A Wonderful Surprise...

We came to Utah for another visit on August 12th. Todd's mom, Susan, got to come with us, which was a lot of fun because she hadn't been there since we moved away almost 16 years ago. I was so glad to spend time with my dad again. He isn't doing well. He had a feeding tube put into his stomach on July 13. He hadn't eaten any food for about four weeks prior to that. We were just giving him IV's those weeks to keep him hydrated. He has been very sick. It's so hard to see him go through such suffering. Brain cancer is stealing away his life, at a rapid pace.

On Friday, Todd and I went to lunch and then drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We hiked around a little, sat by a creek, and enjoyed a change of scenery from the desert landscape we usually see. When we came out of the canyon, Todd stopped the car and handed me a blindfold and told me to put it on. I was getting quite car sick being blindfolded, and was so glad when he stopped the car and helped me out. I could tell right away that I was at a park. He led me down a long sidewalk and a couple flights of stairs...if you have ever done stairs blindfolded, it's quite terrifying. The whole time I was pulling on him trying to make him walk slower, I was sure I was going to trip and fall. The more scared I became, the harder he laughed. Also a few of my siblings thought it was hilarious to follow me stumbling along, snapping lots of pictures of me looking like an idiot.

We walked for what seemed to be a very long time and then we stopped. At that moment, I heard a wonderful chorus singing "Happy Birthday." Todd told me to take off the blindfold and I saw a beautiful sight. My whole family was gathered under the bowery. My dad right up front in his wheelchair, with tears in his eyes. All the siblings were there, which is a huge task. It is very difficult to get all eleven home at the same time. We hadn't all been together since the last wedding, which was several years ago. Most of my aunts and uncles and some of my cousins and their families were also there. It was a huge gathering. It was a wonderful surprise. With everyone together we were able to get a family photo, which hadn't happened in many years.

Todd and the kids had been planning this little get together for several months. Ariel did all the planning of the food and the decorations and had a lot of help from lots of people...especially Aunt Jennifer. The decorations were awesome...except some of the embarrassing photos from early teen years when I sported a she-mullet. The food was awesome...one of my favorite things were the beautiful homemade cupcakes with the Steve Wright jokes on top. They even had "We built this city" playing when I first got there. The Ipod continued to play an awesome 80's playlist through the evening. There was a special guest visitor, Junior Robert E. Lee Samples, Todd's hideous Southern cousin. He had written an embarrassing but funny poem about me and read it for the family. We had many laughs with Junior. It was truly a celebration and it was an amazing night with my favorite people. I truly am grateful for all the help and work that so many provided to make it a party of a lifetime.