A Patrick Luau

On Thursday evening, Grandma Midge was shooed out the door to go to her weekly painting class. As the door closed, a flurry of activity ensued...some might even claim chaos for a few moments. Canopies were assembled and anchored, tables and chairs for 75 were placed around the yard and decorations were put in place. Just in time for a rain shower! As children were gathered inside and adults took shelter under the canopies, some made reference to the last "party" held in the backyard...D's and my wedding reception almost six years ago.

When she came back from painting class Midge had no idea what awaited her in her backyard... 75 close friends and many relatives including all of her children, their spouses and her 12 grandchildren. People from all times of her life were there to help celebrate the 60th birthday of one amazing woman. It was so fun to do this for Midge. When asked later if she suspected anything, she said,"I was expecting the boys to have done something rude or embarrassing! Not have a real party for me!" In the past they have posted her age in five foot high posters on the roof or garage, mowed it into the grass and outlined it with orange spray paint, or similar antics. So, yeah, she was pleasantly surprised!



The food was traditional luau fare...kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, rice, mixed tropical fruit, drinks and cake. Both Mimi and Sweetsa loved the rice and meat, and Sweetsa managed to get her hands on some of the fruit too, sucking it to "withereens". Jacob ate a hot dog as did most of the other little ones.





Sweetsa-girl chased her cousin Curlytop (who is 6 months older than SP), trying to get a taste of the delicious snow cone she had in her possession. I was elated to discover that Sweetsa didn't care if the snow cone had syrup on it or not, she just wanted that cold shaved ice!

Although there was a jumping "castle" available for the kids to enjoy, the little ones rarely ventured more than ten steps from the snowcone table. So the older kids claimed the castle and everyone was happy for a time!



That is until the real storm came. Luckily some were paying enough attention to the weather to get most stuff inside before a mad dash to shelter occurred. When the lightning got too close, then even those who stayed under the shelter of the canopies to visit came inside too.

It was a great party for a great woman. I'm so glad to be a part of her family!