See that? That was the banner that my friend Colleen designed for me that was supposed to be hanging in the party bus that we were supposed to be on this Saturday night. You see, I had this great surprise party planned for my husband's 40th birthday that is coming up this weekend. Unfortunately, all of my plans went to hell last week.
I had been planning this party for months. It took me a while to come up with a fun idea, but I think it ended up being pretty cool. We were going to have dinner and then take a party bus to the Hard Rock in Tampa. After we got back we were going to stay in a hotel. It was going to be a great night out!
Before I even had a plan nailed down, I contacted one of Brian's old friends from high school and asked him if he could make the trip to join us. He sounded really excited about it and said to count him in. Once I figured out what we would be doing I contacted Brian's other friends and let them know about the party. Brian has a small group of close friends, so there wouldn't have been that many people anyway, but at least seven of the guys I contacted said to count them in, along with two of our couple friends.
So I set the wheels in motion. Brian's cousin works for Hilton and she got us a great deal on hotel rooms and helped to reserve a block for us. I found a party bus company and rented a really cool bus for the evening. I had to pay a $400 non-refundable deposit for the bus, but that was OK because there would be no reason for me to cancel. HA!
When I sent out the Evite, though, only three of his friends replied with a "yes". And his friend from high school? I never heard back from him, even after several attempts to contact him. That was fine, though. With the three that did respond and our two other friends, there still would have been a decent crowd. Then last week, two of the three cancelled on me. I was so upset. I just didn't think it was worth all of the money I was going to spend for just a few of us to take this $1,400 party bus out for the night. So I cancelled it.
I'm really upset about this. My husband is one of the most wonderful men you will ever meet. He does so much for us, and never really gets anything good for himself. I REALLY wanted to do something awesome for him for his 40th birthday. And now it is going to suck. Oh, and I'm out $400 too. Nice.
Since my parents were coming up for the weekend to stay with the kids while we were out, we are going to take advantage of the free babysitting and have an adult day at Universal, followed by a nice dinner. We have annual passes to Universal, but we don't often get the chance to go without kids. This way we can ride all the rides and don't have to spend all day riding Cat In The Hat and One Fish Two Fish. We'll have fun, and we'll have a nice day together. I just wanted more.
12 comments:
What? That's just really, really rude. Did the guys claim to just have "something come up" or what? That definitely sucks that they would tell you yes so that you made all the plans and put down your deposit but then back out - I think you have every right to be mad.
But I also think that Brian is going to appreciate the thought and still love spending a day with his loving wife!
Ugh, that sucks - Mommy hates when people flake out like that! I hope you guys can brush it off and have a great day anyway...
That is horrible. I can't believe how rude people can be.
You will still have a great time with one another.
And I'm sure the thought you put into it will mean a lot to him. Try not to be too bummed about the $400 - everything happens for a reason.
LeeAnn, that really stinks. Sometimes you wonder what people are thinking. If they couldn't make it or didn't want to go, then they should have told you up front. I am sure Brian will just be appreciative of the effort that you tried to go above and beyond for his birthday. Enjoy your time together at Universal. It will be better just the two of you :)
What a disappointement! I truly hate it when I feel let down by friends. Why can't honesty be the best policy? Why can't some people look you in the eye and just say "I have a conflict. It's too expensive" whatever the reason is, and just be honest? I'd be upset too. But, I think you'll still have a wonderful time, and maybe the universe knows that you and Brian need a day alone.
Oh no! I am so so sorry. What a sucky situation. Do they have kids? Do you think they were worried about finding sitters? 9 times out of 10 that's why we have to decline invitations.
Your husband and you will have a blast and I bet it will be more fun with just hte two of you anyway!
LeeAnn, that really really really sucks! I'm so sorry!
I had something similar happy to me two summers ago where I bought music festival tickets for me and two friends in March, we talked about it for MONTHS and then a week before the concert, one friend backed out and HALF AN HOUR before leaving, the other friend backed out. Oh, and they left me with $300 worth of tickets to pay for. Ugh. Still mad about that one!
I hope you guys are able to make the most of your weekend and enjoy it despite it not being the awesomeness you had planned. Having to rely on other people to follow through with what they agreed to really sucks sometimes....
:( that's really and truly so disappointing!!! I'm sooo sorry! I'm sure you guys will have a great time nonetheless, but I'm just soooo sorry people can be assfaces sometimes. :(
HAPPY 40TH to your hubs!!
Aww, man. That sucks! I wish your plan could have worked out. At least you can still do something fun together - and with out kids.
That's just terrible. I would be so ticked off! The $400 deposit is the worst. I think I'd be sending out a bill to everyone. I hope you have a good day at Universal, though.
Ugh that sucks. Glad you are making the best of it and getting a day alone! You have a lucky hubby for you to plan something fun like that!
I hope you have fun at Universal, that is one place I could NOT get my hubby to go with me alone since he doesn't like roller coasters.
I hope you enjoy the kidless night
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