Today is officially my dad's 60th birthday, although all of his presents and surprises arrived over the weekend. The first surprise was the "delivery" of my dad's brother Steve - he arrived on Friday from Virginia and I drove him over early that afternoon. None of us has seen him since my sister's wedding 7 years ago, so it was wonderful to get caught up again. Both of my parents were so excited that they had tears in their eyes once they saw him.
Dad and Uncle Steve The next surprise took place the following day - his big surprise party! My sister worked so hard to gather so many things - the email contacts for my dad's friends, putting together the meal items and decorations, printing out the invitations, making the special outfits for us and the grand kids...it was all about to start!
Below are the outfits that we wore to the party. All the grand-girls had matching shirts and skirts. Jake had his own boy version, and my sister and I had our own shirts - each shirt depicted a special moment we had with our dad/grandpa.
Kendall 
Rachel 
Ella
Jake 
Maili
Maili & Kristi Another set of surprise guests for my Dad - his Uncle Hale and Aunt Dolores - they drove in the previous day from Florida. We haven't seen them since their daughter's wedding a couple years prior.
Aunt D and Uncle Hale holding LeahIt was a fabulous party and my mom and dad were genuinely surprised. I went to pick them up in order to control their arrival time and was grilled the whole time by my mother! The look on their faces was well worth it though - complete shock!
After my dad's entry, both my sister and I said something. My sister read a beautiful letter that had the whole room in tears. I read the below poem that I had written the week before:
What do you tell your dad on his birthday,
How do you let him know?
So much that he means to you
What words will make this show?
All the gifts he has given to you
His love, his support, his cares
What can you say that will fit the bill?
To show gratitude for all that he shares?
What do you give your dad on his birthday,
To the man that has it all?
Two beautiful daughters, a wonderful wife...
Enough granddaughters to conquer the mall!
How do you feel on your dad's birthday,
Are you overwhelmed with the emotion?
Now with your own two little girls,
You understand his heart of endless devotion
What do you tell your dad on his birthday,
You hope 'I love you' will be a good start
Then follow with it up with these simple words,
Filled with joy that came straight from your heart.
Happy 60th Birthday Dad,
We love you
Here's to many more years,
And much happiness too!
Mom, Me, Dad, Maili
Wow! What a fantastic and special BIRTHDAY SURPRISE for your DAD! You guys did alot of work to make his 60th day so memorable! Loved the sweet poem and all the darling clothes that ya'll wore! I am upset that we couldn't make it due to illness in our family! GOOD JOB MAILI & KRISTI! God Bless, MIMI
ReplyDeleteYou are a beautiful family! I loved the party and the poem. Thank you for letting us be a part of your dad's special day.
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