Mark's Perfect Weekend

And boy did he deserve it. The birthday boy had several treats this weekend, the biggest one of which was a complete surprise to him, and it was good to see him not so stressed out again. We started out with Halloween festivities at the boys' school on Friday evening - here's the costume picks for this year:

After leaving the school, we made a pit stop at home before heading out for trick-or-treating in our neighborhood -- and it was at this point that Mark got his big birthday surprise. I had been scheming with his parents for the past month, planning a surprise visit from them this weekend. This was no small feat for them, getting out of work on Friday and driving 8 hours from MN after having car trouble that morning * my in-laws ROCK, people * but they arrived right on time and were hidden in our family room when we arrived home from the school. I sent Mark downstairs to "get the video camera" and when he walked into the family room, his parents jumped out from behind the couch - you should have heard the dude yell! Oh my. So, so funny. For a tiny second I was worried his high cholesterol might catch up with him and he'd have a heart attack for his birthday, but after the initial shock, he was laughing. The boys and I were listening at the top of the stairs (they didn't know about this either), and their reactions to their dad yelling downstairs were interesting to say the least. Jack immediately starts LAUGHING (keep in mind he had no idea if his Dad was surprised by someone who WASN'T supposed to be in the house), while Noah had the more appropriate response - ran behind me and wrapped his arms around me faster than I could blink. Anyway, it was WAY fun to do this to Mark, and he was SO happy.

A bonus was that Grandpa and Grandma got to go trick-or-treating with us!
On Saturday, Mark got a birthday breakfast at the Colonial House, then relaxed and watched some college football with his dad. We had his little "party" in the afternoon, since the kids had a birthday party to go to in the evening.

And here was his next surprise:

He got a Wii from the kids and I. Actually, WHO will really enjoy this present the most is debatable - but I thought it would at least make a good stress reliever for Mark. And I also find it interesting that Jack and Noah get a work out playing this, and end up sweaty after playing - we have to remove the furniture from the middle of the living room, because they are ALL OVER THE PLACE. At least they are getting some exercise . . . .

Saturday night while the kids were at their birthday party, us grown-ups got to enjoy a VERY nice dinner at the Gaslight in Rockerville - totally peaceful and relaxing. Then today, Paul and LaRayne stuck around for church and the Vikings game afterwards, which was a huge treat for Mark to be able to watch the game with his dad. And get this, folks, they WON. (For the Vikings, this is a little unusual). They must have known it was Mark's birthday. :) So, he's a pretty happy guy this evening, although I'm concerned that will change once Tuesday rolls around and this election is finalized. Yikes. That's all I can say. Yikes.