Grayzeeelife: 40 Years never looked so good

Yesterday we (me, Sister Fantanimal, Sister KidEduc8r, FlyRunner and ChildPilot [my other cousin, Cyndi]) threw a surprise party for mi madre and mi padre's 40th Anniversary.

(If you don't know whether I typed that correctly, yes, I said 40 years)

Mi padre knew about the party b/c we needed him to confirm his time off. He wasn't scheduled to be off this weekend, but mi madre requested for him to take the day so they could celebrate their anniversary.

Mi madre didn't want a party, didn't want us to spend the money (though we did offer to do so!), so she opted for a family vacation (still under construction). We didn't want thee big accomplishment to go by without recognition, so that's when we decided to plan a smaller party without her knowledge.

This sounds like an easy task. If any of your have trying to coordinate all the details of a surprise gathering before, you'll know what i'm talking about. With the guest(s) of honor in the dark, they inevitably throw up road blocks and detours that you could not have seen coming. I'd say the biggest one we had to deal with was when mi madre decided she would invite all her oldest friends and family (aka all the guests for the surprise party) to a brunch at the famous Jefferson Hotel.

I can not even begin to tell you how the (already confirmed party guests) felt about having to turn mi madre & mi padre down for a celebration at the hotel. They didn't want to hurt her feeling, but they secretly knew she's see them later. Luckily, they took it well & a couple of their oldest friends even went along for the event and still showed up later for the party. Talk about dedication!

We decorated with flowers & spring-colored items since their anniversary happened to fall on the first weekend of Spring - and what a glorious Spring weekend it was!

Mi madre & mi padre arrived at the ChildPilot's house (where the party was hosted) just in time. The first words we heard were "Why are all these cars we know here?" followed by the whole group yelling "Happy Anniversary". While mi padre had the "I knew all along" (which he did) face, mi madre reflected her surprise as her eyes flew open wide and started to tear a little.

Don't you love it when a surprise goes off without a hitch????

The usual amount of "did you know?", "were there clues?", "did he spill the beans?" could be overheard through the afternoon. Lots of camera flashes, lots of laughs & lots of love keep the guests on the surprise party high.

Now, I don't want anyone to think this party was a 'piece of cake' to put together - there was lots of sweat & effort involved! We made all the food ourselves, with the exception of the super duper cake from the bakery, and that was a nice opportunity to spend time with my family. That time had its own kind of fun!

These shots should give you an idea of the memorable time we had!