Our second mission took us to Olympia, Washington, to surprise my dad for his sixtieth birthday. Preparations for this momentous occasion began months ago when Jeff and Niki acquired two pigs, one of whom (on the right) was doomed with the name Sixty.
Last weekend, Dad's entire family gathered at Jeff and Niki's house--his wife (who kept the secret so beautifully, the most difficult job of all), his mother, his cousin, his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew, his four children and their four partners (brilliant conspirators all), and his three grandchildren.We flew in from four different states, and we had a day to prepare for the party. Sixty underwent the most preparation.
Niki did some last minute cleaning with Jasper, a.k.a. Mophead.
Some of the partygoers were decidedly relaxed about the whole affair...
...but most of us were pretty hepped up with nerves and excitement. The kids were kept at a sustainable level of hyperness by Dad-related crafts and typewritten notes.
And then came The Moment, the one Dad knew nothing about and the rest of us had been anticipating for ages. At noon on his birthday, Dad arrived for what he thought was brunch with Jeff, Niki, Steph, and Elliot. He walked into the kitchen...oh, it was perfect.
Suh. Prise.
After all the hugging and the laughter and the explanations and the brow wiping, things settled down into party mode.
Let's get a better look at those t-shirts, shall we?
We worked some more on Sixty...
...and we took some family photos.
We are a very modern family.
At long last, we sat down to eat the best pork in our entire lives, as well as German chocolate cake and peach ice cream, Dad's favorite desserts.
More photos to come from a very intense and gratifying few days, but for now I leave you with one of my favorites: Dad, Eftie, and Dad.
Suh. Prise.
Awesome!! All of it.
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