Here is the day in a nutshell...
(night before we eat at Olive Garden to carb. load for the upcoming run, celebrate Ben's Birthday, and to eat GREAT food. Yummy! Thanks Ryan for treating all of us to Ben's birthday dinner).
(ok back to party day)
Everyone slept in..we stayed up past midnight...again. Fun times, fun people.
10:00am
I take off for yet another long run, 18 miles this time. I feel great! Olive Garden worked and the carbs are working full speed ahead.
12:45pm
I am sooooo excited, because at mile 16, I am still doing great mentally, my breathing is fine, I am still happy, my brain is working as far as I can tell, and I didn't have to take any bathroom stops....miracle I tell ya, miracle!!!! I love you Olive Garden.
1/2 mile later I hit the wall and want to die.
1:00pm
Ben, Ryan and the kids find me with about 2 miles left to give me propel and a banana. So sweet. Drink the propel, can't stomach the banana.
1:20ish pm
I arrive home to a cheering and clapping crowd standing on the sidewalk. (my fam and Ryan). I crawl around in the grass for a while moaning and trying anything to get my legs to stop screaming. Feel like an idiot, but sooooooo glad it is over...wahoo!
1:40pm
I get a calf massage from Ben, ice the legs, take drugs (the good kind) and we take off for Garden of the Gods.
2:00pm
Get to Garden of the Gods....check out all the big red rocks and stuff. We show Ryan the sites, let our dog drag us everywhere, ect. We walk around the paths and soak it all in. What a cool place to see.
3:45pm
Last minute Sam's club stop to get stuff for the party.
4:30pm
Get home. Need to clean a very dirty house, decorate, bake three cakes, shower, clean up the kids, dinner, etc., all in 1 1/2 hours aaaggghhh!!!!!
4:30-6:00pm
Somehow accomplish all of the above. Ryan...you are seriously a saint!! He helped scrub our house, vacuumed, helped feed the kids, decorated, and pretty much saved us! Ben was also a very good sport to help clean for his own party. Good guy!
6:00pm
THE PARTY BEGINS!!!! We had a total of 21 adults and 22 children in our home all at one time. Total: 42 people.
It was what I like to call "sweet chaos." It is absolutely crazy, but so much fun. What can be better than having your home bursting at the seams with people you love and want to be with. It was awesome!
6:30pm
Ben blows out candles and we dig in to cake and ice cream. Becky begins to feel the effects of the long run (basically my brain shuts off). Because of this....no pictures!!!! Not kidding, I did not remember to take a single picture. If I could turn back time folks, this would be the time. We had so many friends here, and so much fun, and no pictures to document the event. AAARRRGGGG!!!! I completely spaced it, among many other things. I think I will start calling this a disease. Seriously, I can't remember things on the days I do long runs. Weird! We did however get some video footage, so that counts for something. Maybe I will play the video, push pause, and take pictures of the T.V.
6:30-11:00pm
People laughing, cake being eaten, toys flying (literally), balloons popping, lots of noise, kids yelling, lots of friends, lots of party. We love you Ben! Happy Birthday!
11:00pm
The last guest goes home. We all collapse on the couch and don't want to move an inch. We all feel warm and fuzzy from such a great night. We feel sooooooo blessed to have so many wonderful friends here. And to have some family close by as well. What a wonderful gift. Thanks everyone for helping to make such a great Birthday for Ben. Ben...again, you are so loved, Happy Happy Birthday Benny dear.
11:15pm
Ryan is the first to go upstairs and check out the damage.
11:16pm
We hear a very loud "HOLY COW....OH MY....IS THIS REALLY POSSIBLE, ECT.!" I just cringe and try not to think about it.
11:20pm-can't remember...but it was late.
Clean up a HUGE mess. Looked like a tornado hit the house...not kidding. I had NO idea we have that many toys. We are STILL finding toys all over the place.
Sometime after 1:00am.
Go to bed finally! Wahoo! Sooooo exhausted. Bed is so warm and comfortable.
1:30am
Sam wakes up crying....I remember someone telling me he ate three cookies (big cookies) at the party....you know how it goes from here.
The End
Here are some before and after pictures...it's all I have...pathetic, I know.
Some of the pictures are dark, I have no idea why. The house was so amazingly clean! I was so proud, so I did what all dorks do, and I took pictures. At least I remembered to take pictures at that point in the day.
BEFORE
Family room...check, all clean. Wait...what on earth is the dog doing in the house!
Living room...spotless
Clean toy room....very rare
Sam's room...you can't see it, but it is so clean, I love it!
Mary's room. Again you can't see it, but oh, so clean.
3 comments:
It was definitely a fun party with much "sweet chaos"! I can't believe there was nail polish on your carpet and walls! Yipes!
Hey Maynards, remember us? We enjoyed looking at the pictures on your blog and decided to jump on the bandwagon and create one of our own. Hopefully we can keep it updated and keep in touch.
Ben,
We meant to call you yesterday (slap forehead, "Doh!"). We are glad that you had such a good time with Ryan and an awesome birthday party, we wish we could have been there! How old are you now 27? You could be Erin's father! :o) We look forward to seeing you guys sometime during the holiday season. We miss you guys.
Lots of love,
The Darringtons
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