Par-tay!!!

(FYI: this is not the readers digest version, this is the for posterity version...feel free to skim!)

I have been working for months (literally) on a surprise party for my parents. Both of them turn 50 this year within months of each other, so I decided it would be fun to throw them a joint surprise party. We've never done something big like this for my parents, and they totally deserve it, and so it seemed like now was as good a time as any. I got my sisters and brother on board with me and we've been planning and scheming since September. I called their old friends, broke into their email accounts to get email addresses, and had all sorts of fun. I've been so excited about it that I even dreamt about it the night before the party. (I dreamt that Kort and I were riding our bikes over to their house to decorate at 5:30 in the morning and were nearly there before we realized that they would be home and see the decorations before the party that night.)

On the day of the party I knew they had no idea what was going on when I called my mom and asked her what she was doing that day and she told me her plans without knowing that I had actually planned her day. We had some friends of theirs invite them over for dinner and to watch a game. Unfortunately they had to come up with some crazy excuses to get my parents back over to their house where we were waiting for them with all of their friends.

I realized after they walked in and we yelled, "Surprise!" that I should have made a sign that said 'Happy 50th Cary and Lynette!' because the first words out of their mouths were "for what?"

(I later found out that my mom thought some of Syd's friends were playing a joke, and my dad thought the party was just for my mom until he had been there for about 10 minutes. He was wondering why we hadn't told him. Ya, a sign would have been helpful.) But after some explaining they came in and we all had a great time.

We had made a slide show full of great pictures from the past... I put together a time line of the past 50 years. I did pop culture and history along the top and their life in pictures along the bottom. I thought it turned out awesome! It was probably at least 10 ft. long.

I had sent out these questionnaire's with all of the invitations asking people to send back their answers to questions like, what was the funnies thing you saw Cary or Lynette do, or what was your most memorable moment with Cary or Lynette. I had originally intended to do a game and make my parents guess who had said what about them, but too many party goers were bums, and so I just printed up the responses I got and put them on cards and hung them on the wall. I had a lot of fun reading people's responses. It's always fun to hear funny things your parents did way back when. Like my dad mooning people, and my mom wearing bustier girls bra's on the outside of her clothes.

Kort made an awesome cake and since we forgot to buy candles, they each got to blow out one.

There was lots of great food...

Lots of great friends...

And hopefully a lot of fun!