Party recap

I love it when a party goes well, don't you? Mom and dad's Golden Anniversary party was a blast.

The only hiccup came at the beginning: the previous party was just clearing out of the patio when we arrived at 6:00 pm. We had to wait for them to vacate and reset the tables before we could go in and set up.

Mom and I put together 3 posterboards with artfully arranged/accented memorabilia from their 50 years together--including the wedding announcement in the Logan, Utah paper, photos of mom and dad at 20, 30 and 40 years of marriage, a picture of mom with her grown-up flower girl and photos of their house in Utah and the new garage they built.

We had baby pictures of mom and dad on display and small album of wedding photos as well. They looked great and SO young! (I'm wearing mom's wedding dress for my wedding and it was fun to see how it looked on the original bride). The guests gushed--and it gave the early birds something to do until everyone arrived.

The folks who drove up from Orange County got stuck in traffic, so we waited to order. We gave people a choice of 6 entrees off the regular Claim Jumper menu and distributed sticky notes so everyone could write down their order for the servers. (ME channeling Martha).

During the lull, we had a multiple choice quiz: How much do you know about Ruth and Tom? It contained such tidbits as where they met (church social), the subject of their first disagreement (dad shut all doors in the apartment/mom wanted them open), the subject of their most recent disagreement (which freeway to take home from the eye doctor), and where dad proposed (by a statue of St. Francis [near the incinerator] behind mom's apartment). The prize was a box of Beloved Brittle from Trader Joe's.

Just as we were wrapping up the quiz, the food arrived (excellent timing). Everyone raved about the meal. Conversations were lively up and down the table and we had a little trouble settling everyone down. After everyone had finished eating, we had a 50th wedding anniversary commemorative plate that we passed around and had everyone sign.

During dessert (Claim Jumper's luscious carrot cake), mom and dad both stood up and said a few words of thanks for each other, their lives together, and for the friends and family who attended the celebration. After that, folks started to say their goodbyes. We schlepped the posters and gifts to the car and went home pleased with how well it all turned out.

The notoriously late aunt & uncle were no-shows. Unless they showed up after we left at 11:00 pm, which has happened before.