Hayden’s 30th birthday was Saturday. Because we couldn’t go home and have a huge party with family and friends, I asked people to take photos of themselves wishing Hayden a happy birthday. I’m just now posting the collage online because I was having issues with some of the files. Rest assured though, I was able to show Hayden the collage on my computer Saturday afternoon. I’ll let him tell you what he thought.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this huge project! There are too many of you to name here, but you can find out who helped by looking at the collage. You can also click on an image in the collage to enlarge it and find out from whom it came.
– Apryl
UPDATE: I’ve added some more photos since I originally posted the collage. Somehow, I hadn’t gotten Brad and Robin’s email earlier, so I did a little rearranging and added their photo. I also added some extra photos that didn’t fit in the collage; see the link in the top right corner of the collage.
First of all, I have to say what an amazing wife I have! This sure was a lot of work and a lot of thought went into it.
Apryl has surprised me before. Once, when we had first started dating, she told me she wanted to take me somewhere but wouldn’t tell me where. She just ordered me to get in her car. First, we dropped off at her house and picked up her sister. And when her mother almost gave away the surprise, I knew everyone there knew what was going on but me. I knew I wasn’t in any danger, but I was still trying not to panic. What was going on here? Where was I being taken? Turns out, Apryl wanted to take me to her favorite childhood ice cream spot. Whew.
The second surprise came when Apryl organized a surprise dinner party with my friends and family to celebrate my first year on the air with WEVL. She had even gotten T shirts made for everyone advertising my show. The whole night was such a lovely time but it had also scared me a bit, and Apryl had promised not to surprise me anymore.
Now, Apryl’s collage wasn’t like one of those surprises. But since we are married and work at our computers side by side, there was no way she could put this project together without me knowing that there was something going on. Of course, I had no idea what it was or how involved. When I saw how much time she was devoting to it, I was even more confused (and even a little guility at the amount of time it was taking her). Before the collage was presented to me, I was given another surprise…
Readers of this blog know that I love a local Chicago public access show called The World of Weird Monster Show, which comes on every Friday night. Well, after several weeks of reruns, Apryl informed me that there was going to be a new episode this week. As we were watched the show, which was turning out to be one of their funniest, a graphic pops up saying “Happy Birthday Hayden,” followed by “I hope you have a monstrously good time, Love Apryl”. What?! Apryl says that I was laughing but I recall being completely bewildered and speechless. After the show, she informed me that she had emailed the host Undead Johnny, who was very generous, and had made the birthday wish happen on a very short notice. What could top this birthday present?
Apryl continued to work on the college through the morning of Saturday, and even though she wasn’t completely finished, she finally allowed me to see what she had been working on for so long. For a second, I had to wait for my brain to catch up with what I was actually looking at. What’s going on here? There’s Judy and Brett and John and Little Joe, my dad, and all my nephews and niece. My goodness, there’s Prichard! And Andy, Annette, Summer, Brooke… Cap’n Pete! Bashful Bob! And they’re all holding up “Happy Birthday” signs. It took me awhile to look through the entire college, and just when I thought that I had seen everyone, a new friend would pop up. It’s hard to express how meaningful something like this. I’m very touched, and I thank you and love you all.
That night, we went out to eat with my old friend Trey and his wife Rachel. We ate at Irazu, which is a few blocks from our apartment and had a nice time talking about the past and catching up with the present. After dinner, which the two of them graciously paid for for my birthday, we went to the Old Town School of Folk Music to see a group I really like called The Books. The venue was very small and intimate (and smoke free). A perfect setting for a concert. I thought the show was amazing. When we returning back home from the show on the bus, I mentioned to Trey and Rachel (who were going to remain on the bus until their stop) that we had cake at home if they wanted a bite. I’m glad that they decided to take us up on the offer.
The cake is my favorite. Coal Miner’s Cake! The recipe is from my friend Annette who has made it for me on more than one occassion. And as a wedding present, she gave us the recipe as well as the ingredients and a dish to prepare it in. Apryl is not going to like me admitting this, but I made the cake while she was finishing up on the college. She thought it was sad that I was making my own birthday cake. But I was really excited about making this specific cake. It was the first cake that I had ever made, and I hadn’t even taste tested it before we had gone out that evening. So, I had my fingers crossed that we didn’t have our friends get off the bus for a poor attempt at baking on my part. Fortunately, it was a success! And we even got to use our amazing table (You haven’t seen our table? Let us show it off to you when you visit!). After dessert, I drove our friends home. It was really great hanging out with them, especially on my birthday when so many of our friends and family were so far way. I really hope that we get to spend more time with Trey and Rachel, who are really good folk.
When I got back to the apartment, Apryl was still working on the college, getting it to work on the internet. I saw that there were several birthday cards resting by my computer. The first one was from Apryl’s dad which was very funny. And much appreciated. Another funny one (even though it made a stab at my age) was from Apryl’s sister Steph. There was also a sweet card from my mom. And a great one from Apryl that when you opened it up played the theme from The Twilight Zone!
As Apryl continued to work on the college through the night (early morning), I drifted asleep on the couch. Well, I’m thirty! So what! I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as I thought. It certainly has been a great start!
Thank you everyone!
Thank you Apryl!
I love you.
Hayden
Comment by Hayden — April 29, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
What a great collage…I’m glad we were able to contribute to it and that Apryl was able to pull it off in time for you to see! The pics from D & M’s wedding are amazing. It is hard to believe it has been almost 10 years since we all lived in the same city, even harder to believe that it has been approximately 23 years since we first starting munching on rotel dip and playing home run derby together….Remember our hi-jinx in Mrs. Albertson’s class? Also, you introduced me to the art of Southern Rock, and for that I am for ever grateful! There are too many other fun things to jot down on your blog, but many of my happiest memories have you in them….
Happy 30th, my old, but wise brother!!! You are the man!
Comment by Brian — April 29, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
you guys are just so damn cute
Comment by summer — April 30, 2007 @ 3:06 pm