A few months ago, my mother decided that what she really wanted for her birthday, was to have a big family party, and although at the time, I didn't think there was a way on earth that I would be able to make the trip happen, the stars aligned, and with some creative trip planning, I was able to join five of my six siblings to throw her an 80th birthday celebration.
I arrived in Twin Falls on Thursday, and on Friday I started baking cakes for the party. I was in charge of a lemon cake (with yummy lemon curd) and a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. On Saturday morning, I frosted the cakes, and since my mom no longer has cake decorating supplies, I fashion a ziplock bag into a frosting bag and made it work ;). They actually turned out really pretty.
One of the extra exciting things, and a true bonus, was that Cheryl brought Lily down from Rexburg for the party. Oh, it was so good to not only be there with my mama, but to have my baby girl there with me as well.
Matthew and Susan, along with their kids, arrived on Thursday night, and so not only where they there to help, but were there to hang out with and laugh with throughout the weekend. As Saturday continued on, more and more family arrived - married nieces and nephews and more of my siblings. I finally got to meet Preston's grandson, Blays. It was crazy and chaotic, but I had a great time - and I didn't have to worry about anyone, since Lily is a "grown-up" and the other kids were back in Texas.
The weather was not warm, but miraculously, the sun came out and the rain stopped for the outdoor activities.
Cheryl put on an obstacle course, and then times the kids as they ran it, with the winner getting a prize. Good times! It was especially funny to see the grown grandchildren going through it, especially since they couldn't fit through some of the obstacles- ha ha!Then Matthew put on what has become a traditional donut on a string eating competition. They started with the littlest kids, but then made their way up to the older kids and grown grandkids. Good times!
At one point, some of us went inside to watch a special recording of Misty singing my mom "Rose Garden," which was originally sung by Lynn Anderson, the country singer. It was so fun, and we sure missed having her there!
Then it was finally time for the party! We had a big taco bar, with all the fixings, which was perfect for the amount of little kids that were there.My mom wanted the party to be mostly family, but we made sure to invite her friends, Paula and Marcy. And truthfully, we had so many people there with family alone, we filled up every table - ha ha!
After dinner, we had a special performance of Holly and I singing "Past My Prime" from Little Abner, and then Matthew sang "Right on the Money" by Alan Jackson - his old Madrigal solo. It was awesome and so much fun. We finished that off with a slide show of pictures of mom and a recording of Melanie singing "I Hope You Dance."
Then it was time to take advantage of yet another miraculous break in the awful weather to go outside. First, we had to play with the parachute. We have had this old parachute longer that I have been alive, and even though there is only half of it now, it is still so much fun.After the parachute, it was time to move over to the candy cannon, and while we waited, I got to spend some time with my niece, McKayla, and her brand new husband, Joe.
The candy cannon is Tom's, and he does a fabulous job of it. The kids think it is awesome, and I always run for cover, as the candy hurts if it hits you. Preston was talented enough to catch some in his bag - ha ha! Good times!When we came back in, the carnival was all set up for the kids. Lily was in charge of the "Hot Air" game, and she had a great time. It was fun to see her transition to being an adult grandchild.
There were all sorts of games, including Grandma's traditional fish pond, but Preston and his wife, Heather, took care of it for her this year.
After the carnival, it was time for dessert - my two cakes, a Boston Creme Pie, and lots of ice cream. The lemon cake with the lemon curd was the star of the show - at least, for people who like lemon - ha ha! I had to have all three cakes.
We finished off the celebration with an epic dance party. Oh, my goodness, it was so much fun, and I know it was Lily's favorite part of the night. I think the best part of the dance was when we had almost everyone out on the floor doing the "Cupid Shuffle." Awesome!
Although the party was over on Saturday, and most everybody headed home, we did continue things on Sunday by having a special Zoom meeting fireside, where my mom got to share some stories from her life, and her history, including her conversion story. It was awesome. And then we had a special ham dinner with Matthew and Holly's families. My niece, Katie, and I had the best time baking Peasant Bread to go with the dinner (we made two loaves and I taught her as we went). We played many games of Apples to Apples, snuck in a birthday cake/celebration for Harvey, and we stayed up late talking. It was such a wonderful weekend and celebration.