Brad's Surprise Birthday Bash at the Ballpark!

Today is Brad's birthday and it is the big 4-0. So, I knew we had to do something special!! Therefore the planning began some time ago and I had lots of help! For weeks, all Brad had been told was that we had plans last night and that I would be at his office at 4PM to pick him up. I had also told him that he should eat a light lunch and wear his tennis shoes... but that was it!

So, I left work at 2:30 yesterday and rushed home. I gathered up some shorts for Brad to change into and some other birthday details... like his parents!! They drove in from Boerne and met me at the house. Together we headed over to Brad's office. I hadn't been there to meet everyone yet and his parents hadn't yet seen where he worked, so it worked out perfectly. Now remember, Brad only knew that I was coming so he gave me a really funny look when I walked in with his parents!

After walking around his office and meeting everyone, we kidnapped Brad for the rest of the day and headed to dinner. We went to an Austin tradition... Salt Lick BBQ. A few years ago, they opened their second location in Round Rock, next to the Dell Diamond baseball field. The food is just as good without the drive out to Driftwood. However, it is still a bit out of the way so as soon as I headed down Hwy 79, Brad knew where we were eating! And now he knew why I told him to eat a light lunch because at Salt Lick, there is only one way to really enjoy their BBQ... all you can eat Family Style!

Just as we turned in to Salt Lick, Brad's Dad played into the mystery of the day by asking about the Dell Diamond. So, I explained that it was the home of the Triple A Affiliate to the Texas Rangers ("Farm Team"), the Round Rock Express. He even asked if they were playing that night and I pretended to not be able to read the sign and said I didn't know! Sneaky...

This was Larry & Dorothy's first time there so we enjoyed introducing them to the yumminess. We chatted and enjoyed dinner. 

As we wrapped up dinner, I explained to Brad that for the next part of his birthday, he would need to change into shorts (which I brought him). Then I told him he would also have to change his shirt. I handed him a RR Express t-shirt I had bought him and he said, "We are going to the game, aren't we?" YAY! It was also then that he saw this his t-shirt wasn't the average Express shirt. My friend Sally had helped me customize it... she printed the back like a jersey and it said "Becker 40".

We walked into the stadium and I guided us to where I knew the next surprise was waiting. Brad thought it was just us four going to the game but little did he know we had friends waiting! Laura and Mary had gotten their early to reserved a good spot in the lawn section. they had "Look Who is 40" signs and blankets all laid out and ready. We were greeted by "Surprise!!!!"

Our early birds that claimed our spot!

We settled into our seats to enjoy the game and visit with everyone. Throughout the evening other friends arrived, extending the surprises for the birthday boy! 

Brad visiting with Greg. Kristen and Hunter watching the game.

Mary watched the game for a while. However, after the players stopped flirting back, she decided to read. :o)

It was a very mild night for the middle of the summer!

Brad and soon-to-be-parents, Crystal and Robert!

Brad and Lili

But we weren't done with surprises yet... During the middle of the 3rd Inning, they announced all the birthdays in the house and I got Brad's name on the list! It was a fun moment. 

(Email link for video.)

Watch the scoreboard and then you can hear us cheer for Brad!

Shortly after that, our friend Sara showed up with the final surprise... a beautiful cake! She really did a great job and I can't thank her enough!!! Not only was it so well done and creative but it was yummy!!! Of course, Brad and I happen to have the same favorite cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting), so I was just pleased as he was!

Sara & Brad

Awesome cake by Sara!

 We sang happy birthday, continued to enjoy every one's company and the game. 

Singing "Happy Birthday".

Doing the "Chicken Dance".

These girls crack me up!

Take One.

Take Two.

Take three... finally!

Sadly, the Express lost but the night was still a birthday success!! Thank you everyone that came, kept the secret and made the night memorable for Brad. Thank you to Laura, Mary and Sara for your help and to Sally for screen printing Brad's shirt. Finally, thank you to Larry & Dorothy for making the drive in for the night. 

Group photo!! Unfortunately some folks had already left!

One of the fun but smaller details were the tickets! I had bought a block of group tickets for everyone. I didn't even notice when I picked them up that they had customized them for us! 

See it on the right-hand side? 

Also, the plates and napkins were fun. I broke all sorts of baseball rules by bringing Dodgers napkins into the house of a Rangers team. Oh well! Blame Brad... he is a Dodgers fan!!

Finishing touches...

You may remember that before the wedding, we spent our weekends doing projects around Brad's house. Well, now that life has calmed down a bit, it was time to use some of the Home Depot gift cards we got for wedding gifts!

We had already spent a lot of time upgrading the guest bathroom, however, there was one key element we hadn't been able to do yet... the floors! So, this past Saturday we did just that!

The before...

Basic linoleum.

The new tile...

Pretty new "Beige Slate".

The after...

So if you go WAY back to my March blog, you can see the full transformation and I LOVE IT!

It is a good thing we did this Saturday... Sunday I managed to get a fun stomach bug that landed on the couch for two days!

The next projects in line... painting the guest room and master bedroom. Then flooring in the master bath and then... well, let's just say, the list is long! 

Thank you...

So many people contributed to our honeymoon that I wanted to make sure they were each recognized. Because of them, we have all of these new magnets on our fridge!!!

My in-laws, Larry and Dorothy who took care of our "kids" (dogs) Cheyenne and Samson. They loved running in the country and being spoiled while we were gone. They were exhausted and happy when you brought them home!

James C. who house-sat for us and took care of the smaller kids (cats) Zoe & Gypsy. It was such a huge help to us to know that the house and the cats were well taken care of!

Mike and Stephanie McD. who not only gave us a "reserved" parking spot at their house outside of Houston but Mike drove an hour each way to take us to the airport. As if that wasn't enough, they dropped off our car the day we arrived and sent us text messages with the parking space number!

My boss Sonnie, who approved my abnormally long time off from work. I hit her up THE WEEK she started with the company and she never batted an eyelash and helped me make it happen! 

My team at work that covered for me while I was gone. My job duties had changed some right before leaving for my trip... Denise & Joyce took care of those things wonderfully! The rest of the team covered the rest of my work and backed-up Joyce and Denise. It was a lot to ask my already over-worked teammates... the Swiss chocolates I brought them doesn't even come close to thanking them enough!

And then there were the folks that contributed directly through our Honeymoon Registry...

Dan B. - A Day in Venice and A Day in Paris

John & Sylvia A. - Lake Lucerne, Switzerland and Exploring Germany

Lisa L. & Jim - Breakfast in Bed (Enjoyed the weekend of the wedding.)

Mary H. - Tour of Ancient Rome

Blake & Joyce B.- Trip Contribution (Used towards souvenirs... Italian purses and French perfume!)

Matt & Becky L. - Rhine River Cruise

Sally H. - Tour Of London & The London Eye

Juanita B - Cable Car Ride in Switzerland & Rhine River Cruise

Ricky & Nicole G. - French Riviera Tour

Laura H. - Day in Amsterdam

Sonnie C. - Historical Italy

Thep & Stephanie T. - Gondola Ride & Italian Dinner

Kelly R. - Extra Night in London

Mike & Stephanie McD - Day Trip to Florence

Howard & Denise J. - Eiffel Tower

Rachel S. - Tour of Ancient Rome

Elaine F. - Day in Amsterdam

Thank you to EVERYONE that contributed in their own way... we couldn't have done this trip without you!

Day 18... The Long Journey Home...

Although the tour was officially over at this point, and most people would fly home from Paris, there had also been a option the next morning to ride with Franco and Bogi back to the port in Calais,France. From there you could take the ferry across the Channel and make your way to the airport or spend an extra day in London. We had chosen to get back to London our own way. We figured that since we were in Europe, we wanted to take the high speed train called the EuroStar. It would make it a hectic day of travel for us but we figured it might be a once in a lifetime chance.

We had such a full day the day before seeing Paris and enjoying dinner that our wake up call had come very early. We gathered up our things, checked out of our room and had breakfast in the hotel as we waited for our car service to pick us up. Unexpectedly we got to see some of our tour folks one last time as they were all beginning to make their way home. Then our car picked us up and took us to the Gare du Nord train station. We checked in at the station and found our seats on the train. 

A few interesting facts about the trip...

The train travels from Paris to London in just 2 hours and 15 minutes, using the English Channel.

The English Channel or "Chunnel" consists of 3 interconnecting tubes: a rail track for travel in each direction and one service tunnel. The length of the tunnel is 31 miles long, but only 23 miles are underwater. The average depth is 150 feet under the seabed. 

The train travels at 186 miles per hour. 

Wow... do we look tired, or what!?!

There is no doubt it was a "high speed" train... that thing moved. We saw a lot of the French countryside very quickly!  

(Here is the link to this video.)

After a snack and snooze on the train, we had arrived in London at the St. Pancras station.

They are getting ready for the 2012 Olympics happening in London!

 We made our way outside and met our car service that would take us to the airport. We checked-in had some lunch in the airport and then boarded our plane. The flight back would be 10 hours instead of the 8 it took us to get to London because of the head wind. We hadn't been as lucky with our seats for this flight and then in-flight movie selection wasn't as good... so it was a LOOOONG flight. 

 

We were delayed a little getting into Houston so it was Sunday evening by the time we arrived. We got to our car and made our way out of the airport and we were STARVING!!! So, we did what any good Texan missing home would do... we found a Texas Roadhouse. We both ordered steak and I got the coldest Dr. Pepper they could give me. It was good to be home.

The drive home from Houston to Georgetown that night was the longest drive of my entire life. We both struggled to stay awake and fell into bed when we finally got home. 

It was an amazing and unique trip. We have so many memories and saw some of the most fascinating and beautiful things this world has to offer. But as Dorothy said... "There is no place like home."

Day 17 - Part 2... A Parisian Farewell

After hanging our head low for a bit as our fellow passengers got on the bus, not so happy about the wait they had endured in the hot sun, the group drove to a section of Paris called Montmartre. This is a very eclectic area of France. Historically it attracted artists like Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, Renior and Degas. It used to be outside of the Paris city limits and free from taxes... and the local nuns made wine. So, what happens when you combine singers, artists and wine?? ... It became home to the famous cabarets like Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir. 

The central landmark in Montmartre is a very high hill. On top of the hill is the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. We all waited in line to go a small cable car and see the views from the Basilica. 

Then we went back down the hill and went souvenir shopping for a while. 

Then we headed to the restaurant for our farewell dinner. We went to a traditional French restaurant and had a room all to ourselves. It was a very festive night and we all enjoyed hanging out one last time before we scattered all over the world the next day. 

 Our dinner that night would include choices that were very traditional French cuisine. I was feeling adventurous and ordered Frog Legs as my appetizer. Brad stayed safe and went with the French Onion soup. The Frog Legs weren't what I expected and ended up getting REALLY grossed out by them. Call me  Southern girl, but I thought they would be fried... and I can eat just about anything if it is fried. These were not... which meant I could see their little frog bodies and I all I could think of was Kermit. I tried really hard to eat them but couldn't get past the first bite and their appearance. 

I eventually put a my garnish over them, feeling the need to give them some proper respect and burial.

RIP Kermit... I know it wasn't easy being green.

Sitting across from me, our friend Phyllis had ordered another traditional dish...Escargot. It took some coaxing but I agreed to squeamishly try one. 

Although I admit the flavor wasn't very bad and the consistency reminded me of mussels, I couldn't get past knowing they were SNAILS!!! So, I can say I tried both Frog Legs and Escargot and happily say that I will never eat them again!

With wine flowing freely and celebration in the air, our dinner turned into quite the party. There was lots of laughter and reliving adventures from our trip. This group of people would never be together again and we would be going home to six different countries. After we eat, we were entertained by some musicians that kicked the party up into high gear. People danced and sang and really enjoyed the evening. 

When we were done, we walked back to the bus that would take us to our hotel. At the hotel, we stood outside and said our goodbyes... there were lots of hugs and "keep in touch" comments. We were saddened to say good bye to some of the folks because we really enjoyed traveling with them. As things wound down, Brad and I finally got a picture with Franco and Bogi. 

Bogi had been a fantastic tour guide. She was knowledgeable and upbeat and just a lot of fun. Franco had started out as this mysterious, almost intimidating Italian man. We would make up all sorts of stories about what he would say and think. By the end of trip, we had seen him smile many times and even made him laugh. Even with his limited knowledge of English, we had still managed to connect quite well with him. Only Franco could carry off a pink Polo shirt with the collar up...

We headed to our hotel room to begin packing up and preparing for an early morning. Our trip wasn't entirely over... we still had some adventures ahead to get us home!