Surprise!!

It took a few months of planning, coordinating, and scheming. And it all paid off on Thursday the 3rd.

You see, Mom's 50th birthday - ahem, I mean, 48th (wink, wink) - was on the 12th, and I knew that we had to do something memorable, something big for this special number. So a few months ago, I began coordinating with my brothers and Dad to surprise her by showing up on her doorstep for her birthday. The timeframe worked for all of us but Seth, Amy and the kids because of the schoolyear. But they got their own fun trip out to Georgia in July, and they had a blast.

It was a fun and crazy process of sneaking phone calls with Dad, coming up with plausible reasons Dad could use to disguise our plans from Mom, and coordinating our flights with Caleb & Anna. Mom is always the family planner, so this time the trick was on her, and it was so FUN!

So we arrived on Thursday within a couple hours of each other. Dad rounded us up from the airport, and we brainstormed the different ways we could surprise Mom. After much deliberation, we came up with a plan. The anticipation was palpable as we approached their house. All of the what-ifs were flowing through our heads, and we just wanted it all to be perfect. We were all giddy with excitement. The day had finally come!

When we got there, Dad called Mom out one end of the house through the garage, telling her that he had something he needed to show her outside. Meanwhile, Caleb, Anna, Kevin, Isaac and I waited out on the back porch with the camera recording it all. Dad walked Mom around the corner, and as she caught sight of us she was completely and utterly stunned. She couldn't even say a word, she was so surprised! And then finally, she said, "What are you doing here???"

"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!"

She cried, just as we knew she would. We all hugged and laughed and gushed all of the background details of the whole thing. Success! That was so fun, definitely something we will remember forever.

Mom had actually just woken up from a nap when Dad called her outside, so over the next couple of days, she kept asking, "Are you really here, or am I dreaming??" Yep, we were really there, and the rest of the weekend was spent exploring the area and spending tons of time together....