Tuesday Time to Tackle: Surprise Reunion

Hee hee hee. If all goes as scheduled, by the time you are reading this, my mom will have had a wonderful surprise. The planning began about a year ago, but I think my dad has been dreaming of this for about 5 years.

Five years ago, my sister invited my parents out to her house for Thanksgiving. She lives on the opposite side of the country from my parents, my brother, and I. Unbeknownst to my parents, my brother and I (and our families) were also going to be at my sister's house for Thanksgiving.

My parents were delighted, as were my siblings and I. We couldn't believe that we actually managed to keep the reunion a surprise. We giggled like little girls the whole weekend. (My brother might not be OK with that description, but it's pretty accurate.)

About a year ago, my dad mentioned to us kids that he wanted another surprise reunion, but that he wanted to be in on the planning stage this time. Thanks to Facebook messages, we were able to plot and plan. My dad told my mom he wanted to take her to Yellowstone, and that he would take care of all the details. Mom usually takes over any task of organization, but she let my dad plan. We found a place that would accommodate our group and made our reservation.

I'm writing this ahead of the actual event (I'm not sure how reliable my internet connection will be), so what follows is the plan:

My siblings and I will meet at the cabin the night before our parents arrive. On Saturday (my mom's birthday!), my parents' kids and most of the grandkids will show up at Old Faithful at the same time my parents are there. We're hoping that Mom will be so distracted anticipating the eruption, that she won't notice us coming up behind her. My dad, ever the photographer, will set up his camera to hopefully capture the moment that she realizes we are there.

When I went to my parents' place in July, I really did go to help them, but the ulterior motive was to help keep Mom's radar down. It had been about a year since I had seen my parents; it would never cross Mom's mind that I might see them again in just a couple of weeks.

Not only will we be celebrating my mom's birthday, but this year is also the year of my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

I imagine we will all be giggling like little girls.

Have you planned a surprise party? How did it go?

Thanks for my parents, and for family reunions.

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another...

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year. I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...

Dyanne @ I Want BacksiesAugust 13, 2013 at 7:08 AM
Oh, I love this! I'm giggling like a girl with y'all!
NancyAugust 13, 2013 at 10:20 AM
What fun!

I hope everything came together the way you planned and that the moment is captured in the photographs.
Marisa BAugust 13, 2013 at 11:20 AM
Wonderful celebrations...have a great time!!!!
UnknownAugust 13, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Your Mother is just going to be thrilled! When we were much younger I surprised my little sister by coming home for Christmas -- I was sitting on the couch when she came home from school! Best surprise ever! Your surprise will be just as great.
An Oasis in the DesertAugust 14, 2013 at 8:15 AM
This is just a wonderful idea, and I know your mom is going to be thrilled! Can't wait to hear all the details.
JeanAugust 16, 2013 at 10:07 AM
My parents have been on 6 missions and have made many friends and some now "adopted into the family" members. My parents had their 50th anniversary last year, and one of our "adopted family members" Jom (pronounced like Chom) came all the way from Thailand. They were so surprised to see him. It made the celebration all that more special.
Another time when my dad was turning 70 I fly up to Oregon (we live in Utah)and surprised him... he is my step-dad but I've always felt he was/is my dad... and couldn't believe I made all that effort just for him! Makes me tear up to think of that again. Family... it's/their worth every effort we made! Hope you have a wonderful time.

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