Surprise!

I love surprises, when they are good ones!

Yesterday we hosted a surprise party for our good friend John Holmquist who turned 50. He is a crime scene investigator and very keen on picking up things so his wife and I weren't sure if we'd be able to pull it off. It helped that we were one week removed from his actual birthday and that we had had a small gathering on his actual birthday. So to have them over for dinner the following week was just business as usual.

However, it was NOT a usual gathering at all. His parents and sister's family came as well as quite a few friends. We had people park at my parents' house so that he wouldn't see all the cars parked out front (and you can be sure he knows who drives what car). His wife, Denise, called to ask if there was anything she could bring. That was our clue that they were on the way so we could hide. Annie had decorated the kitchen and dining room but the living area wasn't decorated so he couldn't see anything suspicious from the door. We got a little silly as we waited for the birthday boy to arrive.

 Finally he arrived...

He was pretty surprised! (See how red he is here?!)

Quite a food spread. Everyone brought something and it was all yummy!

My brother, David, was the grill master. He did a great job grilling chicken and brats.

Tracy, whose birthday was the previous day, and Michael were the wing fryers. They, too, did a wonderful job!

As you can see, everyone had a wonderful time!

We had an extra little surprise when it was time for cake...Tracy had one too! Louise Glennon, baker extraordinaire, made John's cake. Tracy, who loves ice cream, didn't have a cake per se. I made him John's recipe of oreos layered with chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. It was a hit.

We finished off the night by sitting by the fire pit. The weather was PERFECT for it! I was too busy sitting and enjoying to take pictures. You'll just have to imagine it. All in all, it was a perfect surprise party.