Surprise!!

My mom was totally surprised for her birthday... here's what happened.... Deedra and I flew into Boston on Thursday and were going to fly down (with Dena & TJ) on Friday. The only problem is that our first flight on Friday was delayed and caused all of us to be stranded in Charlotte overnight. We flew out the next day (the day of the surprise) but had to fly into Pensacola (rather than Mobile). Deedra's parents met us at the airport with a car and a lot of hugs and we had to drive as fast as we could to Grayton Beach. All I knew is that the beach was in FLA and that I needed to head down I10. We eventually stopped to look at a map... and for a quick Taco Bell trip... and made it to the beach on time. My mom was driving down with my dad, my sister Jodie, her husband Bill, and their kids. Jodie would call from time to time to get an update on the party preparations and did a great job of stalling my mom (i.e. a 45 min bathroom stop when they were only 15 min away from the beach). When they eventually made it to the beach house everyone was hiding away inside the dining room. My mom is really observant and noticed a large cooler sitting on the front porch of the house. She instantly thought back to a time when they were given a hotel key to a room that was occupied... and she began to think that the same thing had happened again. My dad and sister kept insisting that this was the right house... and my very cautious mom made her way into the house. She went through the living room and around the corner to the dining room where everyone yelled "surprise"! Deedra and I didn't get to see her reaction because we were still hiding in another room................. After a few moments of tears and hugs my sister Pris made my mom sit down and explained that this was all for her birthday... that we had rented three big beach houses... and that all (forty something) of us were going to be there together for seven nights. My dad then chimed in... He needed to make a public apology for all of the sneaky things that he had been doing over the past year. He then said that he wasn't the only one that has had to do some sneaky things... that was our queue. We jumped out of a side room and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom!"....... the tears really flowed then. It had been over a year since I had seen my mom & dad.......................... I think that it is a moment that I will always remember and cherish. Deedra's family just fit right in with my family... we had a week that was full of sun burn, sand dollars, sea food, puzzles, and laughter. It was amazing to have all these people that I love so much all in one place.