Dan's "Surprise" Party

I almost pulled it off...except I made the mistake of including the kids in the surprise party plans. How else could I explain all the fun things we were putting in our cart at the party supply store. I had no choice really...

Just days before the party, which was to be held a few days after Dan's actual birthday, we were all sitting in Dan's new hammock. Without thinking it through all the way, I told Zander that this is the new hammock we got Daddy for his birthday. To which he replied... "I thought we were having a surprise party!"

Well the cat was most definitely out of the bag now and instantly Dan and I just turned to each other and started laughing...well actually we were laughing so hard we had tears coming out of our eyes...then we looked at Zander and could tell it was hurting Zander's feelings, so we had to comfort him and let him know we weren't laughing at him.

Okay, so that brings us to the party. Our friend Scott came over to go "golfing" with Dan, but they actually went to the gym and met up with 3 of Dan's other friends to play basketball for 3 hours. When they were done playing, they got their goody bags which included Gatorade, a protein bar and a gym towel my mom personalized with their name and a basketball.

Then they all headed back to our house where more friends and family were waiting to eat dinner. I cooked up some chicken in the slow cooker and made rice and everyone else brought sides and salads.

Surprise! Here is Dan walking in wearing his old high school basketball jersey. I snuck it in the gym bag I dropped off with Scott the night before. (On a side note, I finished the painting in the hallway finally!!! This is the new lighter color.)

I made this poster to look like a high school poster and hung it up right as you walk in the door.
Then around the corner was this faux Blazer jersey...doctored up by Scott and Debbie.

Here's Dan with his Letterman's jacket on.

And here I am wearing Anne's high school cheer leading skirt. She and Dan went to the same high school, so it was perfect!

Many of our friends came dressed up in athletic gear too. (Scott and Debbie)

Here are the Parkers in their UofO gear.

Angel wore his high school jersey too...he and Dan were treating us all to a "gun" show!

Hanging out...
Watching the NBA finals.

And let's not forget the cake. This time I decided to serve Dan's favorite donuts instead of making a cake...he loved the idea!

Dig in!

Happy Birthday 35th Dan!