Surprise Birthday Getaway

Brigham recently turned the big 3-0. And his birthday list was pitiful. So I put together what I knew he really wanted, even though he didn't even know he wanted it yet.

And it was great!

I asked Brigham on a date, but really had a fun getaway planned. I even packed Brigham's bags in secret for him so that he had no idea for the first half of the night that we were going away for the weekend.

I took Brigham out to dinner at Shuga Jazz Bistro in Renton. It's a snazzy name for a restaurant that has a bar area where jazz players come and perform live, later in the evenings, while people eat from a menu created by some famous chef who cooks southern cuisine. Although we ate too early for live jazz music, Brigham's salmon was DELICIOUS and my steak was good too. We were satisfied.

After dinner, I told Brigham the surprise part of the date was next. He was utterly confused as I took us to the edge of Lake Washington....until I had him pull the bags from the back of the car. Then he realized what the plan was and said, "This is exactly what I wanted! Just time away with you!" I knew it :)

The Woodmark Hotel is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at. I tried to take pictures to show what I mean, but they just don't do it justice. Honestly, it's not THAT fancy, but for these two poor people that usually stay at La Quinta, it was just nice. The halls were fancy, the view of Lake Washington from the lobby's huge windows was gorgeous, and the divine rain-head shower in the bathroom -nicer than our own at home - made us feel pampered.

Probably the best part of the hotel was their fun Raid the Pantry feature. Basically from 10 pm-1 am, you get to raid the pantry that is full of snacks, treats, and goodies and you get to eat whatever you want. I had beef stew at 10:30 at night! Brigham scarfed sandwiches, chips, donuts, cookies, cereal....etc. He was like a kid in a candy store. I highly recommend all hotels start offering this feature, because it was awesome.

The middle picture is the view of our hotel from the docks.

We spent the next morning exploring the lake around our hotel. Windy and overcast, it was cool as we walked the trails and docks.  We always seem to take trips during the winter when the weather is cold and wet, so we weren't able to take advantage of the free paddle boats and bicycle rental they do during the summer, but it's something to remember for the future.

We had a great time escaping life for a night. It was the perfect birthday surprise for Brigham, and not only do I love surprises, I love pulling off surprises. Success!

Happy Birthday Brigham! You may be old now, and yes I did include the creepy picture of you at the bottom of this, but I wanted a picture where you can see the both of our faces together. Because that's how it should be, spending a weekend getting older together, for better or worse. And dear, even though you moan about your age, we're still young! I'm looking forward to many more weekends away together in the future. I'm proud of you for getting your new job and all the hard work you've been putting into everything. You're a great priesthood leader, father, husband, and person. Keep up the good work! Love you, happy birthday.

Love, Kari