Surprise, surprise!

This past weekend was a pretty eventful few days for the Meibers clan. Mommy B and I had strategically arranged our work schedules so that we could have a 4-day break from reality. And by that I mean Mommy B worked normally and I had to take two days of vacation. The reason for this little break was actually to pack up the Griswold family truckster and head southbound to Orlando, FL to pay a surprise visit to Grandma C who was vacationing there with some friends. Naturally, all of her friends were in on the surprise, but GC was none the wiser. You would think she would be after getting to know me for the last 8 years...

Anyway, Mommy B obtained Grandma C's flight itinerary and hotel reservations from her friends, and we booked the same hotel for the same days she was going to be there. So Thursday morning we packed Alli Ru in the backseat and made the 6-hour sprint to the Sunshine State. We checked into the hotel hours before GC and Crew arrived, so we asked the manager for a favor... We told him the situation (all while holding Alli up on the hotel counter for good measure) and asked if we could get a room close by. He told us that not only could he get us a room close by, but could get us the room next door that had a connecting door in between. We said that would be perfect and told them to send up the portable crib as soon as possible (Alli really needed a nap after all the driving).

Within a couple hours, Grandma C and Crew were finally checked in and getting settled in the room next door. Of course, we could hear them coming down the hallway (thanks to GC's friends who knew we were next door) and we readied the Ru for her grand entrance. We had planned on having one of GC's friends pretend to call Room Service and have us knock on the door, but what happened next couldn't have been any better.

Leave it to Grandma C to discover that their room had a connecting door and decide to open it to check things out. She actually opened the door on their side and said "Oh geez, I wonder if we have neighbors? They're really not going to like us after this trip!" Of course, all her friends had cameras in hand, waiting for something to happen...

The next thing she knew, the door on our side flung open and there was her grandchild looking back at her. You should have seen the expression on her face! She was absolutely shocked that not only did someone open the door while she was leaning on it, but that her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were staying right next door! All her friends caught it on camera, so I'm sure there will be pictures on Facebook soon enough. Grandma C couldn't have been happier that she was going to spend the next couple days with her best friends and her granddaughter at the same time.

We spent the next couple days hanging out in Orlando, getting our fill of Steak 'n Shake (we really miss that down here) and watching Grandma C elated to be seeing her granddaughter again. Even though she's coming to Chucktown in a month or so, it was a really great surprise for her. Even though Mommy B and I didn't get a Date Night out of it, it was well worth the trip.

Alli Ru and I waiting in the hotel room for Grandma C to arrive!

Hug for Grandma C! Surprise!