Joe & Melanie's Surprise 30th Anniversary Party

You may wonder what I've been up to the past few weeks since it's been so long since I updated.  Well, I've definitely been a hardworking girl.  We've redone our kitchen and master bathroom (pictures to come later), and then Friday evening, we had a surprise 30th anniversary party for Nick's parents, Joe & Melanie.  I apologized to them as soon as they arrived at the house, because I've been telling small lies to them for the past three weeks in preparation for the party. :)  When we set the date about three weeks ago, I told Joe & Melanie we were going to have a "family dinner" with Alan & Tovah, and Patsy & Bobby (Nick's aunt and Uncle) on June 10th around 6:45 or 7:00.  It wasn't odd planning it that far in advance because Bobby & Patsy were on a long vacation and weren't getting back home until the 8th.  So, Joe & Melanie didn't get suspicious with that.  We really didn't speak about it for the next two and a half weeks.  Melanie did ask what she could bring, and I told her just a few 2-liters that way she wouldn't think anything was up.  Nick & I wanted the kitchen done before we had a party at the house, so we've been submersed in kitchen remodel.  Friday morning, I called and asked Melanie if I could run by on my lunch break to borrow her crock pot for cheese dip.  She was fine with that.  I was so concerned that Joe & Melanie would show up early.  I told Melanie that I didn't want too many cars in front of the house so Nick would come by and pick them up.  Melanie told me that evening that she knew something was up at that time.  She didn't know what was going on, just that something was going on.  So, we went and picked them up at 6:45.  I know they knew something was going on when we pulled up the house and there were cars everywhere. :)  We walked in the door to around 45 people that all yelled "SURPRISE!"  We had a GREAT evening.  I think it was a success since I kept it a secret for as long as I did.  Thanks to everyone who made it a success.  It couldn't have happened without all of y'all.  A special thanks to Patsy & Bobby who showed up early to help with getting the house clean and the food cooked.  We enjoyed having everyone over to celebrate their anniversary.  Here are a few pictures from the event. :)

Our awesome fajita cooks. :)

Cake & picture from Joe & Melanie's wedding day.

Right after they came in.

With the grandbaby.

Nick & his momma

Cutting the cake.

The Robertson Family

Our GREATEST helpers!

Little Miss Grace. :)

Owen Stanley Robertson has ARRIVED!

Well, for those of you who didn't know, my brother-in-law and his wife, Alan and Tovah, have been expecting a bouncing ball of joy.  Tovah had a c-section this morning.  Little Owen was born at 8:14 AM.  Weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces.  He was 20 3/4 inches long.  And had a head FULL of red hair.  (Thank goodness because Tovah would have had a lot of explaining to do if he hadn't.) :)  Mom and baby are both doing great.  I wanted to share a few pics of Owen's first day.  I took a few pictures of Tovah, but it was apparently on her camera, not mine.  So, sorry there aren't any of her.

Our first look at Owen.

Loved the caption on the windows to the nursery. :)

Getting weighed.

Uncle Nick and Aunt DeDe

I made this for little Owen.  Now everyone will know which room is his. :)

Proud papa and baby.

Countertops...CHECK!!!!

Well, apparently everyone has been eagerly awaiting pictures of our new-ish countertops.  As mentioned in my last blog, we bought Rustoleum Countertop Transformations in Onyx to refinish our very blue countertops.  It worked BEAUTIFULLY!  It did cause an absolute mess in our kitchen for a few days, but it was totally worth it in the long run.  I'm still in the 48 hour stage where you aren't allowed to use it, but come tomorrow, I can put "items weighing less than 5 pounds" on the countertop.  Come next Tuesday, I can put everything back and use it normally.  I'm so excited to have these.  The next steps in the kitchen process are to finish peeling wallpaper (this will be Saturday's task), texture, paint (lime green - top of the walls, bright white - bottom of the walls), refinish cabinets (it may be a while before we undertake that project), and replace hardware on cabinets.  It will look absolutely amazing, I'm sure.  So, I'll leave you with photos of before/during/after our transformation.  Enjoy!!!

Before

Before

Before

During

Nick looking tired...it was a long process.  He's awesome. :)

During

After!!!

After!!!

After!!!

After!!!