Operation; Surprise Le boo!

Yippee!

I’m super excited, Mission Accomplished. 

Let me start from the top. I was pleased to learn my sweetheart’s birthday was April 8^th. This was going to be my first time celebrating with him, so I asked him his birthday plans, imagine my shock when he mentioned he didn’t have any. He said he only remembers his birthday when people start sending him congratulatory messages on Facebook.

Oh, but I love birthdays and the celebration that comes with them. In that moment, I made up my mind that my fiance's birthday was going to be different this year. It would be one he would never forget. I knew what I had to do.

Surprise him!

Ray is a very smart person; I find it difficult to get anything past him. Surprising him would be one helluva task. I got to work, thank God for Google. I started to search for all the cool spots for a picnic in Lagos. I even called a few friends to ask. In the end, I had two top choices; Lekki Conservation Center and Ndubuisi Kanu Park. My research showed these spots had the serene environment and necessary ambiance for such a small party.

Lekki Conservation Centre, according to my google search.

Peacocks, for real?

Oh, I was looking forward to this monkey...or not

And the tree house

Step 2; I decided to recruit an accomplice. His brother Danny is super cool and they are close. I called him and told him I planned to come into Lagos on Friday and surprise my boo on Saturday. He loved the idea. Then he agreed to check out my proposed picnic spots because I wasn’t in Lagos. Everything was perfect or so I thought!

My google search showed this as the Ndubuisi Kanu Park.

Nice for a picnic, huh?

Imagine my heartbreak when he calls on Friday to say the spots were mostly event centers and would likely host wedding receptions that Saturday. You should have seen the look on my face. I searched my head for other options, chai!! I already had a menu of all the snacks, fruits and drinks I would get for the picnic. Surely, I wouldn't have been struggling to find cool spots if this was my Enugu, Abuja or Calabar. Lagos didn’t like me, I concluded. How could it be so difficult to get a nice spot for a picnic, ordinary picnic o. Phew. Change of plans.

Next, I thought about the beach. But Le boo doesn’t like water. He never seemed excited anytime I casually mentioned the beach in our conversations. So, no beach. And I realized I didn’t have any more bright ideas.

I checked my phone after the call with Danny. It was 4:30Pm, Friday, the 7^th and I was already in my sister’s house in Lagos. For two weeks, I had avoided mentioning anything about his birthday because I wanted him to think I forgot lol. That way, the surprise would be phenomenal.

Eventually, I decided that what mattered most was my presence. I would listen to Dan and just hang out with him at the mall, see a movie, maybe even convince him to try the beach.

My time at the Kakum National park, Ghana was lowkey why I fancied the Lekki C Center

Friday, 11 pm

My fiancé calls me on the phone to know how my health is, because I had a minor home accident that morning. During the call, I was so tempted to tell him I was in town. At midnight, I was awake and it took a lot of self control to stop from calling and wishing him a happy birthday.

*****

Birthday Morning.

I woke up late on his birthday because I was awake until 3 am working and posting a birthday message on the blog for him. He called me at 8 am to know how I was feeling. At this point, I’m amazed that his tone is still so pleasant even though it seemed like I didn’t even remember it was his birthday.

Eventually, it is midday, and Danny tells me he’s lured him to the mall. I don’t think my heart has beat that fast in recent years. I was super excited on my way to meet him; the Uber driver must have noticed how I was smiling like a cat because he kept smiling back at me.

Surprise!!!

 

Surprise your man and catch him all casual wearing a beanie. Oops. 

When I saw him, my heart did a somersault. It had been over a month since we last saw and he was bent over on his phone. I tiptoed behind him and gave him the mother of all pecks. He smiled even before he saw me, got up from his seat and gave me a really warm hug. I can still feel the warmth of the hug right now. The look on his face was priceless. He had that smile that always made me want to melt right into him. #Blush. In that moment, it was all worth it.

Funny coincidence, we seem to always wear same colors.

April 8^th turned out to be much more than I had planned for it to be. We even ran in the rain at some point. Took several pictures, had countless giggles. Even though the gift I had ordered arrived on the 9^th instead of 7^th, it was an awesome time, for Ray and for me.

When he brought me back home several hours later, I could tell he had fun. Well, mostly because he kept saying how he was so glad that I came and it was the best birthday ever.

Ray, Olivia, Dan (L-R or R-L, I dunno)

So now, I can’t wait for all the April 8^th in our future. It’ll be one more day to celebrate God’s special gift to me and I'll have a thousand and one picnic spots all checked out and ready. Thanks for your help Danny. 

And they lived happily ever after!

And did I mention how much fun I had. Wowzer!

Stay in Love,

Mc Olivia.

N: B - It was really difficult to find ideas for fun stuff to do for your man on his birthday/Christmas/valentine online. Most of the blogs had something for the ladies but not much for the men. But I believe the men in our lives deserve to be celebrated as much as the ladies, so I’ve compiled a list of simple things to do for my Mister going forward. I’m going to share a part of my list with you, so that you can also put a smile on your man’s face on any of his special days. Watch out for the post on this blog very soon.

N B B :  This is my personal wedding series, Becoming Mrs Ray, a Nigerian Girl's journey 'From yes to I Do'. Please feel free to comment and give your welcome suggestions, I don't bite but be polite. This series is hosted on my event management blog, Mc Olivia Events. Don't forget to subscribe to the blog and share the posts you love with friends.