Best Birthday EVER!

I LOVE Surprises! So when Steve said he had an idea for how we could celebrate our anniversary and asked me if I wanted it to be a surprise, I said YES! I had some suspicions as to what he was planning, but I had no idea what I was really in for. Even though our anniversary is in November, the first free weekend we could find to celebrate was in February, so the event quickly became a combo anniversary, my birthday, and valentines extravaganza (or as we called it, the Happy Anni -Valen-Birth-ary getaway). Steve gave me some suggestions of what to pack, but I knew nothing else. We left the house at about 9:30 am on Friday, with the girls staying with Grandma. Our first stop was at the mall where he told me he wanted me to pick out a dress! It's hard to shop for a dress when you don't know where you're wearing to, but fun nonetheless.

This was NOT the dress I picked!

After we found the dress, we headed across the street to one of my favorite restaurants on the planet, FUDDRUCKERS! Greasy burgers, yum.

As a side note, Steve was so sweet to be taking pictures of everything we did. He knows that the scrapbooker and blogger in me would want pictures to document our special weekend. With our bellies fed, the next stop was Disney Quest, which is a huge video game and virtual reality attraction. It was fun to act like kids, compete against each other (even though Steve can kick my butt in every game except the Nascar one), and just hang out with my hubby.

After we left Disney Quest, it was time for the next mystery stop! Steve was driving me into the Disney resort area and with every turn, I started to wonder if a dream of ours was about the come true. Giddy with excitement, I asked him if we were staying at the Wilderness Lodge and indeed we were!

This hotel has very special significance for us. Not only is it absolutely beautiful and just our style, but it is also where Steve gave me a promise ring after we had been dating for six months. We've always wanted to stay there. In fact, we were on Disney property earlier in the week and I had made a comment that one day we should splurge and stay there. Little did I know that I would be doing that just a few days later! When we checked in they wished us a happy anniversary and birthday and told us that we had been upgraded to a suite and club level privileges.. ooo la la!! Our room was AWESOME! It had two balconies and an amazing view of the lake and the woods.

Before long it was time for the next surprise. I put on my new dress and Steve whisked me off to the Luau at the Polynesian Resort. The food was yummy and I loved the fire twirler guy!

After the Luau we had some fun at the Atlantic Dance Club and then headed back to the Lodge. We made a stop at the fireplace where Steve gave me my ring 14 years ago and reminisced about how we fell asleep on the couch in front of that fireplace and eventually got asked to leave by security.

We snoozed for a bit on the couch for old-time's-sake, and then realized we were paying guests and didn't have to sleep on the sofa.
Saturday morning brought more surprises! Steve had arranged for me to do the Richard Petty Driving Experience. I was a rider in a race car that went 140 MPH! It was very thrilling. It reminded me of skydiving in a way since my life was totally in the hands of another human being who I didn't know! Gentlemen, start your engines!

After a yummy Mexican lunch, the next surprise was a couples massage at the Grand Floridian! What a treat, and so relaxing! Sorry, no pictures of that one. :)

Dinner that night was my favorite meal of the weekend! We ate at Antonio's on Sand Lake. It's a yummy Italian restaurant and we're pretty sure the Orlando mafia hangs out there. The lasagna was amazing and I got serenaded over my birthday tiramisu.

After dinner, we hung out at Disney's Boardwalk and then hit the hot tub at the Lodge. It was perfect hot tubbing weather (in the 50's).

Sunday morning we checked out of our room (BOOOOO!) and enjoyed a huge breakfast buffet at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We even found a few animals to watch.

Animal Kingdom Lodge Lobby

After breakfast we left the Disney area for one more surprise. Our last stop was to the IMAX theatre at City Walk to see Avatar in 3D! We've been wanting to see it but finding time for us to get away to a movie has not been easy with our busy lives. The movie was great!

Steve spoiled me with an unforgettable weekend. It will always be the gift he won't be able to top (Ooo, is that a dare?). The best part of it all was quality time with my man. Planning this entire weekend took a lot of work and I love him for it. I was giddy with excitement all weekend and find myself frequesntly daydreaming about all the fun we had. I love you, Steve!