SURPRISE!! Well, to my parents anyway!

The Party Planner!

After Joel received an email from Delta a few months ago, I thought it might be worth seeing if I could borrow his wings for a day... Turns out, Joel had 39,951 miles in his account and a flight from Pittsburgh to Green Bay, WI was exactly 40,000 miles.  Perfect!   Haus and I figured out the details of getting the flight booked under my name, then I found a small break in my schedule to come home - luckily it was the weekend of Dad's Birthday!

You've BEEN HAD! Mom & Dad!

Better yet, since Joel was flying me home, I thought it would only be appropriate to make it a surprise to my parents, now this was going to be a little tricky.  I knew Haus was in on the surprise attack which was critical and Lyssa was on Spring Break '12, so it just might work!  The dilemma was figuring out how we were going to lure my parents over to the duplex.  Haus and I toyed around with a  major plumbing crisis which required Curty's urgent attention and Debbie's moral support??  Hmmm, that's a little suspicious...

Mom & Laurie!  Thanks for the cake idea!

Luckily, we got wind that Haus' parents were going to be in town on their way out to Pittsburgh (ironic, I know...) so we could set up a little dinner date!  All was falling into place - thank you Westerhoff's!!  Chris said he would take care of getting the place primped and the burgers on the grill and my responsibility was simply to get there and bring a crew of people!  DONE - good trade!

First, I order a cake from Don's Quality Market, because what's a surprise party without cake??  Lyssa and I were trying to think up some clever sayings, and thought about "Thanks to Buck, you didn't get wise, now lets kick back, eat some cake and enjoy the surprise!"... Hmmm... wordy, but I like it.  Then, Laurie came through with "You've been had, Mom and Dad!!" - Perfect.

I had Buck on my side that day, because the flights to Green Bay went without delay, and I even got in early on my first flight - nice work Buck!  Lyssa was there to great me at the Green Bay airport and we laughed about how much fun we were going to have on Spring Break O'12!!  Whooot!

Alyssa, Me, and Liz - Amazing life long friends!

We got to the duplex, set up the cake on the table, and as people were slowly trickling in, we were trying to delay my parents who were anxious to get over for Chris' cooking apparently!!  We hid in the front guest room while my parents made their way to the kitchen to get a glimpse at the cake... then we funneled behind them and yelled SURPRISE!  I wiggled my way through the legs of the crowd and jumped out in front of my parents - they just stared at me blankly.

Lizzo, Me and Lyssa!

Aunt Sue and the surprised Curty!

Dan and Ryan!  Thanks for coming out!

After a awkward stare in trying to process who the heck I was, they finally came around and Curty screamed, "What!  Did you quit school?!?"  It was classic!  They were looking at me like Deb was looking at Lyssa after her concussion in Eva! Haha! Like I was a strange but trustworthy intruder!

The evening was great, we had a lot of fun catching up, enjoying Haus' fine cooking and the cake.  I can't believe we pulled it off and my parents didn't have a clue!  It was my Mom's first surprise party!  It's too bad I can't do these more often... or could I??  You'll never know... it's a surprise!

My "Aun'Doo" (as Buck said it) or Aunt Sue!