August 12, 2018 Brookfield, WI (Day 3)

Today’s the big day!  Dad’s 90th birthday party.  I had plans to meet my sister and brother at my dad’s place to start the prep at 1:00 for the party at 3:00, so we had a leisurely morning.  Bob worked on getting the AC running plugged into Anne’s house.  The breaker keeps tripping and stopping the AC from running.  We need that AC to work with Auggie in the trailer.  Bob finally had to run to Farm and Fleet to buy a heavy duty extension cord and hope that it will solve the problem.  We used the cord for most of the morning and that seemed to do the trick.  While he worked on that and vacuumed out the truck, Izzy played with Auggie and later we created a summer scene with chalk on the driveway.
Then Izzy showed me how she could ride on her scooter!  
When Bob got through with his vacuuming, he helped Izzy practice riding her bike.  She needs a little more practice with the balancing aspect of riding, but she’ll get it soon enough.
After that, Izzy and I played 9 games of Go Fish where she won half of the games….and I didn’t let her win.  She is quite a contender!   Around 12:30, we put on our party clothes and left Anne’s to go set up for the party.  The Regency, where my dad lives, set the tables with linens and china.
My sister was the party planner and organized all the festivities.  She did a fantastic job!  Her kids brought the appetizers.   Peg, Ran, and I bought the food and beverages.  The 3 of us and our spouses put up the decorations.   A beautiful added touch were the flowers on the tables that my sister provided.  



Everything was ready to go by 2:00 and the guests would be arriving at 3:00.  Bob and I went upstairs to get my dad up and dressed to come to the party.  With a little help he made it down to the party in time to greet the first guests and wore the shirt that I got him especially for the occasion.  

Dad and his younger brother, Jim

Dad and his older brother, Larry

Both of my dad’s brothers and their wives, his sister-in-law, and many of my cousins and their families came.  My dad’s brothers are 91 and 85 and doing well.

My dad’s brothers and their wives and his sister-in-law standing in the front.

The 3 amigos

Dad with Mom’s side of the family–his sister-in-law, nephew, niece, their spouses, and a great nephew

The Schaefer side of the family with Dad’s brother, Jim and his wife, Maryann, some of their children, spouses, and grandchildren.

I haven’t seen some of my cousins for quite a few years, so it was great to see them.  It was like no time had passed at all.  

The cousins from both sides of the family

               Three of dad’s grandkids and all 10 of his great-grandchildren were there.

Dad and the great-grandkids

Dad and us kids

Dad, us kids and spouses

Dad with his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids

Dad and me

There were 40 people in all.  It was a great turnout and Dad looked like he enjoyed every minute of it.  I’m sure it was overwhelming at times for him since he couldn’t remember some of the names, but he was a gracious host just the same.  Although, we told people “no gifts”, there were a few who brought them.  Dad received a beautiful orchid (he loves them), a bottle of brandy (his favorite), some Packer clothing, an aloe plant to add to his garden, and other cards.  I got him a T-shirt that said “It took me 90 years to create this masterpiece.” which made him laugh.  I also made Dad a “90 Years” poster and put it in a frame for him to keep on his table.  
Randy and his girlfriend, Jen, created this poster board with pictures of Dad that everyone was asked to sign.  It will be a great remembrance of his special day for him to have.
Randy gave Dad a beautiful box and in the cover he inserted a picture of Dad’s 2005 blue convertible BMW with Randy sitting in it.  Randy has it now and it was Dad’s pride and joy.  He loved that car and wants it back if Randy ever decides to get rid of it.  
The highlight of the evening was the lighting of the candles on the cake and the singing of “Happy Birthday”.  I gave Dad a spinning musical candle that was the hit of the evening.  It was a flower that, when lit, opened up, spun around slowly, and played “Happy Birthday”.  It continued to play “Happy Birthday” throughout the rest of the evening.

Dad blowing out the candles

The party broke up around 6:00 and we started the clean-up.  We took Dad back up to his apartment and helped him carry up his gifts.  He seemed a little tuckered out after all the activity and excitement today.  We headed back to Anne’s to give Auggie his dinner and his evening walk. It was a beautiful evening for a walk.  In fact, all the evenings have been great with temps in the mid-60’s and wonderful for sleeping with the windows open.  Anne and her family were at a gathering for her grandma’s birthday dinner, so they didn’t get home until around 9:30.   We were tired and enjoyed the down time.  We watched some TV and turned in early.  What a wonderful day this has been!