Successful surprise!

Well I did it! I pulled off the biggest surprise I have done or ever will do. I guess I should say "we" because I couldn't have done it without Jeremiah or my sister Julia.

Back in February when southwest was having their specials, Jeremiah mentioned that I should go to Utah for my Grandmother's 90th birthday party. Because of a bonus he got and was so willing to spend on my plane tickets I actually considered going but quickly decided it wouldn't work and was too complicated to leave everybody at home. Jeremiah insisted and said he would take off work to stay home with the kids. Well, after going back and forth between going or not going I had a plane ticket and nobody knew about it but Jeremiah, myself, and my sister. We decided to keep it a secret and have it be a surprise. Piece of cake, or so I thought!

It's easy to keep a secret from people when you live across the country from them. When I realized that my Mom was going to be here for two weeks in March (my grandmother's party wasn't until April) I knew I would never be able to keep it a secret. I had a few close calls but it was still a secret when my mom left to go home.

Before I knew it April was here and Emersynne and I found ourselves on the airplane headed to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a completely full flight so I spent six hours holding, bouncing, and nursing Emersynne to keep her quiet and hoped that she would go to sleep. After several hours of her crying she finally fell asleep but then I had to sit and hold her. I didn't dare move I was so afraid it would wake her up. It was exhausting but we made it.

My sister and two cousins met us at the airport and had used the excuse of a "Girls Night" to sneak out and get us. Supposedly they were at my sisters house watching a movie. Sure hope we all don't get into the habit of lying after all this!

Emersynne and I spent the night at my sisters beautiful house and in the morning the excitement began. The plan was for Julia to go in with her two kids AND Emersynne, casually saying that she had an extra child for the day. So this is exactly what we did. I stayed on the front porch while my sister went in.

Keep in mind that my mom had seen Emersynne two weeks ago so when she saw the baby in the car seat she just stood there in shock staring at the baby. She later said that half of her mind was telling her that was her baby but the other half was telling her it couldn't be her baby! Julia finally told her I was on the front porch and she should go let me in. My mother was so shocked and was speechless. She cried which of course made me cry too. She couldn't understand how I had gotten there or how I could have left my kids. I couldn't have done it without my awesome husband holding down the fort while I was away!

So, I surprised my mom and my sister-in-law and then we went downstairs to surprise my dad who was working at home that day. When my dad turned away from the computer and saw me standing there with Emersynne he jumped out of his chair and squealed. He, like my mother couldn't believe I was there and couldn't believe how I had gotten there!

During all this excitement my brother was in the shower so when he came upstairs and saw me standing there it was surprise all over again! We all hadn't had enough surprise so we went over to my grandparent's house and then my grandma's house and did it all over again.

It was a wonderful few days full of non-stop action. I got to spend time with grandparents, my grandma, cousins from both sides of the family, my parents, nephews, niece, and siblings. I'm so thankful I could be there for my grandmother's special day and help honor her life by being at her party. As Jeremiah said, "You only turn 90 once!"

Thank you Jeremiah for making it possible for me to go. It was a wonderful trip and one that I will remember and cherish forever.