WHAT a weekend!!!!

Those of you who are friends of Ken's know that yesterday - 10/14 - was his birthday. It was a big milestone for him. so it was a big day! :)

To start with, our Sunday school class threw a breakfast pitch-in to celebrate - we had quiche, sausage casserole, venison sausage, chocolate chip cookie bars, biscuits, apple slices with pumpkin dip, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, and I made homemade cinnamon rolls. They were yummy - I used to make them a lot, but we're trying to be more careful with carbs around here. :D They were a great treat...!

Then, Lee (Ken's best friend since kindergarten) and Corrine (Lee's wife, who are celebrating their third anniversary today) flew in to surprise him - I led them in during the welcome time, and his face was PRICELESS!!! :D

For lunch, we went to El OK Corral, not far from our house. I tried, DESPERATELY, to discourage this - we'd been for lunch the two days before, and his surprise party was going to be tacos - but that's where we ended up going. :D They sang "Feliz Cumpleanos" to him. (For you gringos y gringas out there, that's Happy Birthday in Spanish! :D) We had a great time, and he was starting to come out of the shock.

We went home, and Lee & Corrine went to take a nap - they'd been up over 24 hours except for small naps they could catch on the plane - and I headed off for a baby shower stop. I wasn't gone long, but had a chance to finalize everything with Angela. She and Cris P. had planned all the decorations, etc, because I just couldn't get away to do anything! THEY ARE AWESOME - thanks SO much, girls!!!!! Anyway. I came home, and we rested and talked for a bit.

Mom & Dad took off "to drop off food for the church" at 5, and we were "going to meet them at a place that was supposed to be a big surprise" for Ken. :D At 6, I took him out to the car and made him wear a blindfold - NOT a fun thing, but he still had no clue about a party. ROFL! I told him Dad wanted it to be a big surprise!! :D Lee and Corrine had changed into their costumes, and we took off and drove around for about 15 minutes - the church is 4 minutes from our house. :D I dropped Lee & Corrine off so she could get photos, and told Ken I was taking him to park. I drove onto the grass, and parked the car. I made him stand up out of the car and turn to face everyone before I took off the blindfold. He was AGAIN shocked!!!!!!!!!!! :D

This is Lee and Corrine in their hippy costumes; it was a HIPPY BIRTHDAY party. :D SUCH fun to surprise him!!!! We had just about 30 people there, including Greg McDougal and his family.

While Ken was cutting the cake, Greg went to get his guitar - and borrowed Lee's wig. Here's what HE looked like!!!

I honestly think it needs to be his next album cover....:D

Towards the end of the party, we had Ken open his "gifts". Unknown to him, we'd asked everyone to bring salt shakers as a gag gift - Ken LOVES salt, and basically owns the shakers around here. :D But we couldn't just let him open them. Oh, no! We had to serenade him with

MARGARITAVILLE! :D

It was a wonderful party. He received phone calls from his brother in the afternoon, his daughter during the party, and several friends throughout yesterday and today. I think he was absolutely flabbergasted by the surprises throughout the day - and we had a lovely day today with Lee & Corrine. They will be flying home tomorrow, but it was a great day - and we celebrated their anniversary all day, too!

I do have ONE last photo to share. This is his cake; I had the Hermitage Bakery do it, and I was THRILLED!!! They did a great job! :)