Surprise of the Year!

I definitely need to blog about my recent trip to Florida, which was SUPPOSED to be just Alayna and I. I need to give background information that although I got the tickets at a decent price (before gas prices skyrocketed), we decided not to get Jeff a ticket since we were already having to buy Alayna her own ticket, and Jeff will be needing to take time off later this year for scout camp, the baby, and miscellaneous things here and there. A few weeks before my trip, I started getting really sad that Jeff wasn't coming and regretted that we didn't buy him a ticket while prices were reasonable. I felt really, really bad. I knew he would love a vacation and we had fun plans of going to the beach, downtown disney, and visiting my grandma, and with my parents moving and a baby coming, who knows when we'll make it down there again. But it was too late. He said he couldn't take off work and ticket prices were outrageous. I checked every single day multiple times right up until the day I left. I told him I was sorry we hadn't found a way to get him there. He kept telling me to go have fun, go shopping, etc. Major guilt. He never really tried to make me feel better it seemed like. Insensitive men.

Alayna and I left for Florida on Tuesday and arrived late at night, informing my parents of the new baby coming as well. Wednesday and Thursday we spent relaxing, going to the beach, and spending time w/ family and friends. Thursday evening we made the 3 hour drive to Orlando and got to Grannys house. Friday we had a lazy morning and spent the afternoon going to lunch and shopping. By about this time, I was getting annoyed with Jeff. He had been acting suspicious every time I talked to him since I had left about what he was doing and what his plans for the week were, and he wasn't answering his phone on Friday even though he had the day off. I fully trust him, but I was a little frustrated that he was acting so weird. Friday evening we went to Medieval Times for dinner and the show. Afterward, my dad said he wanted to get ice cream at a nearby Steak-n-Shake. He had mentioned wanting to try their food earlier that day, but my mom and I mentioned their food wasn't that good. Nonetheless, we were cool with getting ice cream and went in. The wait to be seated was long but when we walked in we saw some old friends of ours that now live in Orlando. We were super excited to see them so we went straight to where they were sitting to say hi. That is precisely when the above photo was taken by my dad.

After a few seconds of chatting, I notice someone who looks like my husband. I did a double take: That is my husband, no biggie. A triple-take: Thats my husband. I am in Florida. He is supposed to be in Utah....WAIT A MINUTE!!!! And yeah, I started crying. Turns out several people were in on the surprise (you know who you are, and thank you). My dad was the only FL person who knew he was coming and he hid the secret well. Jeff had flown from SLC to New York, and New York to Orlando, where the Rhineharts picked him up. The whole thing had been planned for a couple weeks. It was perfect. Jeff got to see Granny, come to Downtown Disney with us, see lots of family members and good friends, and come to the beach and zoo with us. It meant a lot to have him there! He wasn't in the doghouse anymore and his mysterious behavior made sense.