Dad's 50th

This year marked the big 5-0 for the Daddy-o!
We sent him off for the afternoon with the youngest kids to the movies while those who were left scrambled to decorate the house.
Our guests started arriving at 6:30 and we had all of them park down the street so the house would appear "empty." Kayla had instructions to keep Dad out as long as possible and she knew exactly what to do because after the movie they visited the ice cream store and Petsmart! Finally, around 7:30 pm the birthday boy arrived to a house full of close friends and family ready to surprise him. And boy was he surprised!

Friends are here and preparing for the big moment..

Our theme was "Celebrating 50"

Friends hiding in the kitchen..

Shh..

Here he comes..

SURPRISE!

The Birthday Boy!
He sure was surprised since we hadn't done much that day. We told Dad we would have a nice quiet dinner as a family and he was quite depressed that we weren't doing anything special. Little did he know...

The cake!

We had to throw in a few jokes.. =)
(that's an inflatable walker)

We asked all of our guests to bring 50 of something..
and it was pretty funny to see what people came up with!

One of our friends made Dad an "Old Geezer Survival Kit" packed
full of funny jokes such as prune juice, stimulants, tp, a giant remote control, marbles.. etc

Prune Juice

Our gift to Dad.. in iPhone!
However, because they hadn't come out yet we could only give him the paper version of one!

Now for the biggest surprise-
Mom: "Honey, the kids and I have decided to surprise you with something..."
(Don't you love Kayla and Ian's faces.)

"..we're going to adopt a little boy from Africa!"

And here he is.. =)

Okay, it's kind of been a joke in our family that the next time we adopt it will be a child from Africa. Mom would always be willing to add to our large brood, but Dad always says we are done! So keeping that in mind our friend Randy decided to dress up and use body paint to surprise my dad. It was hilarious.. Dad was sure shocked and I think he even almost believed Mom when she told him.

Don't worry-- we are COMPLETE and NOT adopting again.
(Although a few of us would always be open to adding to the family)

Meet your new son!

Esther doesn't look too excited about her new "brother."

Mom, Randy and Dad

Aged to Perfection

Singing Happy Birthday

Our Family