Gilby's 40th!

Yes, it's hard to believe, but we celebrated my young-at-heart husband's 40th birthday a few weeks ago! Of course 40 isn't that old, but it definitely felt like a milestone!

We started off the day at the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association's Annual Holiday Party. At first I thought it would be a bummer that Gilby would have to work that morning, but it ended up being really good that he was occupied with work, and our busy morning helped me keep quiet about all the surprises I had planned for later in the day!

When Gilby got home from the party, I had a "Bacon, Bacon, Bacon Pizza" (that's actually the name of it and he loves bacon) ready for our family birthday celebration. The kids love birthdays and were pretty excited to celebrate Daddy.

The boys' gift is Ryker's footprint and Myles' hand print made into a superhero image to celebrate their superhero daddy. Sydney's gift is a picture of she and Gilby surrounded by things she had told me about Gilby.

About My Daddy: I love that he is my daddy. I love when he plays with me. I like when he swings with me. He makes me feel happy. Daddy treats other people good. I like when he brings us to the park. Daddy is funny when he says silly things. Daddy is smart because he goes to work. I want to go skiing with my daddy. Happy Birthday! I love you, Daddy. Love, Sydney 

After he had opened up all of his presents, I gave Gilby a card with a surprise message inside that said:

Surprise!
A birthday guest is on his way.
You need to go fetch him at DIA.
Pack your hand warmers and strap on your boots.
From there you're heading north to shoot.
Save some energy for beers, cheers, and humor.
An evening of fun has been planned...at least that's the rumor.

About 45 minutes later, Gilby was on his way to the airport to pick up his surprise guest. He had no idea it was this guy until he pulled up to passenger pickup.

Gilby's brother, Joe, graciously flew in from Iowa to spend the weekend celebrating Gilby's birthday with us. From the airport, I had arranged for them to go clay shooting, and after that they headed to Dry Dock, a local brewery, for a few beers. At this point, Gilby was under the impression that he was meeting up with our family later for his birthday dinner.

Meanwhile, I was working away at home getting ready for his surprise party that night! For the past month, I had been organizing the details to throw a surprise party for Gilby at a local restaurant. The hardest part was keeping it a secret from him. I pretty much tell Gilby everything (whether he's interested or not), so to have to filter what I was able to say was so hard! Somehow, I actually kept it a secret and he was truly surprised!

We had the party at Slattery's Irish Pub, and forty of our friends were able to come (for his fourtieth!). Everyone had a great time chatting, eating, drinking, and overall celebrating a fabulous guy.

The kids had fun celebrating Daddy with lots of friends. A challenge in planning the party was that I couldn't do any of it with the kids around, and couldn't mention anything to them until the day of the party! If I'm not working, I'm pretty much with my kids, so this left little time to get things done. One of my friends told me that when Gilby walked in and everyone else was yelling, "Surprise!" Ryker stood up on his chair and yelled, "DAD, PUT ON A HAT!" I guess he still didn't quite get it...

As always, my parents helped me a lot in putting the details together! Plus, they took the kids after the party for an overnight sleepover. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I had fun making a few decorations and adding some special touches to his party. My dad built the stand-up frames with chicken wire where I was able to attach pictures of Gilby throughout his life (bottom left). I also printed a list of things that happened 40 years ago in 1975, and highlighted ten facts about Gilby in the "Did You Know?" frames (top right).

Did You Know?

1. Gilby skipped his college graduation and instead took a road trip with peers to Wyoming and climbed Devil's Tower.
2. Gilby submitted a video application for the reality show, "Survivor." He received one callback, but unfortunately never made it on the show. 
3. Gilby and Jocelyn are both from Iowa but met in Colorado. They grew up 1.5 hours from each other, and Gilby attended college in Jocelyn's hometown while she was still in high school there. Gilby was a volunteer youth director at a church where some of Jocelyn's friends attended. They still have several mutual acquaintances from Iowa. Gilby traveled 800 miles from home to meet and fall in love with his neighbor. 
4. After graduating high school, Gilby spent the next 11 months in India as an exchange student. He had never before been on a plane, but traveled for 35 hours across the world by himself. He still regards it as one of the best experiences of his life. 
5. One of Gilby's friends would sometimes call him "MacGilby," comparing him to "MacGyver" because of his ability to figure things out. If you need it built, fixed, rigged, or programmed, he's your guy. He almost always has a multi tool, Sharpie, and Super Glue in his pocket. 
6. Gilby's real name is actually Tim. Timothy Bryon Gilbert to be exact. In high school, his older brother was already known as "Gilbert" by the football coaches, so they starting calling Gilby, "Gilby," and it stuck. His family still calls him Tim (or Timmy if you're Grandma Steck), but otherwise he's been known as Gilby for the past 20+ years. 
7. A few years ago, Gilby slept in a tent outside of a new Chik-Fil-A to be one of the first 100 customers. It snowed blizzard-like conditions all night long. He got 52 free Chik-Fil-A meals. 
8. Gilby did not actually receive his college diploma until almost 6 years after finishing school. On principle, he had refused to write a 200 page paper, and finished with an incomplete in one of his last classes. When the professor retired, the university cleared out his outstanding records, and mailed Gilby a diploma, and a letter saying he had completed the current coursework requirements. 
9. In college, Gilby decided he wanted to learn to play the guitar. With no previous musical experience, he taught himself how to play well enough to be in several worship bands, lead many campfire sing-a-longs, and teach several youth how to play. 
10. Gilby is an excellent cook. He does the majority of cooking for his family, and has dreamed of opening a restaurant, or at least a food truck. 

After celebrating at Slattery's, a few of us went across the street to Comedy Works for a Tom Papa stand up show. A few belly laughs made for a great way to end the night.

The "Mancation" crew was all able to celebrate with us, which made Gilby so happy.

  

This man is truly the rock in our family and a great partner for me through life. I may be the one organizing all the details, keeping our busy calendar aligned, and making sure our bills are paid on time, but he sees the big picture, has an unshakable faith, keeps us calm, centered, and focused, and doesn't let me dwell too long, or take anything too seriously, especially ourselves.

 I love you, Gilby. Happy 40th.