SURPRISE!!!!!

Casey graduated from Graduate School this past Saturday. Since she wasn't doing any of the formal ceremonies down at UK, I thought I'd surprise her with a surprise graduation party. Those that know me know I'm horrible at keeping surprise stuff like that a secret. And it's not that I don't keep other peoples' secrets; I just can't keep my own.

I first made sure that my parents and Casey's parents could attend. I wanted Casey's brother, Matthew, to join us if he could; but since he's still in undergrad and had exams the week after, he wasn't able to join us. I invited a few of our other friends and they were able to keep the secret.

Keeping the details a secret proved to be easier than I thought. I finally got around to buying a grill that my father and grandmother contributed funds to. I certainly procrastinated long enough in buying it (bought it Thursday), but all worked out. I was able to deliver copious amounts of alcohol to my parent's house under the ruse of "picking up Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra tickets". And finally, on the day of the party, I was able to get Casey out of the house under the ruse of "shopping".

While Casey and I shopped around town, the parents helped set everything up and our guests arrived. As Casey was getting hungry and cranky, I did my best to stall our arrival. I tried everything from putting gas in my car at a slow rate, driving at speed limit, etc. When we finally arrived home, I made sure that Casey opened the door while I got our shopping items.

As Casey opened the door to our house, she could tell something was up. In the now immortal words, she said, "Criss B. Did you do something?" Then came the surprise :)

We had a great time with those that were able to attend. We christened the new grill with many hamburgers and enjoyed a rousing game of Apples to Apples. George, Casey's father, got to witness the "I'm the Juggernaut8...!" YouTube video. Never got his opinion on that one...