When I first started to think of the best date I realized that even though their true anniversary was on January 18th, if we had the party on the 19th then at midnight Trevor would officially be 30. So not only could it be an anniversary party but also a birthday party. Twice the fun!!
I began to formulate some plans in my head and with mom and dad. We quickly decided we wanted to include Stephanie's parents as well. After meeting with them they advised that Steph hated surprises and we became a bit worried that this was maybe not the best thing to do. So we decided in the end to include her in the plans and swear her to secrecy (which she did a great job of - way to go Steph)
No surprise-- mom and I picked a theme so that the planning was easier. A Beach Party seemed appropriate and since it was predicted to be the coldest winter since I was born I figured it was a good way for us to pretend we were somewhere else for a night. With the theme picked we moved on to decorations, food and drinks. The decorations were enhanced by Ethan's preschool as they just happened to have a whole Beach party closet worth of decorations(THANKS Mrs. Dueck!!) I had seen some little sandal candles on the Internet so we got busy ordering those along with other beach stuff. Food wise I had no idea how much so as always went overboard. As it turned out we could have had at least 2 parties and still had left overs. oh well.
As the days drew closer I seemed to have a longer and longer list of things to do. I created a video montage for them but of course being me couldn't just pick any old song to go with it. I spent hours and nights looking through music and then organizing the pictures to match with the music. Unfortunately the program I was using was a bit finicky so I had to do it over at least 3 times - actually maybe even 4. I lost track and only remember going to bed really late and really mad many nights in a row! In the end it turned out just as I envisioned it in my perfectionist little mind and I was very pleased (tired but pleased)
As if I didn't have enough on my plate already I decided on the Tuesday night that the table center needed more than just the candle in the sand. I hadn't really thought of having little candies until I saw some great chocolate molds of turtles and remembered a friend telling me about chocolate sea shells she had once made. Well I thought how hard could it be to melt a little chocolate, mix it with some white chocolate and make a few sea shells. It really turned out to be quite easy. It just ended up being time consuming because I had to wait for the shells to set so could only do a few at a time. Again over a few nights and in the mornings and even once during a lunch hour, I got them all finished along with the little green turtles and again, I loved them.
I ended up just using brown sugar for sand and placing them right in the with the sandal. I think they turned out pretty cute.
Finally the day of the party was here. I had seen Trevor the day before and he was acting funny so I was sure that he had somehow found out or suspected something. Stephanie swore however that she was sure he was still in the dark.
Thankfully Val and Dale were our saviours and they watched the kids while we set up and then when we went early to get last minute things ready. As everyone arrived I took off with Trevor (husband) and we went to Trevor (brother) and Steph's to surprise him. When I got there he was in sweats and looked exhausted. I actually felt a moment of sadness for him as I knew he was likely going to want to stay home and there was no way in hell he was going to have that chance!! I asked what they were doing and he said just hanging out. I told him to go get changed because we were going out to celebrate his birthday. He said he was really tired and that he and Stephie were just in sweats hangin out. It was at this point that I pointed out that his wife's hair and makeup seemed to be all done and I broke it to him that Stephanie had known we were coming all along. A bit reluctant and now a bit scared of what the night held he went and got changed. When he asked what to wear I told him that anything would do, as we would be in and out of the truck all night. I explained that we would be taking a trip down memory lane in celebration of his birthday. ( Kinda true, Kinda not)
Once in the truck we blindfolded him much to his dismay. Luckily I had arranged for Trevor to drive in circles for a bit as Trevor J tried really hard to figure out where we were going. Once at the party we walked him in past the bartenders and kitchen co-ordinators (Thanks Nev, Lisa & Regan) and into the room full of people ( I think we ended up with 65-70 -oops not so little anymore). Surprised to say the least Trevor took off his blindfold to a room full of family and friends.
The night brought lots of fun, laughter and a few tears ( which we have now determined comes from Dad's genes as he was as teary as the rest of us). Having said that Dad and I were extremely happy to have been able to share this night with Trevor and Stephanie and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I hope they and everyone who attended had as much fun as we did.
Of course the night could not have happened without all of mom's help and all of the background support (ie putting up with me and my craziness) from my fantastic husband. Thanks to both of you. I can't wait to plan the family reunion with you next. AHHHHHHH.
Sorry no pics from that night- I need to still get the pictures from the party from someone else. I was running around that night and didn't have my own camera with me. Instead I have included some of my favorites from the video montage we showed that night.
(Did you really think I wouldn't include this one Trev? Sorry little dove )
Congrats little brother! Love Sue
1 comment:
That's so awesome!!! I'm sure they loved every minute!
You are a fabulous sister!
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