Jason will be officially leaving his 20's behind this Tuesday. As this is a pretty major event, I thought he deserved a weekend full of fun surprises. To help me pull it all off, Jason's parents met me on Wed. night to babysit Hannah for the weekend.
Phase I of Operation 3-0 started off at Mill Creek Tavern on Friday night, where I arranged for us to meet up with our friends Sara and Brian and Eric and Jill for drinks and appetizers before heading to the ballpark to watch the Whitecaps. We try to make it to a game every summer, but last summer we just didn't make it. He was totally surprised and loved it!
Brian, Eric, and Jason engrossed in the game
The ladies
To top the evening off, Eric and Jill had us all back to their house where we enjoyed an amazing cake from Coldstone Creamery. Yum!
Phase II of Operation 3-0 involved boating - Jason's absolute favorite hobby. This past winter, Jason and I attended a home and garden show where we came across a photographer who takes pictures of wooden boats and then digitally enhances them to look like paintings - just beautiful. For the last couple of months, I have been secretly communicating back and forth with the photographer, and lined him up to take pictures of Jason's boat. The trick was getting Jason to Pentwater without totally giving the whole thing away. Saturday morning, I told Jason that as a gift to him, I thought we could take the boat up to Pentwater and cruise for the day. Just that alone would be a gift to him, as he knows it's not my favorite activity, and he's totally happy when I do come. The only hiccup was that it was raining! Let me tell you, I was praying for sunny skies and was watching the radar like a hawk! We decided to take our chances and head up. Miraculously, once we got to Muskegon, the clouds cleared and we had a gorgeous, sunny day. The Lord definitely answered my prayers!
When we finally arrived in Pentwater, and I convinced Jason to check out the shops downtown before putting in the boat. Unknowing to him, Photographer Pat was waiting for us on the street corner. Jason was initially a bit confused when I walked up to this stranger on the street, but he quickly remembered Pat from the show and put it all together. He was thrilled! It ended up being a perfect day to have the pictures taken and do some cruising.
Holding his baby for the perfect shot
After the photo shoot, we cruised around the lake. Pentwater Lake is connected to Lake Michigan via a small channel. Since it was nice and calm, we decided to take the Little Wooden Boat That Could for a cruise down the channel down near the Big Lake.
Yes, we made it all the way out to Lake Michigan!
However, we very quickly turned around after we hit a 3 foot wave and nearly capsized!!
And this is the boat that followed us back in! Talk about a small fish in a very big pond!
Yes, heading back to safer waters...
Enjoying the safety of calm waters
After boating, we strolled through town, checking out the marina and many cute shops.
Dreaming big
With all of that boating, we worked up an appetite. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant on the deck overlooking town and the lake.
Rather than hopping back on the expressway, we took the back way and drove down to Silver Lake.
I don't know if I'd call them my old stomping grounds, but I visited a few times back in the day. I just couldn't let us pass through without stopping at Whippy Dip for ice cream!
No, I didn't make Jason dot the "I" by putting his head through the "Do the Dip" sign. This will have to do.
It really was just a perfect day!
Phase III of Operation 3-0 ended the weekend by Jason's parents bringing Hannah back home. We missed her so much!! To add a little extra surprise, they also brought along his grandparents. We had another perfect day, this time to grill out. As we let our food settle, Jason opened his gifts. His grandparents gave him a particularly special gift - a glass pitcher that belonged to his great-grandfather.
Of course, what would a birthday party be without the cake and ice cream? Yes, I made a chocolate on chocolate cake (from scratch!) special for the birthday boy.
Sucking a little wind with all of those candles!
Miss Sweet Tooth wouldn't miss out on sharing ice cream with Daddy.
With all said and done, I think I can say that he truly enjoyed the weekend. Hopefully this is just the beginning of great things to come in the next decade!
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