Grandma's 90th Birthday

Last month, Mike and I had the priviledge of traveling up to New Jersey to celebrate his grandma's 90th birthday. Many other friends and family flew in from all over the country to be a part of this special day making it truly a birthday to remember. When Mike was five years old, his paternal grandparents moved in with the family, and so Mike grew up in the same house as not only his parents and siblings, but his Gramps and Grandma as well! Because of this, there has always been a special, "second mother" type of bond between Mike and his grandma. She truly helped raise him!

We decided since this trip was going to be a short stay, to leave our kids at home in the hands of my dad and soon to be step-mom. We hadn't traveled so far away from them in a very long time, so I was a bit apprehensive about it. But I prayed and checked in often and all went well. In fact, once I got there I was able to truly enjoy my time with just Mike and the ease of traveling without three extra little ones to take care of. I read a book, we talked, went out on a date night. It actually felt like a little vacation!

We arrived in Newark late Friday night on October 4th and woke up the next morning ready to party. Mike's sister Rachel was the main party planner, while my mother-in-law and my other sister-in-law, Tracy assisted in making the everything just right. There were lots of feminine pink touches (Grandma's favorite color) as well as plenty of food, desserts, twinkle lights and flowers. They truly made the house look special. They also put together a slide show, music performance, and a funny "How Well Do You Know Grandma?" trivia game.  We literally spent the entire day celebrating with Grandma, and I could tell she was having a wonderful time.

 Happy 90th Birthday Banner on the house

 Pretty pink desserts....

 And pretty pink mums!

 Mike and Me

 Rachel (party planner extrodinaire), her husband, Juan, and their daughter Velda (named after the birthday girl herself!)

Grandma Velda's high school graduation picture. She was (and still is) a true beauty.

(I don't know why my pictures are so small! I can't get them to go any bigger! Grrrrr....)

Now...what should we do on her 100th? :)