Erin's Suprise 40th at Ravinia

That's right!  Another surprise party carried off without a hitch!  I think I have to retire now....it's been too many surprise parties in a row - pretty soon everyone is going to expect it.  But, we snuck this last surprise party in and it was exactly what I'd hoped it would be.

When we were away in Yellowstone, kid free, not working, with Christmas fully behind us, I finally had the brain space to start thinking about Erin's 40th and that's when it all started to come together.  Ryan and I started talking about how/who/where etc and he had the best idea to try and throw it at Ravinia.  We had to wait until late March for the schedule to come out, but I stole Erin's phone one weekend she was out and broke into it to get Nate's contact.  Once I had that, we were golden!  He and I conspired together about how to get her there, the story, where all her friends from out of town could stay and everything in between.  We never could have pulled it off without my inside man!

We had about 35 friends and family there at Ravinia to celebrate one of my favorite people in all the land.  I refuse to call her my sister in law!  She's a sister, end of story!  I even included the kids in this one and believe it or not, not a single bean was spilled.  We had so many people in the know and so many opportunities to slip up it's a miracle we made it and surprised the heck out of her when she started to pull it all together in her brain.  She said she saw Abby and Hazel running towards her first and then couldn't quite figure out how they'd gotten to Ravina but with the rest of us just a few feet further away and this giant "Cheers to 40 years" banner, it all started to come together.

The band was a perfect combo of a relatively unknown band (which made for a less crowded Ravinia Saturday) and beautiful weather (cooler than anyone really expected honestly after 10+ days of a Heat Dome over Chicago (eye roll to the weather channel) and few too many cicadas for Abby's liking - but in the end it was the perfect night.  Exactly what I'd hoped for when I started pulling all the parts and pieces together.  

My photography skills were pretty lacking (thanks to everyone who sent photos!) but I was living in the moment, chatting with everyone and having the best night of being with family.  Here's to 40 (and surprise parties)!!