My Dad got diabetes as a child and is considered a walking miracle by his doctors at how well he is health wise. This past year had a few scary moments, but luckily he is still doing great. My siblings and I wanted to make sure we were able to throw a party for my parent's and show them how much we love them while my Dad's health was still good. So the 40th anniversary of their wedding seemed like a perfect opportunity for this endeavor - and what an endeavor it was - but so worth everything in the end!!!
We all took a part in planning the party along with many conference calls to solidify everything. Janessa spent a lot of time with the inviting part and with making the invitations. She did such a wonderful job - I absolutely LOVE the invite. Allyson helped put together the meeting place (her in-law's building) and got the music situation with her brother-in-law. I was in charge of putting together the program and also purchased a frame that the guests could sign the matte with Dad & Mom's picture inside.
We started out the day by sending my parents out to the Hale Center Theater in West Valley to see "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." They absolutely loved it. Then they ate dinner at Famous Daves. It was so fun to send them off to have fun while the preparations began. We didn't want them to feel obligated to help or have them around for the prep work.
We headed up to Bountiful to an LDS church there to begin the fun preparations. Heather spent so much time on the food and did such an outstanding job. We helped her put together some pasta salad, fruit salad, and relish trays. I enjoyed helping cut up the fruit. There were so many willing and able to help that the process went relatively fast. Danielle was in charge of decorating and put together some amazing decor. I loved the flower vases that were placed at every table. It looked so gorgeous!
We had a photographer come and take our pictures at 5 p.m. before the party started. It was great to get some professional pics of us all together since it had been many years since that had happened (we missed not having Paul there to make our family complete).
I love my siblings so much and feel so fortunate to have each of them in my life. How each of them has made such a huge impact on my life - so blessed to know that we will be an eternal family!
All the couples except for Paul.
My sweet family - love these guys!!! Johnathan, Tanner, Parker, Tricia, Bradley, Byron, Carter & Camille- such handsome boys and beautiful daughter.
Mom in front of the beautiful serving table - the food looked so yummy and professional - I wish we got a picture of the whole table, but this one will have to do.
The party started at 7 p.m. There was a steady group of people coming in and out. It was like a huge family reunion- seeing so many people that have made a huge impact on my life that I haven't seen for quite some time. So many came from Corcoran that have since moved away - it was a mini Corcoran Branch reunion. There were also many that I had never seen before - either relatives of my parents that I had never met or people that they had grown up with. My parents were so happy - it was fun to just watch them going from one person to another soaking in everything.
After a while, we decided to start the program (around 7:45). Since I didn't want to be the main person speaking, we asked Adam to do that. He did a fabulous job! Each of the siblings went up one at a time and shared what we have learned from Dad & Mom. It was really cool to listen to each of my siblings share different things that meant so much to them. Everybody said such different things. I had a hard time not crying as I was standing there with two of the most important people in my life sitting down in front of me. How could I not get emotional seeing them? They are amazing people! I couldn't have asked to have better parents raise me on this earth.
Jared gave a great synopsis of how my parents met and their courtship. Jared had my parents tell us the previous days their story in their own words so he knew exactly what happened. It was so fun to hear them tell it because so much of it I had forgotten or hadn't remembered. Jared did a great job retelling their story.
Camille sang their song "When I Fall In Love." Other than forgetting a few of the lyrics, she did an outstanding job. Then the grandchildren all sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and "I Am A Child of God" while I played the piano. They sounded great!
The program ended with having Dad & Mom dancing to their song - after they started, many couples and kids joined in. My parents have always enjoyed dancing. I remember seeing them many times at Stake Dances dancing on the floor. I loved watching them dance and can easily see how much they are utterly in love with each other. I never have had to wonder and am so glad that they showed and continue to show it to us daily by how they treat each other.
Dad & Mom Beck also came to the party - it was fun to see them and I am so grateful that they sacrificed their time to come. So many of our cousins, aunts, and uncles also came. Some I hadn't seen in quite some time so it was really fun to catch up. I had a hard time making my rounds because there were so many people I wanted to talk with.
We had WAY too much food at the end of the night so Heather started sending it home with anybody that was still around. There were so many willing to help clean up that it went pretty fast. It was a definite full day, but one that will not be forgotten.
I have realized what amazing people I am surrounded by both in my childhood, youth and now. I have so many awesome people that have been there through it all and I feel so blessed to have my amazing circle of family and friends. It was so fun to see so many of them and reconnect through the lost years. It was a perfect night and I know that my parents truly appreciated all that went into it. They definitely deserve it!!! Love you Dad & Mom!!!!!
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