Damien's 35th Birthday

Damien got his birthday wish which was to go to Tahoe for a few days.  It has really been a glorious few days, too.  I mentioned that I have been peppering him with gifts over the past month but the big birthday gift was going to wait for his BIG day!  Well, today was here!  The kids were bursting at the seams with the surprise they had kept from their Daddy for a full month!  Claire couldn't sleep the night before and Michael woke up with butterflies in his tummy.  The big surprise?  A choreographed dance that would knock Damien's socks off!

About a year ago, we all watched THIS awesome viral video of a guy proposing to his future wife in Central Park.  He and a bunch of his super cool friends choreographed a dance to a song called Shake It.  At the end of the song, he proposed and it gave everyone in our family the chills.  Soon after we watched it, Michael and Claire came to me with an idea. "How about we make a dance to this song and then do it for Dad on his birthday!" they both said.  I thought the idea was brilliant and so we planned an plotted to surprise him with our best dance on his birthday!

Earlier in the month, we started daily 'top secret' dance classes in the kitchen.  We all decided that we needed to come up with a dance for the whole song.  So, verse by verse- we chunked out dance moves that eventually led to a fully choreographed routine!  Michael and Claire were so proud of themselves and Matthew and Emily even learned parts as they watched from the sidelines.

In Tahoe on Damien's birthday, we all went to a ski park for the kids to have some fun.  When we got home- the kids were exhausted. After putting them down for their naps, I started on a birthday a yummy Chicken Curry dinner for my hubby!  The night was really nice.  Dinner was great and it was fun to be with Damien's brother and his family.  The cousins really love each other a lot.  After dinner, we cleared some space so we could eventually have room to do our dance!  I had made 'We Love Dad' tshirts for me and the kids before we had traveled to Tahoe so unbeknownst to Damien- we were all wearing them under our zip up sweatshirts.

The moment we revealed the dance to Damien was just as special as we could have imagined it to be.  I danced between Michael and Claire and was so proud of them and impressed they stayed so poised and hit every move!  It was awesome.  Damien was beyond happy watching this 'gift' play out in front of him and he didn't stop smiling the entire time.  It was so awesome.  The kids were just so proud of themselves!  The moment was priceless.

Of course, we gave Damien some other treats (including a SF Giants World Series book where all the kids wrote their favorite memory of watching them win the World Series in the front cover), sang him Happy Birthday, and then enjoyed Damien's favorite cake (yellow cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate fudge frosting).  I am so proud to be married to Damien.  I love what he stands for and love the way he lives his life.  I love the kind of father he is to our children, and I love the way he wants the very best for me in all that I do.    We are so lucky to have him in our lives.  Happy Birthday 35th Birthday, Damien!

(Click HERE to watch our video!)

**Damien decided to grow out his beard over the holiday break.  I think it looks great.  He is always clean shaven for work so it is fun for him to do something different, sometimes!  The day after his birthday, he shaved it off.  I missed it but the kids were happy.  Apparently- he was too scratchy for them!