Birthday Festivities

It's been a great couple of days and I'm pretty confident that J had a wonderful birthday! I have been keeping secrets about birthday surprises for weeks (thank God for my BB, since she was the only one I was talking to about all of it) and after nearly busting at the seams with excitement everything is out in the open and went perfectly.

When it came to getting a gift for J, I had a lot of ideas. It was his 30th so I wanted to get him something memorable. At first I thought about a nice watch, something that would last forever. I knew he'd love a watch but wouldn't be over-the-moon excited about it. After some thought I knew the only thing that he really, really wanted was a new TV. We are were one of the last households in America to NOT have a flat screen TV. J has been dying for one forever but we've never had an extra several hundred dollars that we could rationalize spending on a TV. So, I decided to call in some reinforcements and get my man the gift of his dreams. Luckily,  J's mom and step-dad, dad and step-mom and my mom and step-dad agreed that this was a perfect gift for him and agreed to go in on this perfect birthday present. My little brother has been interning at the Best Buy Corporate offices for the last two summers and was a HUGE help in deciding on the perfect TV (especially since I know nothing about electronics) AND played a crucial role as he was able to get us a discount AND was in charge of actually purchasing the TV. 

*Side note: I am a super proud big sister and have to brag about my little brother. He was just offered a full-time position with Best Buy corporate after he graduates. In this economy having a full-time offer before you start your senior year of college is HUGE and I could not be more proud of him!

Anyways, after months of planning, organizing and orchestrating, we got the TV and were ready to surprise the boy! Monday night, we went to Kevin & Judye's (J's dad and step-mom) for J's birthday dinner. Before I can go over the surprise I need to explain that Kevin & Judye are the super couple of cooking. Judye makes the most amazing sides and soups and desserts and Kevin is an indescribable grill master. Lucky for me, J's favorite meal is also my favorite meal, which is what we had on Monday.

 Perfectly cooked steak, the most amazing mashed potatoes and baked beans people would kill for.

As you can see, my brother LOVED the mashed potatoes. This was his second helping! No joke! And, he ate it ALL. When asked if he wanted something to drink he replied with, "I may have some more baked beans." The kid can eat!

After dinner, Judye asked J to take the trash out, which turned out to be quite the process since he was trying to pawn the chore off on his little sister. Finally, we got J out of the house for long enough to bring the TV down. And, when he came back inside.....

Don't mind the "Jason" t-shirt. It's a super cute story---for another time.

The next portion of his gift needs a set up story. Twins fans HATE the Chicago White Sox. HATE THEM! It always seems that the Twins and White Sox are battling each other for the division title. When I saw that the Twins were playing the Sox on J's 30th birthday, towards the end of the season, I knew it was going to be a big game and I knew we needed to be there. So a few weeks ago I scored some awesome tickets to the game! Keeping this from J was harder than the TV because I was SO excited, especially when the Twins took first place from the Sox just a few games ago! I had arranged for our beloved employee, Sara, to come in to work the afternoon shift. J had no idea his normally 13 hour shift was only going to be 7 hours! I showed up at Coffee Buzz and gave him a gift....a couple of shirts and the Twin's tickets! He was SO excited, even more so when he found out he got to leave work early! After we went to the hospital to meet Baby Aiden, we went downtown Minneapolis to our favorite restaurant, Runyons for dinner. Then, we hit up another bar for a couple drinks then we were off to Target Field. 

The Twins scored a quick 4 runs in the first inning, making the Twins fans cocky, confident and ready to beat down the Sox. In typical Twins vs White Sox fashion, Chicago came back and ended up tying the game in the ninth, sending the game in to extra innings. After the Sox scored putting them up one run in the tenth inning, it was time to get nervous! J looked at me and said (and I swear this it true), "Delmon's getting on base and Thome is hitting a walk-off home run." And that's exactly what happened! Delmon Young got on base and former White Sox player (all the better) Jim Thome absolutely crushed a home run making it the first walk off at Target Field and launching the Twins four games lof the Sox (yeah, eat it!)!!! It was INSANE! Target Field absolutely erupted! Alright Star Tribune, I'm ready for my position as a Sports Writer!

 Right after Thome hit the home run!

A VERY excited birthday boy rockin' his rally cap!

This pic was a total accident, but I think it's REALLY cool!

The man, the myth, the legend....Jim Thome!

It was an amazing day! But, the birthday celebrations aren't over. This Saturday, I'm throwing what is sure to be an epic birthday bash at Majors Sports Cafe. I am so excited!!! You better believe I'll be posting about 900 pictures of the party for you all to enjoy on Monday morning!