Yesterday we pulled off the ultimate birthday surprise for Emma! With her birthday being a Sunday and Sunday being ski team, we had decided weeks ago that I would come up around 4:30pm and we'd have her birthday dinner there. A few weeks ago David said to me that we should get her skis for her birthday and that after dinner that day we could head to the ski shop and she could choose them and then have them ready to use the following week. A little over a week ago I said that we should do one better and have them ready for her to use ON her birthday. He loved that idea however, we'd need to sneak one of her boots out to make that happen. We decided that we'd run to Wachusett right then, telling the girls that we were off to do errands and we'd be back later.
When we go to the ski shop we found the skis and let the staff in on the plan (which they loved). We paid for the skis, bought two cider doughnuts and set off for home. During that drive we hatched the plan on how to pull this off.
Our plan (and hope) was that she wouldn't figure out any sooner than maybe Saturday night that one of her boots was missing. We would say things like "Emma, how did you loose a boot?!" or "See this is why I am always saying that ya'll need to put things back where they go." It was also decided that I would drive everyone up at 6:30am so that we "didn't have two cars there." We looped Grace in to the plan and began to hope that we could pull this off without a hitch!
Yesterday, we got to the mountain a little after 7:00am. Dave got out, Emma got out, Grace was taking a little longer (not surprising). Dave has a mat that they use for changing in and out of boots that he puts down near the car and they begin to get boots on. All of a sudden Emma says: "How do I only have one boot?!" and Dave replies: "What do you mean you only have one boot?" At this point Grace and I both get out of the car and look at her as her mind is boogled. I said "well, lets see if we can rent ONE boot!" knowing full well we can't. Dave replies that he needs to pick something up at the ski shop before we head to rentals. Emma grabs her skis and she and I head over to put them down and wait for David and Grace. On our walk over, Emma tells me that she really needs new skis for next year because her current ones are way too short. As we stand and wait for the others to arrive she is still perplexed..."I just don't know where that boot went. I know I brought it home. Maybe it's in Daddy's car???"
Dave and Grace arrive, he makes some more "dad comments" tells her to grab her one boot and we head in. He sends her over to go wait as he picks up the thing, then calls her over. She arrives and the staff have the two boots next to each other and the new set of skis. The staff, Dave, Grace and I wish her "happy birthday" and she then realizes what's happened and is blown away! Brand new skis on this gorgeous bluebird day for her thirteenth birthday! What could be better for a skier born in February?!
The pictures at the top of this post have been lightened so that Emma and her smile could be more easily seen. The pictures below are the straight-out-of iPhone ones. I kept them because I love how they show so perfectly how beautifully blue the sky was yesterday! xo
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