"Lemme esplain...No, there is too much. Lemme sum up..."
There is likely only one person who will get that quote, so Karen, it's all on you!
About a month before my mom's 50th birthday, George and my aunt JJ began colluding for a birthday surprise for Mom. Mom, George, and I would go to her "birthday lunch" like we always do. The surprise - all of her side of the family would waiting at the restaurant.
Fast-forward to the morning of. I was at Mom and George's house somewhat frantically texting with JJ to work out the timing and details, then texting George (who was downstairs) to fill him in.
Fast-forward again to the parking lot of The Cheesecake Factory. George purposefully parked across the street to give me time to sprint ahead so I could be ready to take pictures. As soon as we got out of the car, I started saying that I had to go to the bathroom soooooo baaaaaad and that I would find them in a minute. Then I started power-walking. : )
I immediately found my family's table and got my camera out. Meanwhile, they stopped at the host stand and asked for "Cynthia, party of 3" and since the hostesses were on the up-and-up, Mom and George were escorted to the family.
Here's where Mom first sees me. I start whispering, "Here she is! Here she is!"
She even pointed and said something like, "Oh, there's my daughter."
And here's where she sees everyone else (I was on the very end.)
George missed some of her reaction since he was kind enough to stand behind her so as to not block my shots, so I'm really glad I got some good photos!
And here's the money shot!
Here's the only photo I got of the whole table. From Mom going clockwise, Erin, BB, Papa, Meme, JJ, Kevin, Alan, Rebecca, and Casey.
Here is Mom recollecting some of the lines we fed her. : ) "I thought, Huh?"
Our server took it upon herself to make this dessert plate and sing. She even came over to me and asked if I wanted a picture. She was really wonderful and excited to help us make it a great surprise for Mom.
Erin is cracking up here because our server just announced to the restaurant that "it's Cynthia's 50th birthday!!!" Whoopsie!
Very fun. You can see the after-party gifts + laughing here.
Happy birthday!!
