Surprise Getaway!

Aside from the night of our engagement, Matt pulled off one of the greatest surprises for me this past weekend.

When I arrived home from work on Friday, there was an envelope waiting for me with a little note inside saying we would be leaving on an 8 a.m. flight the next morning and that I needed to pack for 2 days (which was very difficult considering I had no idea what was going on).

With great anticipation, we woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and headed to O'Hare. After checking in, I knew we were headed to Baltimore, but still had no clue why. We arrived in Baltimore to lots of rain and clouds and tons of text messaging between Matt and some unknown parties. At the time he had me convinced it was his boss; little did I know. After we got on the road, I was handed another envelope with menus to 3 different lunch places in a cute little Baltimore neighborhood. Hmmm! We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and made our way up to our room to freshen up and change. After about 20 minutes, there was a knock at the door. I checked the peep hole to see who was outside, thinking it was the hotel staff, but it was covered up. Suspiciously, I opened the door and there stood Shannon and Mike!!! I was shocked to see them, but extremely excited and thankful that they had made the trip out to Baltimore to celebrate my birthday. After a little chit chat and lots of smiles, the next part of the surprise came out.....Matt had gotten us tickets to see Kenny Chesney!!! What, is this really happening? There are no words to describe how excited and surprised I was. We then headed out to lunch to lunch at Max's Taphouse. After a delicious lunch and some drinks, we decided to head to another bar, One Eyed Mike's. That is a story for a different post, but we ended up meeting this great couple there and Mike, Shannon, and Matt shared a few shots of Grand Marnier with them. It was a blast. As it got closer to concert time, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up again. While we were waiting to check Shannon and Mike in, a familiar face came strolling through the hotel lobby. Again, another surprise.....Matt had arranged for our old friend Kim to join us. Kim and I have not seen each other since we met on our respective honeymoons 4 years ago, but have kept in touch and picked up right where we left off. Unfortunately Kim's husband, Randy, could not join us, he had to work. After several hugs and some catching up, it was time to head to the concert at M and T Bank Stadium. I will post some pictures below, but the concert was amazing. Not only did we get to see Kenny Chesney, but also Big and Rich and Brooks and Dunn. Awesome!!!

I will end this post now because it is starting to get long, but will continue with Sunday tomorrow. For now, a huge thank you goes out to Shannon, Mike, and Kim for making the trip to Baltimore for what was an extraordinary birthday surprise, one I will never forget. And to my amazing husband, Matt....thank you for making my birthday so special. I know how much thought and effort went into planning this spectacular weekend. I am forever grateful to you for everything you do for me. I love you so much!!

A few pictures to enjoy (and some videos Matt posted below)!