Surprise!

Last Thursday was Missi's birthday. This, however, wasn't optimal timing for me as I had my last (and most difficult) final exam on Friday. So, I told Missi that I really wanted to have a "family birthday dinner" on Wednesday night, since I would have to be studying on Thursday night. I told her that I'd cook her whatever she wanted, and she picked out crab, grilled vegetables, salad, and peanut butter pie.

What she didn't know, however, was that I had quietly called several of her best friends here in Eugene and invited them over to dinner also. It wasn't going to be an "everyone-hide-behind-the-couch-and-yell-surprise" kind of surprise, just more of a "hey-we-were-in-the-neighborhood-and-thought-we'd-stop-by" kind of surprise. The most difficult part of the event was concealing the quantities. There is a huge difference between the amount of crab needed for 4 people and the amount needed for 17. I tried to keep the extras hidden until the last minute, and then I just played it up to "I'm just cooking extras so we can have leftovers."

Missi's friend Robyn was the first to arrive, and Missi said, "Hey, what are you doing here? Do you want to stay for dinner? We have TONS of food." To which Robyn replied, "Actually, I am here for dinner. YOUR dinner!" A few minutes after that our friends Ben and Lisa walked in, and then Missi knew what was going on. I think she liked it since she got a little teary-eyed. A good time was had by all.

Lisa, Missi, and Robyn

The group celebrates Missi's birthday

Mmmmm...Peanut Butter Pie (photo by Drew)

Missi tries to barge in on Ben and Lisa's photo

I think she was surprised

The aftermath