mary poppins surprise party

My mom's name is Mary and she is practically perfect in every way... just like that other "Mary that we love". Her 70th birthday was on Saturday and we wanted to throw her a surprise party, so it was only fitting that the theme be Mary Poppins. Unfortunately, my pictures are lame but just trust me that the party was cute and fun.

My dad tricked my mom into thinking he was taking her out to dinner but then they stopped over at my sister's house on the way to "pick something up" and... surprise!

My sister, Heidi, flew in from Georgia and surprised my mom. It made the party doubly fun to see my mom's reaction to seeing her! Pure joy on her face, right there!

Everyone just brought an appetizer to share and all of my mom's daughters and daughters-in law made cakes. You never know what you're going to get when you have a potluck but this time, I'd say it was a success! We also had jars of my mom's favorite treats: cinnamon bears, Rolos, York peppermint patties and wintergreen Lifesavers.

I put a few fake birds on things just like the bird in Mary Poppins' window sill.

I made this measuring stick with all of the dates of her children's births.

my appetizer: butternut squash, cranberry and thyme crostinis with goat cheese

Several of my mom's siblings and my cousins came and it was a fun little mini-family reunion. My sister brought her karaoke machine and I got the party started by singing "All By Myself" really horribly. It was a good time. Then my brother-in-law lit a fire by the pool and we all listened to my nieces and nephews sing karaoke while we laughed and finished off the cinnamon bears. We loved spending time together. Happy Birthday Mom! You're kind of the best!