My Birthday Surprise!

Yesterday was my birthday and D had a great day planned for me. I knew he was up to something, but he wouldn't even give me a hint as to what he had planned. All of my friends and family knew...except me! I am SO not a big fan of surprises, maybe it's the control freak in me.

So, D and K made me a birthday cake and presented it to me right at midnight. How sweet! D was bummed because he only had 1 of the 3 eggs that were needed for the recipe, but he made do with what he had. Note to self-3 eggs really are needed, 1 will not do. The cake completely fell apart! Poor guy, but I ate it anyway, it's the thought and effort that count.

My Birthday Cake

After we woke up, D told me to pack some clothes for overnight, because we wouldn't be coming back home. I thought, 'oh great, we are going camping!' D is an outdoorsy kind of guy, and while I like to camp...sometimes. I'm not the type of girl who does well 'roughing it.' So D starts packing food and drinks, and I'm really starting to dread this surprise! I ask him if this is going to be a long car ride and he states, 'Oh yea, it's a long drive!' You can imagine my excitement.

So we get into the car and he plugs the address into the GPS. We turn off of our street and drive up the next street. We just moved into this neighborhood and we've never been up this street before. Five minutes later, we arrive at this old castle, turned hotel. D looks at me and says 'Surprise, you're sleeping in a hotel tonight!'


Castle Turned Hotel

We checked into our hotel and then ventured out back, where they have a Wild Park. It was freezing and K wasn't too happy about being outside. But I think we all enjoyed the fresh air and watching the animals.


D and K Viewing The Horses From The Room

For dinner, D arranged for friends of ours to take K. Actually, they were going to take her for the night...but I was hesitant. It would have been really great, but I don't think I would have enjoyed myself. I would have been worrying about her all night.
So we had a great candlelit dinner, just the two of us. It was really nice to eat dinner and not feel rushed. Or have to worry about entertaining her so that she didn't act like a maniac! At first, we both just sat there, confused. What do we talk about? After appetizers, we were deep in conversation, laughing and joking with each other. Just like old times, before our conversations were full of talk about boogers, diapers, and discipline.

After three short hours, we picked up K. When we arrived back at the castle, we were surprised to see that all of the lights were off. It was only 11pm. So we go to the front door, only to find that it is locked. There is a sign on the door, in German. After thirty minutes of trying each and every door, we find one that is open. But how do we find our room? If you've ever been in a castle, you know how confusing they can be. It was a maze of doors, windows, narrow hallways and stairs. To make things worse, K was crying because it was cold and dark. It seemed like almost every door was locked, and the ones that were open led to dark narrow halls.

Finally, after an hour we found our way to our room. Vowing not to leave again until morning. By this time, we are exhausted and K is wide awake. We found out last night that she does NOT like castles! She finally fell asleep at 6am, just in time for us to get a few hours of sleep before our long drive home. It was definetly a birthday I will never forget. How many people can say that they slept in a castle? Even if it was just for a few short hours.