Take flight!

Mat's birthday is actually the 15th, but to throw him off his game I threw him a surprise birthday party on the 8th! I was trying to figure what I could do for his birthday and really make his 25th birthday the best. It came down to a party, but then it developed into a surprise birthday party.

It all started with the invitations....
I made mini passports with map envelopes. Yes, I cut out envelopes from actual maps and glued them together. The inside included:

Date of Flight: November 8, 2009
Passengers (that's YOU) must arrive by 4:30pm.

Pilot will be landing at 5pm, so please be prompt on YOUR arrival.

Airport Location: Haderlie Airways
Dinner, beverages & cake will be served during flight!

I actually made the majority of the invitations in front of Mat, yet, he had no idea! I even passed them out with him in close radius, but he didn't catch anything. :) That is only the beginning!

I had the worst time keeping the "fibs" I was telling Mat all straight so I had to actually write them down! I threw them out the morning of the party so he wouldn't see them, but here's just a few of them:

*I made chicken as the "big" entree for the birthday dinner. I told Mat that it was for a company potluck lunch on Monday.

*I made cheesy potato casseroles which I told Mat were for families in the ward.

*I made bunches and bunches of cookies which I told Mat that they were for our friend Angela & Jayson's nephew's birthday party on Sunday. (Angela saved the day over and over again - keep reading to hear more!) Mat also helped decorate all but the ones that were put on the cupcakes above, I did those just so he couldn't use that against me!

*I went over to our friend and neighbors, Anson & Tennille's to scrapbook signs for Mat's birthday and to pass along the chipotle ranch pasta salads they were going to help me make. Mat did show up while we were scrapbooking, but I told him we were scrapbooking a few things for Tennille's class (she's a teacher).

*I had to order Mat's other present, a RC plane from one of the hobby stores here in town. They conveniently called while I was with him to tell me it had come in. I told Mat that it was the scrapbooking store and I had ordered a few things, they were just calling to tell me they had arrived.

*I also had Mat's boss's help in picking up the right gun and all the supplies that goes with it.

*I called the Robisons to help me in distracting Mat on Sunday. Mat has a stake calling which he shares with Sean. Sean called Mat and said he had to leave right after church on Sunday and couldn't stay to attend to their callings. However, they gave me a ride home and helped with decorating the house!

*Our friends Angela & Jayson Kelly are awesome when it comes to playing this type of game! They also helped with the distraction of Mat while I was setting up. The Kellys were getting rid of their rocking chair and I couldn't resist giving it a new home! So, to Mat, the only day that it could be moved was Sunday because Angela needed it out of her house. And....here comes the big whopper of a fib....The Kellys needed to follow Mat over to our house to unload the chair and so they could pick up the cookies, dishes, etc. The other funny thing was that Angela helped make the cookies and brought over a few of them on Friday night. :)

*I was so excited that I couldn't sleep on Sunday, so I was up at 4 am cleaning the house (I told Mat I just had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep) and making brownies - also for the work potluck. Mat even vacuumed before we went to church!

Overall, it was such a huge success that I couldn't have done without everyones help!!

Here are just a few photos to recap the day:
We couldn't figure out if everyone should say "Happy Birthday" or "Surprise" so it was just a bunch of yelling when Mat walked in the door - he was slightly confused since his birthday wasn't for another week and then he realized what all was included in the party....the food....:)

There were over 30 people invited, so there was no shortage of food by any means!

I was going to make Mom Haderlie's Chocolate Mint Cake, but I was running out of time...so I had to settle and order cupcakes. They turned out quite adorable I must say!

I wrapped all the presents in blue paper and then sponge painted clouds on the paper, I wanted to have cupcakes to match...what do you think?

Apparently they tasted really good, our friends and old neighbors Nate & Carlee along with their little guys Reid & Link were able to make it to the party! Reid was our official cupcake taster and he said they were really good, and who can argue with this face!?

Mat had no idea at all which made this whole party so much better than expected! I thought he might have had an idea....but oh no, no, no....not even a chance!

Thanks again to everyone for ALL of their help!!