Becky's Surprise Party

My MIL is Becky, and this year marks 5 years of remission of her breast cancer!

This weekend we celebrated with about 60 of her closest friends and family.



It was a HUGE surprise for Becky and a really heartwarming moment when she came through the door, greeted by applause, cheers, and party blowers.



Can I just say it again?  60 people.  In our house.  Holy cow that is a lot of people!   



Thankfully, I inherited my mother's need for multiple tables and chairs -- so there were lots of places to sit.



Next time I'll start cranking the AC down a little earlier in the day.  But it wasn't unbearably hot... just a little warm.



Becky's daughters are Jennifer and Heather, and of course her son is Daniel.



We're all married, and on the morning of the party, we tried to split up into a "Costco group" (to get the food) and a "home group" to prepare for the party.



But nobody really wanted to stay home and clean, so we were a party of 7 (including Lucy), shopping the aisles of Costco.  It was so much fun.



I am a cake snob.  Homemade cake and homemade icing is the way to go, in my book.



The store-bought kind just isn't usually worth the calories. This cake weighed approximately 12 pounds.  It was so good.



I had made 2-3 "practice cakes" (read: guilt-free, delicious snack) to be sure it would come out okay.



Cream cheese icing.  Yum.



I wish we'd gotten a party of the whole group, but seriously--where do you put 60 people (besides choir risers) so that they are all seen in a photo?



Anyways, this is the group that was left a few hours after the party's beginning.



And this is Becky and David, with Jennifer and her family and Heather and her family.



Congratulations on 5 cancer-free years, Becky!