We did it! We pulled off a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom this past weekend! Hooray! It was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it! Here's how it all went down:
For months, we planned and bought decorations and did some diy projects and planned some more and lied. How do you not have a surprise party without having to lie?! I tried my best not to, and I did pretty good right up until that weekend, which I consider a success! I digress. To make the party a little bit more special, Hilary and I worked on several DiY projects to add a personal touch. She worked tirelessly on a balloon wreath she had seen pinned on Pinterest. Little did we know just how long it would take or just how many balloons it would take! She seriously bought out every black balloon Hobby Lobby had at one point! I came up with a photo booth idea which involved some butcher paper, foam letters, and a little table set up explaining what the heck it was. And, we both {along with the help of dad compiling photos} created a black and white '50' photo collage of mom's 50 years of life! Seriously, it was a lot of mom's face! That thing was the most frustrating, stressful, and difficult thing! But, we didn't give up {even though it took an entire day}, and she loved it! Or so she said...
So, the day before the party, my sister and I left Austin at like 6:30 in the morning. Y'all, that's way earlier than I ever leave for work! Have I ever mentioned that I am not a morning person?! No? Well, now I have. I don't do mornings!! But, we hit up Starbucks {and I got my first red cup of the season!} and we were on our way. We stopped in Bastrop for some grocery shopping, which was entertaining all in itself. Picture this: Hilary and I in HEB at 7:00am. Hyped up on coffee. Me looking rough as I basically just rolled out of bed and threw on a sweater. Hilary skipping through the aisles. Spending dad's money. You're welcome. :)
After that, we finally made it to the burg, like 4 hours later! But that's what happens when the two of us go shopping freakishly early and get to spend other people's money! {disclaimer: I will probably mention my joy of spending other people's money like five billion more times, okay? Okay.} Dad had also stayed home from work that day - there was a lot to do to prepare for the big day! We also remembered to hide our locations on our Find My Friends app. Go us! I think it would've been pretty suspicious if mom were to see that both dad and I were at their house on Friday morning...hmm... While at home, we baked up a storm! We made two cream puff cakes, dipped oreos in some melted chocolate, and we diy'd. Yep. We made a "photo booth" {without the booth} for guests to sign and to take crazy pictures in front of. Just something fun! Dad cleaned out the kettle for stew, and we dropped off everything party related at our cousin's house down the road - it's like we were never even there! We even had to have covert trash, because if mom were to find empty cartons of white chocolate pudding, cream cheese, chocolate chips, and so much more, she would've been a bit curious, to say the least. I even went as far as to not use their restroom - again, she would've been suspicious if she saw a day's worth of tampon trash in her bathroom, knowing it wasn't hers and praying it wasn't dad's! Yep, I went there. You're welcome! :)
Luckily, mom had a few stops to make on her way home, so if we were at the house when she eventually got home from work, it wasn't a big deal! Needless to say, dad, Hil, and I had a blast cooking and preparing for the party and having to hide it all. Sneaky, sneaky!
The PLAN was to go shopping for a little girls' day on Saturday. Up to this point, it had gone off without a hitch! We left the house at 10ish that morning, which was right on time! However, this meant a lot of the cleaning and decorating was left up to dad and Josh - good luck guys! Ha! Us girls headed out for the day and had a blast! We hit up Maurice's, JC Penny's, Best Buy, Dress Barn, and Marshall's, stopping only for a delicious lunch at Olive Garden! Well, mom literally would not stop shopping! How the heck were we supposed to get her to go home without any urgency behind it?! We didn't have a clue. Eventually, we became 'tired' and it was getting late. We left Rosenburg at 5:00pm, which is what time we were supposed to be arriving at her party! Fail. Just fail. Hilary and I were literally freaking out while mom was trying on some clothes in the last few stores. Texts were also exchanged between the two of us and dad - she just wouldn't stop shopping! It did make for a good laugh though - but it also caused my stress level to fly through the roof! After the months of preparation and planning, we couldn't let the whole thing unravel now!
Well, we didn't, thankfully! We stopped at Wal-Mart for a few things before heading home, and boy was she surprised when we arrived! Since it was then 6:30pm instead of 5pm, it was already dark {thank you daylight savings!}, so the party-goers had a great plan...my cousins went into town and pretty much bought out every glow stick/bracelet/necklace they had! So, when we drove up {in the dark}, all we could see was a distant greenish/blueish glow from under the trees... At this point, Hilary and I didn't even know what was going on, so we definitely didn't lie when mom asked what the heck was going on! :) Win-win! Everyone gathered at the cattle guard, complete with a million glow sticks, to surprise her! I rolled the windows down, and they began singing 'Happy Birthday'. Mom finally realized what was happening and she was truly in shock! Haha! She was planning her party for next Saturday, so she was shocked everyone was already there to celebrate two weeks early! Gotcha!! {side note: it was hilarious, as my cousin recently had a surprise bday/graduation party when she was planning her own party for later this year. Mom thought this was hilarious, and we thought it was even more hysterical becasue the exact same thing was about to happen to her...she just had no idea!}
So, she was surrounded by family and friends and had a great time! There were lots of laughs, jello shots, tons of food, lots of drinks, gifts, more laughs, and lots of pictures! It was definitely a party she'll never forget! Afterward, she said the only thing she regretted or was unhappy about {I forget how it was worded...it was a long day!} was that she was late to her own party! Ha! Dad also kept saying that she was spending his money all day! Boy, do we really like to spend his money ;) haha! And now, lots of pictures!!!
As you can tell from the last set of pictures, Chelsea didn't disappoint! She made and brought about a million {so it seemed} jello shots! She was highly entertaining, to say the least! Thanks, Chels!
I seriously slept almost the entire next day! All of the stress I had been carrying around for the past month was finally lifted away after the party and I was able to relax. I even slept most of Monday... Yes, I'll admit it! And no, it wasn't because I was hungover. I was just tired!
And to absolutely EVERYONE that helped in any way at all {there are a lot of you!}...
THANK YOU!
Without the help of family and friends, this party would not have been possible. From making and bringing cakes and desserts, to showing up early to help decorate, to helping us celebrate ... thank you so much! Not only did Dad, Hilary, Josh, and I really appreciate it, but most importantly, I know Mom absolutely loved all of the time and effort that was put into a party just for her! Thank you to everyone again! The surprise was a huge success! :)
