McNees Family Memories...: WOW, am I a SLACKER or WHAT?

My last post in January I am sure had me VERY busy with getting all of the plans for Korey's surprise 40th birthday party finalized. I was SOOO very excited about this party and how Korey would forever remember this great bash! I knew that our best man Ray coming from North Carolina and my old roommate and great friend Brenda coming in from Texas would add that additional element of surprise to Korey, a sort of ONE, TWO punch! So this is my excuse for not updating prior to now, five months later! Crazy. So, I guess, first things first, and I will write about the event that took months of planning....the big party. I had so many things to get done, I was making a movie of Korey's life, which I must say I think turned out pretty darn good! I made a CD of 80's music (It was an 80's themed party.) and this for some reason took me a lot of time, going thru CD after CD and listening and remembering where those songs took me. Jacob and I sat a lot at this computer playing all the different songs...one that he really liked was "Can't Touch This", he heard it in a music card and fell in love with it....and when I played it on the computer, he loved it and we got distracted and danced, think running man...and then try to get the image of me and Jacob doing it out of your mind, it was not pretty as Lil Korey and Jordan would affirm. ANYWAY, this CD took lots of time to compile the 20 PERFECT songs that represented well, what I guess I remember from the 80's....

All of this HAD to be done with out Korey knowing, all of the secrets, all of the lies...or fibs...all for the good of this BASH of a life time.

Oh the good times I had on FACEBOOK, talking with old college friends (there were more planning to make the trip, but in the end could not.) and friends helping with menu ideas, songs and the such. I posted many college pics on Facebook and what a great time we had laughing at the "old days" of these pictures and making fun of Korey and he was clueless sitting on his side of the couch completely clueless....wondering what I was laughing at and I would usually say, oh what Tamara posted on Facebook...and then he would say I am spending too much time on the laptop he got me the year before for Christmas....oh, if he only knew really the time I was spending on here re-searching, and looking and deciding on all the perfect party stuff. Oh the days of spending hours scanning old photos, and seeing he was soon to be home and rush around to make it appear as I had actually accomplished something. I scanned sooo many photos one day, at least 100 and I had to run to the school, and when I came back, my lap top was off and when I plugged it back in to re-charge the battery I had lost a WHOLE day of scanning, I was ready to scream and cry....but it was ALL worth it.

My birthday is a week before his, exactly....and I have some pretty darn good friends. For my birthday my friend Kelly decided to contact some of my other friends and some family and see if they wanted to all pitch in for a DJ with Karaoke for Korey's party for my birthday gift. She knew that I was stressing about the music and also needing a karaoke machine for the party, so she it the nail right on the head with that WONDERFUL gift...I could NOT have asked for a better present. So, CHECK, music covered! By a professional to boot! Then came Korey's REAL birthday, and my mom and dad happened to be here for a friend in hospice care and another friend whose child was VERY sick and decided they HAD to make the trip to NY. I am sad that they could not have been here for the surprise party, but we had a "fake" surprise party for him and invited some friends over to fool him, that this was it. He had a good time at this party, and the whole time, I kept thinking about the one that was 2 weeks away and our friends coming in from out of town. My excitement was ready to BUST out of me!

The real birthday, but the "fake" party....

The week of the party, Tamara and her kids made the trip from Detroit to NY to help me get ready for the party...all the time, Korey thinking that they were just here for Winter Break and for Korey to take the kids ice fishing. It was great. Sista D, AKA Linda DeGraff and her hubby were another GREAT help that week, helping to keep Korey occupied, since he had days off right in the middle of the week, when I was trying to get things finalized for this party. The day of the party came and with some minor things going wrong we were on our way for this big day to get underway....my niece Hilary, another BIG help came out early and was kitchen help cleaning enough chicken to last her a life time, chopping and cutting and picking up kids and delivering kids...it was great! Things were falling into place, with the DeGraff's help in decorating and babysitting we were in good shape. Next was Nadine, another blessing that day doing some extra running around in addition to making all of her famous Bacon Potato Salad. (And I don't want to forget to thank Jane Bauch for making the baked beans too, I HEARD they were great...I didn't get any, I was too stressed to eat.) WOW, if this is turning into thank yous I owe more than what I mentioned...also Merea who jumped in when really needed into the kitchen....and the again the Vannans for doing some running around and cleaning up....

Anyway...back to the party....Patrenia's daughter was the reason for this "award ceremony", which is what Korey thought he was coming for. (Thanks to Patrenia too for helping with the pretend award night invite and covering all the lies.) They were stationed at the door, waiting for him to come in and see her in her brownies uniform...and when just before he walked in a wave of emotion rushed over me, and I was just ready to cry, well a few tears filled the eyes as I tried to blink them away I was so excited to see him come in and really be taken by surprise! And SURPRISED he was! He didn't quite get it until he started to focus on all the people and see that these are all people that he actually knew! I did it! I surprised him after all of these months of secrets! WOW, what a relief!

I have to say that this was such a blast....and again with out my friends who jumped in at the actual party to re-fill food and clean I would not have been able to enjoy myself!

This cake was supposed to represent 80's colors and it looks better than when I first went to pick it up, I had them add some of the other colors, they did not get what I meant I guess when I was trying to explain what I wanted with this cake.

Tamara cutting the cake, among all the other things she did to help! She is GREAT kitchen help! :)

Kelly doing Karaoke and Jordan waiting to do it...again thanks to Kelly for contacting my family and friends to gift this to me for the party! It was a BLAST!

The weekend was FULL of fun for us, because the party was not over just because we left the party hall....we brought part of the surprise home with us, Brenda and Ray! We stayed up so late talking and laughing the whole weekend. Watching old videos of us during college days...making fun of ourselves or each other! Wrestling around with the kids. It really did feel like old times. We had a BLAST! I am so thankful to their families for allowing them to come and celebrate Korey's 40th birthday with us. They can't possibly know what it really meant to the two of us! We love you all!