SURPRISE (he he)

On the evening of Thursday, August 21 I walked in the front door of my parent's house unannounced. I had flown in from Atlanta to help throw them a surprise party to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. It was great fun to plan (there is something really wonderful about doing something good for someone else secretly) and even more fun to see it all come together.
For about a month my sisters and I were scheming about all the great things we could do to honor mom and dad's accomplishment. There were many emails and phone calls in closets in hushed tones, which thankfully, were never intercepted. So, when I walked in the door with Aaron just behind me (my gracious chauffeur from the airport) mom and dad were absolutely stunned and a little confused. Unfortunately, there was no camera handy, the facial expressions were classic.
On Friday, August 22 we (everyone minus Jared and Sarah who were in Switzerland) went to Provo. We had dinner at the Tahitian Noni cafe (island grill cuisine, fresh pineapple comes with most every meal). Aaron and Molly work in the building nearby, which is how they knew about the place. The evening was PERFECT (I love Utah evenings with no humidity--a welcome change from the Atlanta summer sauna!) We ate outside in a little garden patio surrounded by vegetation, very nice. Afterward, we walked around their AMAZING grounds that were truly immaculate. Yes, I was looking for weeds--and there were none to be found. Kudos to their grounds crew! Aaron left after dinner and the girls and mom and dad continued on to the surprise for the evening--Pride and Prejudice: The Musical at the deJong Concert hall on BYU campus. (Isn't it convenient that there we were all together, the five daughters, to see the Bennett family and their five daughters! That was part of the reason why I bought tickets!) What a perfect Haslam women choice--and an obliging dad enjoyed it too...after a fashion. It was a little silly and bordering on cheesy, but the characters are so lovely; a fresh take on a well beloved story never gets old.
Saturday, August 23 the girls put together the big surprise for the weekend. Mom and dad were sent off to run errands and attend the temple together while we prepared. We had decided to prepare a dinner recalling all the places we have lived by representative foods. The states of Utah, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas, plus Oregon and Idaho (Mom and dad's birth states, respectively) were represented. Ristorante deja vu offered a "Memory Lane Medley"--the menu special for the evening, which included the following homemade selections:

• Sirloin steaks, broiled to perfection (Nebraska)
• Twice baked potatoes (Idaho)
• Corn-on-the-cob (Iowa)
• Texas caviar with chips and shrimp dirty rice (Texas)
• Lion House dinner rolls and jello pudding fruit salad (Utah)
• Blackberry cobbler (Oregon) with BlueBunny vanilla ice cream (Iowa)

Kristen was table decorator extraordinaire/hostess/server and creator of great ambiance. The color scheme for the decorations was spring green and butter yellow--the colors at their wedding reception. The apple candles are Miss Kristen's genius. Molly and Emily were head chef and head assistant, respectively. Lauren did a good bit of the behind the scenes clean-up before and after and was our master pianist in residence playing a lovely version of "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof when mom and dad walked in the door. (The song was played and sung at their reception). And I just tried to help it all happen. It was a lot of planning, buying, preparing, fretting, (sigh) and then sitting back and enjoying! After dinner, Kristen shared her power point presentation of mom and dad and the family through the years and I shared my CD of songs representing songs from their generation as well as other love songs from more recently. The evening ended as it should have...with a dance party. What trip home to see the family could be complete without one! How good it is to be home. How good it is to have wonderful parents and amazing siblings and enjoy the blessings of life! And yea for thirty years, mom and dad!