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Happy 40th Mark


 I wanted to surprise Mark for his 40th birthday. 40 is a big year and I wanted it to be special. Once Karen hosted a surprise party for Orrie, I knew that plan A was out. My plan B was to invite a few couples that I thought Mark would enjoy seeing and getting together with. That plan flopped,  Plan C was in effect, and it was the best one of all.  The kids stayed home and spent the night with Grandparents. I told Mark the two of us had plans and to be ready to leave at 3. As we were getting ready to leave on this 8 degree chilly day, I told him to dress warm, with warm gloves and a stocking cap. His face showed his concern. I only told him this to throw him off, no way were we going outside in this kind of cold. We drove towards hwy 141 and I headed west instead of the usual east towards Des Moines. It was fun to see Mark guessing where we were headed. Once we pulled into the Hotel Patte  parking lot in Perry, he knew we were eating there. They have a very nice restaurant. What he didn’t know was there was so much more. In the car, I had bags packed for us for our overnight stay. Inside, we got on an elevator and went to the basement floor. Mark asked if there were rooms in the basement. When we walked into the spa, he grinned and was very surprised. The two of us enjoyed the most relaxing hour massage. Mark was happy as he had been wanting to schedule a massage with the chiropractor all fall. He really enjoyed it and kept telling me I really got him. He was really surprised. He also told me he has been wanting to stay at the hotel for years. It is an awesome historical hotel opened in 1915, has been closed many times and reopened, it may not be around much longer. We checked into a themed room after Bill Bell a famous Tuba player. The room was nice with an enormous bathroom and Jacuzzi. Although the hotel did not have a pool, they had a nice hot tub. We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant. The entire hotel makes you feel like you have gone back in time. It is a very neat place to stay. The next morning we had breakfast, then had one last surprise. Karen and Orrie brought the kids down to join us and we all went bowling. The hotel had its own two lane bowling alley. It was very cool and we had it to ourselves. That was a lot of fun. Karen sure is a good cheerleader. She hoops and hollers for everyone and gets so excited if they make a srtike. I got a kick out of her. Mark opened a few gifts, then weall  had lunch before heading home. It turned out to be the perfect birthday present for my hard to buy for husband. He is so hard working and under appreciated. I wanted to make this day special. He told me a million times he enjoyed it. After we got home on the 7th, the kids wanted to finish pampering Dad.

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