50th Anniversary Party

This post could easily be titled "Our Day After Christmas Miracle". Here's the background story before the story.... As I mentioned in my previous post, the kids and I arrived on Tuesday night.  We helped Grandma set up her nativity on the mantle and headed to bed after visiting for a short while.  In the morning, I went to the airport with Grandma to pick up Seth and Ashley and the kids stayed home with Grandpa.  When we arrived home from the airport, Grandpa said he wasn't feeling well and was having difficulty breathing.  So, while I drove the kids and Seth and Ashley out to lunch, Grandma took Grandpa to the urgent care clinic.  When we came home from lunch, we learned that he was going to be transported to the ER at the hospital via ambulance.  He ended up in ICU by the end of the day with several unexplained issues going on.  He was very sick.  He stayed there for the rest of the week.  On a daily basis, we didn't know if he would be coming home, if we would have to cancel the 50th anniversary party, or what???  It was scary for everyone, but mostly for Grandma who worried about ALL of the above issues.  Anyway, it was truly a miracle when literally 10 minutes (yes, 10, no exaggeration here!) before the party began on Monday night - Jonathan arrived home with Grandpa.  They came directly from the hospital. 

We were all so happy to see Grandpa.  There's nothing he likes better (besides maybe a good sale) than visiting with his family and friends, so we were glad he was able to make it home in time for the Open House.  He even got time to snuggle with great-granddaughter Makenzie during the party.

I swear I took more pictures of the food, but at least I found these of the cake and some of the other "stuff" we served.  Aunt Maile had a great idea to have Grandma and Grandpa re-live the "cutting of the cake" event from their wedding.  It was a cute moment. 

 Here's the picture of the WHOLE gang (33 of us in total):

Julia and Dillon sharing Grandpa's recliner:

Julia, me, and Miranda....doing.....something important, I'm sure:

Blurry picture, but...Julia, me Derek and Krystal hanging out: 

 Aunt Maile with her youngest grandbaby, Olivia.  (I know, she's way too young to be a grandma!)

 Jonathan visiting with the Orser's (friends of Grandma and Grandpa):

Matt, Anson, Effie, Michael, Julia and Dillon hanging out in the TV room: 

Melissa with her daughter, Olivia: 

Effie, Anson, Matt and Miranda: 

 This is how Julia started the evening (and spent most of it), sitting with her cousin Derek:

And this is how she ended the party....asleep on Derek's lap.  

 



 All thing being considered, the party turned out great.  The house was packed with visitors, but really, the family was enough to pack the house without any help from guests.