A Ron Swanson Birthday

Mike and I love the show Parks and Recreation. We enjoy the characters, the jokes, and the overall ridiculousness of the show. One of his favorite characters is Ron Swanson, a meat-loving curmudgeon whose deadpan humor make him a fun character.

"There's only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk. Which is water that is lying about being milk." - Ron Swanson

Haha. Love it.

Anyway...several months ago, we were watching the episode where Leslie Knope surprises Ron with a birthday dinner all to himself, watching his favorite movie, drinking his favorite whiskey, eating his beloved steak. Mike mentioned how fun that would be, so I tucked it away as an idea for his birthday.

Fast forward to having 3 kiddos under 2, and my crazy health issues, and I just wasn't sure what I was going to do for Mike for his birthday. I have such limited capacity these days, but I needed to do something special for my sweet hubby. He has basically held us all together the past 3 months, and I wanted him to know how much I love and appreciate him. So I enlisted the help of my brother, his sister, our moms, and my aunt...and together we were able to pull off a pretty decent re-creation! :)

Of course, I made the "Mike" version of the dinner, ordering filet mignon fajitas to go with his 2 favorites: chips and salsa and Costco chocolate cake. He got to enjoy his whiskey and his favorite movie, and I even ordered a cheap "bib" off Amazon to complete the episode replica. I stayed to have dinner with him, but then he got an evening to himself to relax and sleep, without the craziness of bedtime with little ones.

This was a fun and silly way to celebrate Mike's birthday, but I wanted to make it special for him. He has endured so much chaos in the last few months, never once complaining and repeatedly asking how else he can help. He really has been the glue for our family, and I am so thankful for how he loves and takes care of us all. He deserves so much more than chocolate cake and whiskey, but hopefully this small token of my love and gratitude made him feel loved and adored.

I am so thankful to everyone who helped me pull this off, because I certainly couldn't have done it without all of them. And I am so glad that Mike loved his Ron Swanson birthday surprise :)