Weekend Full of Surprises

Once again I've fallen behind where blogging is concerned.  I have to backtrack to last weekend.  On Thursday, week before last, the kids and I packed up the truck and headed out of town to Franklin, TN to surprise my Mom.  My Dad, brothers, and I had been planning for a couple of months to pay her a surprise visit and then to throw them a party celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary (which was on June 5th).  It was my first road trip alone with the kids.  They did so well!  My first stop along the way was at a Target to replace our broken DVD player.  It may not have gone so well had I not made that important stop.  While there, Talan insisted upon using the big potty.  He is still working on his aim and ended up saturating his pants when he sat down to use the bathroom.  Oh well.  Minor issue.  Off came the pants and he made the remainder of the trip in his diaper and a t-shirt. 

We were almost there, maybe an hour outside of Franklin, when he started to complain and was whining, asking me to hold him.  I wasn't sure what was going on because he had been fine up until then.  I soon found out why he was whining because he proceeded to vomit all over himself, his car seat, and the floor.  We pulled over to clean him up at a truck stop.  I got some crazy looks as I dry heaved (very loudly) while trying to get it all cleaned up.  By the time we showed up to the door to surprise my Mom he was down to only a diaper.   I hid in the bushes and had the kids ring the doorbell.  To say my Mom was shocked to see us is an understatement. 

At this point I just explained that we had some free time and wanted to see them.  We didn't want to let on that my brothers were on the way or that we had a big party planned.  Later that night my Dad left to "go to Home Depot".  When he came back with Jeff in tow my Mom was once again in shock!

The kids were loving all of the excitement.

At this point she was on to us and wanted to know what was going on and if anyone else was coming.  She said that her heart couldn't handle any more surprises.  We had to let her know that everyone was coming.  Stephen was supposed to have flown in at the same time but his flight was delayed.   He got in later that night.  Next up was Josh the following night.  He, too, had travel issues and ended renting a car and driving from Louisville, Kentucky.  He arrived somewhere around midnight and the welcome committee was outside waiting for him.

It may have been late (or early depending on how you look at it) but we were all pumped to be together and decided to celebrate.

The next morning Kevin flew in (surprise, surprise....he had travel delays as well).  My Mom was still in the dark about the party we had planned.  The four of us kids said that we were off to go shopping but instead ran all over town picking up last minute items for the party.

When we got home we had to get them out of the house so that we could decorate and get everything ready.  They left with the kids to go out to lunch and we went crazy decorating and prepping.

We even laid out clothes for her so that she didn't have to think about what to wear.

When she got home she was once again floored and in shock.

The rest of us were really glad to have gotten to this point.  Keeping all of those secrets was not an easy feat.  Lying to your parents is so much easier when you're a teenager.  It's not fun as an adult.  We sent her to her room to relax and to get ready until the party started.  The guests began arriving at 5 and she was finally allowed to come out and take it all in.

If you can believe it, there were still a couple of surprises.  Her sister and brother-in-law, my Aunt Jill and Uncle David, had driven in from Louisiana and so had some close friends of theirs, Mr. Jimmy & Mrs. Yvonne.  Mr. Jimmy was supposed to have been my Dad's best man.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it to the wedding so my Grandpa stood in for him.  Mr. Jimmy showed up to the party in a tuxedo.  He said to my Mom that he was sorry he couldn't make the wedding but wanted to make up for it 40 years later. 

My parents have a wonderful network of friends who live in their neighborhood.  A couple of them went all out and provided delicious appetizers.

Reese was so excited to see my Mom's wedding dress.

After we all had our fill of food, we made our way outside.  We were determined to snap a family photo, something we always manage to forget when we're all together.  If you're wondering why we're all dressed in purple, it's because it was the color of her bridesmaids dresses. 

We were all so excited to have Aunt Jill & Uncle David there with us.  I know it meant the world to my Mom.

Next up was the champagne toast.

I found an awesome bakery that was able to recreate their wedding cake.  They did such an amazing job!

The kids weren't about to miss out on that action!

All in all the weekend was a huge success.  It was so wonderful to be all together as a family and to be celebrating my parents' marriage (a huge thank you to my Dad for getting us all there).  I hope we can all come together again soon.  Happy Anniversary to my beautiful Mom & Dad.  Love you!