a party for her 60th!

 this is where it all started. january 4, at our family christmas gathering. we asked my mom what she wanted to do for her big birthday coming up. she shared a dream she's had...about a party with a pretty small (but specific) group of people. dancing. FUN! food. simple fun.

we jumped all over it and spent the next month sending flurries of emails to make it happen for her!

it was SO fun to plan and do together with my dad and siblings. we all used our "gifts" and did all we could do to make it perfect for our mom.

we rented a community center. and transformed it...

i had pictures of my mom from when she was a little girl...up through the present and displayed them in an appropriate way :-)

setting up the photo booth!

the color scheme was FUN and BRIGHT!

the kids were SO excited about grandma's birthday party!! we had been collecting decorations and other fun things in our house for weeks...they loved seeing it all come together.

this girl. she was BORN to party!

john. always the goofball. we don't know what we did before he was a part of our family! the party was IN my neighborhood, so my kids were riding their bikes back and forth to our house and back.

all ready! just waiting for the birthday girl!

testing out the photobooth

"SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!!!" SO much excitement!!!

we ate dinner (chipotle catered with some additional dishes we brought that my mom loves). and there was a time to share how much we loved my mom. i have a TON of pics of people talking and my mom hugging them for their kind words. but i'll save you from looking at those ;-)

and we also watched an amazing slideshow that my dad put together of all those pictures that made up the "60". it was incredible to watch my mom's life here on this earth so far. she's had a pretty amazing one!

this is the "burke station" group. my parents met them when we moved to virginia (into a neighborhood called "burke station" :-)) and they've been dear friends ever since. when they met, they all had elementary age kids...and now we are all grown up with kids of our own. these families have loved me through a LOT of years and stages of my life! i'm so thankful for how they love my mom and dad.

my aunt, kim and cousin, heather. my other aunt and uncle were very sick and couldn't make it. we missed them like crazy!

because our house was so close, it was easy to have our kids leave about this point. pat took them home and got them settled and then it was just the adults!

my dad arranged to have this sweet co-worker of my mom's come and instruct us in some dances! like "cotton-eye joe" and the "electric slide". it was so so fun!

i LOVE this picture. my sister's expression. my mom with her head back just having a ball and me laughing because i'm so HAPPY about it ALL!

and this guy. thanks to him, i was able to just be DAUGHTER and SISTER this night. he took over with the kids and it was such a gift.

thanks to my dad literally BUILDING posts for the lights to be strung on, we had lights ALL around the place. you weren't allowed to nail or tape anything up like that, so he, of course, figured out a way to make it happen!

my mom with all her grandkids!

there were some fun "photobooth" shots...

it was SUCH a fun night together. to be with my family. to celebrate this AMAZING woman and her life! mom, thanks for sharing your dream with us and letting us do it for you! we had a BALL! and we love you like CRAZY!