I'd never thrown or even been to a surprise party before, but I decided that's what I wanted to do for my mother's 65th birthday. But it couldn't just be a regular birthday party. If this was going to be truly special, all 7 kids and their families had to be there--including the out of towners. By some stroke of magic, everyone was able to adjust their schedules to make it.
Don't try to count the kids..there are 20.....and counting (no pressure, Em :)
The original 9:
1986
Jenn, Mary, Mike, Emily, Me, Rob, Amy
1991
Amy, Mike, Emily, Rob, Me, Mary, Jenn
2013
Back- Me, Amy, Mary, Mike Front- Rob, Emily, Jenn
I was sure that someone was going to slip and give it away. The biggest concern being my Dad. He's kind of ditzy sometimes.
He had one job..get her here. He did, but they were late. Talking to Mum later, she told me that he was sleepy and wanted to close his eyes for a minute. He gave her specific instructions NOT to let him sleep past a certain time, but Mum - thinking they had no real plans - decided to let him sleep as long as he needed to! Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep 20 kids out of the yard, out of the front window, and ready to surprise Grammie. Not an easy task. Thanks, Dad!!
But it all worked out, and it was so worth it :)
She comes in..sees the group crammed into the living room..takes a second to process..
..the lightbulb goes on, and she realizes what's going on..
..then the waterworks!
Success!
After that I could stop stressing, and the rest of the evening was lovely...much like the MacKenzie girls :)
Oh..and one more thing. Emily got a bloody lip.
It may or may not have been from a taekwondo demonstration gone wrong.
Em: Attack me
Me: Ok!
My foot was not actually supposed to come in contact with her face. Eek. I felt so bad :(

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