Surprise!

I asked Hayden what kind of birthday party he wanted, and he went into great detail describing a surprise party (where people hide and jump out and yell “Surprise!”). Which was kind of a surprise to me, but I wanted to make it happen, if I could.

So I invited a couple friends and we went down to Chuck E. Cheese while Ryan and Hayden ran some errands. Once we were ready, Ryan blindfolded Hayden with a knit cap and drove him to CEC. Once they were in the doors, Ryan took off the hat—but the friends were still hiding.

When Hayden passed the kid check, finally we let the other kids run out and shout . . . okay, so they didn’t actually say “Surprise” but they ran out as a surprise.

Hayden . . . wasn’t that surprised? After about 10 seconds, he realized who these people were and was very excited. But it seemed like the biggest surprise was when he saw me with the camera—before he saw his friends.

Ah well. A surprise visit to Chuck E. Cheese makes any six-year-old’s birthday, r