My Other Mom's Birthday Party

Last night was Julie's mom's birthday. She was a second mom to me when I was a teenager, and I almost spent as much time at her house as I did my own. She was in Paris for her actual birthday a few weeks ago (I know, I'm jealous too) so she wasn't expecting a party at all and it was a big surprise. Her family lured her to the party location by saying that a friend called and was at a church building for some sort of activity where there was free food. She reluctantly agreed to crash the event, only to be surprised by the flash of my camera as she walked through the building. I could tell she was doing some of that split-second reasoning as she thought "why is someone taking a picture of me, and why is it so quiet?"

Here are a few party guests and family members
Julie's sister Kara made the cake, I designed the invitations, and Julie planned the entire thing with a little bit of help from the people she recruited for various tasks.





How many people does it take to light a candle on the birthday cake?
One...
Two...
Third time's the charm! (Hey, those childproof lighters are tricky!)

Our birthday gal decided to enlist some help from her grandsons when it came time to blow out the candle - just in case it was as tricky to extinguish as it was to light.

Presents are always fun. Note the always useful hot flash extinguisher on the table.
She's probably thinking, "If I'd known you were going to fly back home from college a day early, I wouldn't have worn argyle - I know that's your signature thing, DD."