around and sure enough, I saw the stadium in the distance. We were going to the game! I was so excited, I just about cried. I changed into my new shirt, grabbed my cap from the day before and we jumped on the shuttle bus to the stadium... I still couldn't believe it. Brad had bought tickets from a good friend that has season tickets.

Now, here is where I make a small sidebar to fill in a few details. Brad is a liar. A big liar. I still love him... but he lied for the sake of this surprise. Why do I say this? Because I am a smart cookie I actually figured this surprise out the day before. While we were on the stadium tour, I realized that the time frame Brad had mention for the surprise matched the game time. He saw the light bulb come on and asked me what I thought it was... I said, "Are we going to the game tomorrow? If we aren't, it is okay and I will still love whatever it is!!!" He lowered his head, looked disappointed, dropped his voice a few octaves and said, "No, honey. We aren't... I am sorry." Sigh...

Several people knew about the surprise, including our breakfast date, Jim. Over breakfast he even said during conversation about the tour... "Oh, Dallas has a home game today?" Lies... all lies. Oh well, it was all done in love... back to the game. 

We got off the bus and were running a bit late. We ran into the stadium just in time for the National Anthem. We found our seats (which were great) just in time for kick-off and had a blast. 

Halftime

As expected (sadly), Jacksonville beat Dallas 35-17. However, it was still SO much fun to be there. The jumbo TV was truly huge, the Cheerleaders outfits really are that tiny and Cowboys fans still love their Boys. 

After the game we had one more stop on our marathon weekend... dinner with my good friends Kathleen and Dennis. Since I didn't know about the game, I had to get Brad and Kathleen in touch to work out the details. They had never met before but they were practically best buds after making all the arrangements. 

For those of you that don't know Kathleen and Dennis, I used to work as Kathleen's Executive Assistant when she was the VP for a DFW area staffing company. Not only is she a great friend but to this day, she is one of the best supervisors I have ever had. It had been about 5 years since I had last seen them... which is WAY too long. I look forward to keep in touch with them. 

After dinner we drove back to Austin. It had been a FULL weekend of Cowboys, friends and surprises. The next week of work would be a short one... we would be leaving Thursday and driving to The Magnolia State!