Ira turns 40!

After our Father's Day fun, we headed to Smithfield, UT for some more partying...and surprises.

I made this lollipop bouquet for Ira's b-day.

Ira, Jason's very good friend from highschool, is turning 40 in August. His wife wanted to celebrate and surprise him, but didn't want to throw big party. She asked if our family could come visit for a few days, without telling Ira.

Ira's brother Jason Crawford (and family) were coming to visit that week too (from Alaska). Jason and Jason were also very good friends in highschool. Our family visit was kept a secret from Jason Crawford too... so lots of fun surprises.

For the remainder of this blog post, my Jason will be referred to as Jay and Ira's brother will be referred to as Jason. It can get sooo confusing. :)

When trying to figure out when we would make our surprise entrance, Nicky (Ira's wife)mentioned that they would be spending some time at her parent's house, for a Father's Day dinner on Sunday. My brain went into party, surprise mode and started thinking... what if we came while they were gone, decorated and brought a cake too? Wouldn't that be so fun? Nicky liked the idea. She offered to get the cake and decorations, if we would sneak in and decorate while they were gone.

Nicky and I kept in touch by texting.

When we arrived, we parked our van down the street, so Ira wouldn't notice an out-of-place Idaho vehicle, in front of his house. We snuck in the house, gathered all of the fun luau decorations and went to town decorating. My kids had so much fun being sneaking and decorating.

When the house was decorated, I texted Nicky. She said they would be on their way shortly. I started getting nervous, anticipating the surprise.

When we heard the garage door start opening, we got into "position". I knelt behind the couch, with my camera aimed at the garage door.

When Ira walked through the door we yelled, "SURPRISE!" and I snapped a picture. He jumped back and let out a yelp. We definitely got him good.

Later Ira told us that as he walked through the door, he thought, "Who is in my house? And why are they pointing a gun at me?" When he saw the flash of the camera, he was just sure he was dead. No wonder he yelled and jumped. Poor guy. We could have given him a heart attack with our little surprise. :)

We all hugged and reacquainted the kids, as they took off to go play.

It was so nice to see everyone again.

As we visited, we had yummy sandwiches and snacks and waited for Jason and his family to arrive.

Jason, Becky and family arrived later that evening. We were introduced to all of their kids (8 total with one on the way)... not promising to remember and keep all of their names straight for the next 2 days. :)

We ate cake and ice cream and hung out on the back patio for a lovely evening.

Happy (almost) 40th Birthday Ira!