Grandpa Rick's 70th surprise birthday party

On Friday night, January 18th, we surprised Grandpa Rick at Cantina Laredo for his 70th birthday. Alex and Laura flew in from Chicago, and we all worked to plan a the surprise dinner. For the weeks before the party, Andrea and I worked hard to find a nice venue, get decorations, and a birthday cake. Grandma Alice was in charge of the guest list and she invited many of Grandpa and Grandma's Florida friends. At one point we were worried we'd have too many for the room!

I'd asked Dad to meet our family at Cantina Laredo for dinner, and thankfully he accepted the invite so we didn't have to get too creative to get him there. The guests all arrived by 4:30, and Grandpa Rick and Grandma Alice showed up around 5pm. The room accommodated 30 people, and we had exactly that number on the big day. I pretended to be on a phone call in the lobby when they arrived, then I walked them to the room and opened the door for the surprise.

We all enjoyed our dinners, Mom and Dad mingled with the guests, and then we sang "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake.

Overall, it was a beautiful night, and it was fun that everything came together and Grandpa was surprised. We cleaned everything up after we finished and snapped a picture outside the restaurant before heading home.