Surprise Birthday

My Family - all of them!

Wow, what an awesome month. January never tends to be that exciting for us, as it’s usually the time we’re trying to recuperate from the holidays, and nothing much is going on. Well, we didn’t get that option this year. From Ray and Megan’s 20/60 Party to our Sealing to my Grandpa’s surprise 75^th Birthday Party, we were bus-y. My life tends to more evolve around being with friends then it does around family. The past couple of months have been a little different, as most of our activities had more to do with family, and it has been really nice.

 

So back in October I was talking to my mom and was asking her when exactly was Grandpa’s birthday (his birthday is hard for me to remember – I just know it’s in January). She told me it was January 29th , and that he would be turning 75 this year! I suggested that maybe we should do something a little special, and she said that she would talk to my Aunt Wanda. Well my Aunt Wanda and mom decided to throw a Surprise Birthday Party for Grandpa.

I helped by making and printing the invitations, and getting them mailed out.

 Here's the invitations I made :)

I also helped my mom and sister with ordering the cake and coming up with decorating ideas for the gym. We held it in the gym at the Fort MacLeod Stake Centre. We used the Mason Jars from my wedding to put flowers and candles (fake candles!) inside them, and I printed 10 5x7 old pictures of my grandpa, and popped them into frames to complete the tables. My Aunt Wanda made Beef on a Bun and Broccoli salad, and we brought the cake and Caesar Salad. I made a few dozen cupcakes topped with pictures of my Grandpa. 

We had over 80 people come! We were only expecting about 65, but had set up 10 tables of 8 (so we had enough seating for 80 people), and all the tables were full! People started arriving just before 5, and Grandma was to bring Grandpa around 5:20pm.

We turned off all the lights and had the boys keeping an eye out for Grandma and Grandpa. Finally it came time for the surprise to happen. Grandpa opened the doors and while Braden was trying to turn the lights on, we yelled “Surprise!”

He was so startled, and after realizing what was going on began to cry. My Grandpa is a huge softy, and Lybbert’s are known to cry! He was just so happy and just so overwhelmed by how many people were there. I think he felt truly loved.

It was a great night full of stories, speeches, good food, some emotional moments and fun memories. My mom’s cousin Vern came, and brought his handy camera, and we made sure to get some good family photos. It’s been a long time since the whole family has been able to get together all in one room, so pictures were a must! These pictures were just taken with my camera, but I'll be sure to post the better pictures when we get them back from Vern!

 My Grandpa with all of his siblings

 My Grandparents with all of their children

 Grandma & Grandpa with all of their grandchildren! My Grandma was just so overjoyed and thrilled!

Thanks to everyone that came, I know my Grandpa was so appreciative of everything that was done, and will have very fond memories of that night.