This will be the Surprise Party: Actual Party Pictures Edition. See the Planning, Detail, and Decorations Edition here. Before we begin, let me say this: I took a lot of pictures and so did Erin and Allison. I probably won't give proper credit under each picture, but if it looks blurry and like the camera was probably on the wrong settings, then I took it. If it's crystal clear and a good shot, then it belongs to one of them. Got it?
Thanks to the last super-long post, you know we used a fake invitation to get my mom to the location. The real invitation told our guests to arrive at 6:30 because the birthday girl would make her appearance at 7:00. In my head, that seemed like a perfect plan so that she wouldn't see anyone in the parking lot. And in reality it worked perfectly, but it felt like FOREVER before she finally got there.
Since my parents were "attending a party hosted by a coworker," my dad called "his coworker Heath" as they got close to the venue to ask where it was located. He was actually calling my phone to give me the signal that they were already there. As soon as I got the call, we got everyone in position. To get to the party room, you had to walk down a long hallway.
The hallway was a straight shot into our party space, so to keep her from seeing everyone from the opposite end of the hall, we decided to close the two doors. They had small windows so we were still able to watch her come in.
And, just like every surprise party in any movie you've ever seen, we had a false alarm. This couple is NOT my parents.
I quickly snapped the picture above and then jumped in with the crowd, so even I didn't realize it wasn't them until our latecomers opened the door. Frustrated, we told them to hurry and get in line because my parents were due to arrive any minute.
Sure enough, as soon as I made it back to the window, they had just opened the doors. Close call!
This is what my mom was about to see when she opened the door. The crowd was so big and wide that I couldn't get everyone in one shot, so this is just a handful of everyone there.
Here's the look on my mom's face that I was able to capture when she walked in.
Of course my dad, goofball that he is, walked in behind her like the party was for him. "For me? For her?"
My brothers and I were the first to get to hug my mom.
One of the next people my mom saw was her sister that traveled that afternoon just to surprise her.
It was a good while before she recovered from the shock. While our guests helped themselves to the food buffet, my dad took his girl out for a spin on the dance floor.
We mingled with all of our guests for a while.
Allison and her hubby came to help with the picture-taking.
And Mary and little Wesley were there too. (Rumor has it that Parks tried to lay a big kiss on Wesley's cheek, but she promptly wiped it off.)
After it looked like everyone had finished eating, my dad hopped up on stage to give a toast to my mom.
We played the slideshow immediately after Dad's toast, and then, just like at any other birthday party, we brought out the cake and sang to the birthday girl.
Mom got help from Parker blowing out all those candles. (No, we didn't put 60 candles on the cake. We're not that mean. Or maybe I just couldn't afford to buy that many...heehee.)
Mom with her kids.
After the (carrot) cake had been cut and passed around, the band cranked up the music and it was time to dance!
Have I ever told you about how my mom's friends like to get down? Woo, those ladies can boogie!
Please note the amount of sweat on the back of my dad's neck in the picture. Y'all, we danced and danced and danced, and were hurtin' the next morning.
Before I wrap this up, let me leave you with some pictures of me and Doc. As hosts of the party, we felt the need to get things started on the dance floor. I don't think I realized how many awesome pictures of us were being taken at the time. But they can't ever be used as blackmail if I go ahead and post them myself, right?
Tell me, who do you think has the better moves? Him or me?
So maybe we like to get a little creative when we dance. Anything to keep everyone entertained...
I'll be back with the third and final edition soon!