I can haz dreams fulfilled

I have a very difficult time defining and adhering to the fine line between "excited anticipation" and "overly-obsessing-to-the-point-of-ruining-it-for-everyone".
I like to be excited and look forward to plans and events. Mark is more of the pessimistic type who doesn't like to think about it at all so he has no expectations that will inevitably be disappointed. (Which sounds a lot more terribly depressing than it really is.) It's one of the points of life on which we're pretty much completely opposites.
The event in question is our sudden trip to Iowa for my grandpa's 90th birthday.
And here's that story.

My mom called one day to ask how we were doing and I think to tell me that I have some mail at their house or something. Not important. Randomly she announces that at the end of the month she and my dad are headed out to Iowa for grandpa's birthday.
Going to Iowa was a trip we made quite a bit during my childhood and early adolescent years. Spirit Lake is a place very near and dear to my heart as well as somewhere I've been dying to take Mark since before we were engaged. Bucket list item, much? So when I heard they were going I was immediately jealous and verbalized my wishes to go as well. Of course my mom wished we could go along but not much more was said on the subject.
A week or so later my dad called to ask about my job situation (which is doing just fine, thank you very much). He also mentioned the Iowa trip and I, again, mentioned I wanted very badly to go along and had said so to Mom as well. I also included that when I told Mark about it he had said, "Well, why not?"
And my dad replied, "Well, I'm looking at tickets later today. But you gotta let me know if you guys can come, I gotta know..."
And I was a mess of "Ok! Ok, I'll talk to Mark! Yeah! Ok!"
Long story short, my parents are the best people evar and are paying for half of the plane fare. We just paid for school this week so we can barely afford ramen let alone roundtrip flights halfway across the country.
BUT WE'RE GOING!!
We'll fly out (I love flying!) thursday the 30th at 5:50 am (ohhh joy), touch down in Denver and then be in Sioux Falls by noon. Assuming everything goes as planned and the airports cooperate with us. Hopefully. We'll stay for the whole weekend and then fly back home Labor Day evening.
WE SO EXCITED.
Well...mostly, that is. Like I mentioned, Mark doesn't dwell on excitement. Plus he has no idea what to expect. And I'm practically bursting because I know it's gonna be so beautiful and fun and relaxing.
But! Also, I cannot wait, there's a band called "Arch Allies" and they tour around doing Styxx, Journey and REO tributes and HOLY SMOKES the lead singer dude sounds exactly like Steve Perry. I kid you not. But he dances around like Jack Black when he sings. It's kinda silly. And they're going to be in Iowa that weekend, playing at Arnold's Park!! So we get to go to that as well. And I love the old theme park. It's totally teeny and has one rickety wooden "roller coaster" but oh my gosh, the memories there.
The one souvenir I'm determined to come home with is an Okoboji sweater for my hubby (or jacket, I don't think he wears sweaters...). Every trip we ever took out there as a family, we always went down to the family-owned sweater store (21 years old and I still have no idea what that place is called. I just know it as the place we got all our sweaters). I need a new one anyway, the ones I still have are too small.
Okoboji is a fake university with a mascot and everything; the Phantoms. Woot Lake Okoboji pride. Baha.
Anytime I wore the sweater to school people would stare at my chest with quizzical eyebrows and say,
"Okobonomon? Oshkoshbigosh? Okoboji university? What is that? Where is it?" and I got to laugh jovially and reply,
"Oh, no. It doesn't exist."
That's usually where the conversations ended.
But anyway. We're gonna swim and walk and read in hammocks and I want to take him real fishing. I hope we do. I love fishing. AND, oh boy, my dear arizona friends, gird thy loins because this will not be easy to hear. I looked on the weather channel and the entire weekend we're there it's gonna be bright and sunny and hanging around right in the upper 70's. And the last two days it's supposed to be pouring rain. I die.
It's gonna be so cheap though, cuz we'll share the car my parents rent and we'll stay at my aunt's house and considering most of my dad's immediate family all lives around the shore of the lake we'll hardly ever eat out.

I seriously cannot express to you how excited I am for this. It's still 2 and a half weeks away but I'm dying to start packing. I CAN'T WAIT!!
Ack!

My face when we land.