Dad’s birthday

My father turned 90 on June 25th, but he had a big bash on the 24th.  I had known about this in advance, of course, but I was having trouble finding tickets I could afford.  Dad helped me get there for which I am grateful.  Here are some pics from my trip…

The first leg of my journey was in a tiny plane that flew from Green Bay to Chicago. I was thrilled to be able to catch a plane so close to home — only 2 hours away!

Flying past Mount Hood, I knew I was nearly “home”!

I arrived Saturday evening and my son picked me up at the airport.  I spent the night at Dad’s house and went to church with him.  After church, several of us set up for the party.  The party started at 3:00 in the afternoon.

We started by singing Happy Birthday to Dad and he blew out the candles. I hope he made a good wish!

Dad had a bunch of visuals from his life that people could come up and see. He also played an old gospel song from 1918 that his dad (a pastor) used to use for street meetings.

The room was packed. The blue rectangular banner you see on the upper left side is what I quilted for his party. I had family members send me buttons and charms that represented them and I sewed those on too.

An Emcee from Dad’s church took a microphone around so people could share stories about Dad.

Dad’s siblings were at one of the front tables and they had fun telling stories about each other and Dad when they were kids.

My family of origin (including my mother) was at another front table.

Elaine also had a chance to tell stories about Dad.

Dad and his siblings (L-R) Evelyn, Leonard (aka Mac), Lois Ann (aka Sannie), and Doug

(L-R): My younger sister, Lauryn; my nephew, Nate; Dad; Elaine; me; my son, Jamey; and seated is my older sister, Sherill

Both Sherill and Dad have multiple myeloma, a form of bone cancer.  Both are doing well.

Sunday night and Monday night, I stayed with my sister, Sherill.  She has just finished a big project in her back yard.  These shots were taken at night so they look a little weird, but her yard truly is beautiful.

Fred built a fire in their new fire pit on their new patio!

These flowers are even more beautiful during the day.

I loved getting to spend time with my family and see my extended family too.  I am so glad I got to go celebrate Dad’s birthday.  But I am also glad to be back home in Wisconsin.  Mark picked me up in Milwaukee last night and it was after midnight before we got home.  We slept really well!

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