Back in October 2010 (yes I'm still behind) while still in Peru, Darren and I had a long discussion regarding when we should return to the U.S. We ultimately decided to go home for Christmas. Well since our families thought we were coming home sometime in February or March, we decided it would be a perfect opportunity for a SURPRISE! So towards the middle of November I started asking my family where they were going to spend Christmas this year. They had no idea and hadn’t really talked about it. Later I sent a follow up email stating that Darren and I, although far from home, would like to give them a Christmas gift. I wouldn’t tell them what it was but told them we wanted to send them to an event that would be sure to bring the Christmas spirit. So we purchased tickets to The Nutcracker Ballet and then emailed them some limited information. So they got pretty excited and had fun trying to guess what it was. Unbeknownst to them, we had purchased two additional seats right beside them (although they thought it would only be the four of them).

So everything is in place. They are planning on going to Symphony Hall in Phoenix on Christmas Eve around 2pm and by December 23rd, we are on an airplane to Phoenix from Santiago, Chile. We arrive late that night and stay in a local hotel (only about a mile away from my sister’s house). I could hardly sleep that night due to the excitement and anticipation. We ate dinner that night at a little mexican restaurant (yum!) and talked about how we were going to pull this off.

The next morning we got ready, left our luggage at the front desk and took the light rail to Symphony Hall. We arrived early and left the printed tickets at Will Call (we couldn’t email them since it would show there were 6 seats). I hoped they wouldn’t think it was odd that there were printed tickets at Will Call. So, we got our 2 tickets and went inside. We found a hidden niche along one of the far walls and hid there until their arrival. It was so nerve-racking. By the time they walked in 10 minutes later my heart was beating wildly. It was so surreal to see them standing there. Like a dream. We waited for them to go into the portal and take a seat and then we snuck in behind them. The ushers were excitedly watching the entire thing as we had talked to them earlier and told them of our plans. Darren got out the camera and started videoing as I walked down the stairs toward them (after a little encouragement). I had the program in front of my face in case they turned around. My heart was beating even more wildly by this time. Finally we made it down the stairs and I sat in the seat directly behind my mom. I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “excuse me but I think you’re in my seat.” She turned around, along with my sisters and my sisters’ boyfriend (now husband), and they just…STARED! Finally my mom said, “oh my gosh” and I heard a random “what are you guys doing here?” Tiffany said, “whatever!” Then everyone stopped and just…STARED! It was so funny. I think we were all in shock. I finally got a hug from Tiff with the comment, “I don’t know whether to cry or be happy.” This has to be the best surprise I’ve ever been involved in. :)

(I couldn't get the video to upload but I'll keep trying)

After watching The Nutcracker, we went to my uncles's and aunt's house for dinner. To play a joke on my Uncle Derek, my mom suggests we stay outside hidden behind the truck while she goes inside and announces that they have "guests" for dinner. We later found out that she went inside, pulled my uncle aside and said that she had invited two homeless people to dinner (not technically a lie, we were homeless at this point). My uncle looks at my mom dumbfounded and states, "you did what? Homeless? What am I supposed to tell Helena (his wife)? She's not going to like this." My mom: "just come outside and meet them." Uncle: "you mean they're here?" LOL Good stuff!! They were all quite surprised when the homeless guests turned out to be us. :) Merry Christmas everyone!!

After spending Christmas day with my family, we drove to Safford to surprise Darren's parents. On the way we created a series of Christmas rhymes to be part of a scavenger hunt (a Christmas tradition in Darren's family). Example: Alone outside where the fruit trees grow, look for something with a bright green bow. When we arrived in Safford we parked our car down the street and then silently slipped into the yard and hid behind their car. We placed the clues around the yard (with the last one sending them back to the Christmas tree) then rang the doorbell. We watched them read the first clue taped to the front door then walk around the side and eventually the back of the house. At this point we snuck through the front door and headed for the back room. When we heard them come back into the house, we turned the video camera on and started walking down the hall towards the living room. My heart was beating very loudly at this point. As we inched around the corner, we shouted "Merry Christmas!" His parents looked at us with shocked expressions then him mom let out a happy squeal. What a great surprise! It was so fun to be home with our families for the holiday season. We truly had missed our families so this was one of the best Christmas's ever :)