Best Surprise Ever!

Disclaimer: This post contains raw video of me "ugly crying."

I'm emotionally recovering this week from a surprise that could have shocked me into early labor.  Apparently the whole world was in on this conspiracy, while I was completely clueless to the whole thing!

We had an ordinary Saturday planned this last weekend.  I was going to yoga, then in the afternoon we were taking the boys to a birthday party and I was hoping to get a few meals made to stick in the freezer.  That all changed when I opened the door to leave for yoga.  There, sitting on my porch, were my two sisters and my mom.  WTF?!?!?!

As you can see, I was in complete shock, totally confused, and overcome with emotion.  This was the best surprise ever!  The plan was hatched months ago, while Jesse was on deployment this summer.  They would all converge in San Diego so that we could spend a girls' weekend together before Juicy's arrival.  They communicated with Jesse via his work email to coordinate the whole thing.  Of course Jesse, aka "The Vault," would never give a secret of that caliber away, but how in the world did I not catch wind of it somewhere along the way?!

My sisters double as my best friends, and of course our mom is the foundation for the strong closeness among us.  It's hard to describe how much they mean to me.  The fact that all three sisters are pregnant at the same time is totally crazy and surreal, and I was sad before this weekend when I thought about the fact that we wouldn't get to all bump bellies while we were pregnant together.  But I would now get to spend the weekend with them, relishing in not just sister time but pregnant sister time, something even more special and crazy.  I was so excited after drying my tears and pinching myself that they were really there on my porch - what a gift!!

But wait, there's more!  After nearly giving me a heart attack and certainly making me pee myself, they filled me in on the plan for the day.  We were all going to yoga together, then I was spending the day and night away at a hotel in Coronado.  We spent the day at the hotel spa.  I had a prenatal massage and a pedicure, and then I got to enjoy a kid-free dinner at a ritzy Italian restaurant right on the water looking across the bay at downtown San Diego.  It was a glorious day, one I'll remember and cherish forever.  

But wait, there's even more!  On Sunday, after checking out of the hotel, we came back to our house.  Tia Jess, Tia Sarah, and Grammy surprised the boys with their visit.  Jesse and I got to go out to lunch while the three ladies took Sammy and Gabriel to a carnival down the street.  Could the weekend have been anymore perfect???

I tear up still just thinking about how much effort and time and energy went into planning this weekend.  In yoga that morning, the instructor asked us to find a focus for our practice that morning.  The only word that came to mind was "blessed."   It really sums my life up in a nutshell.  I'm so grateful to have a family that loves me enough to do something so special for me.  My parents paid for the whole weekend, and my mom and Jessica (who's still in the pukey phase of pregnancy) took time off from their busy lives and flew all the way from Florida and back again in about 48 hours.  Sarah, also sick with morning sickness, drove four hours each way from Ridgecrest to help make this all happen.  I'm especially thankful for Jesse, my great sport of a husband who was a willing participant in this scheme, for taking our rambunctious boys for the weekend all by himself and also for understanding how wonderful this time with my mom and sisters would be for me.  

I kept asking all weekend what I could do to repay my family for planning such an amazing, wonderful surprise.  They kept telling me to have a baby already, so I guess that's what I have to do next!