Aaron's grandma turned 100 last week! She was born a few days after the Titanic sunk, isn't that amazing?
We headed up for her party, and I came up with a photobook for her gift. Aaron's parents found photos of her when she was younger and scanned them for me, and I asked all of her children and grandchildren to send me some.
I love the sailor dress + bows!
Her children were adorable, too. I included pictures of Emma when she was young, when her children were young (and then teenagers), a photo of each of her children's families when they were younger, and a photo of each of the grandchildren's families. All her people in one place.
It was a surprising amount of work, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. I used Shutterfly (I always use Shutterfly) and the quality was excellent as usual (not a sponsored post, I just like them). Their new customized pages are SO cool and make my life easier.
Since I don't know Emma that well, it was fun to look through all these pictures and put this together for her. I also don't get to do much family history at this point, so that felt good, too.
So anyway, we drove the 6 hours and let the kids play in the hotel pool the night before the party. I chuckled because at 9:30pm there were 13 kids in that pool. They were probably stuck in the car all day, too.
We brought up our birthday buntings (they've served us well over the years, we have used them for every birthday (they're reversible) for... 5 years? and they still look great) and I made a little accordian 1912 book for the table.
I just researched facts about 1912, and (hurriedly, not my best work) put them together for people to read. She shares her Centennial birthday with LifeSavers, Oreo, Girl Scouts, and stainless steel.
Of course, the above photos were taken by Aaron with the point and shoot, a camera not really worthy of the occasion. Why? Because the girl and I were quarantined at the hotel all day and missed the party!
Yep, she was up half the night with a stomach bug. Bummer! There are worse things than spending a day holed up in a hotel with a nice TV, comfy duvet and your Nook (thank goodness for my nook!) but I missed talking to people we don't see too often, plus being there for Emma. I also missed taking photos of the whole thing. From all accounts it was a fun party and the birthday girl was thrilled. That's what matters.
I ordered extra copies of the book for our family and Aaron's parents, and his siblings will all get one for Christmas (shh). The kids love looking through it and saying 'THAT's Papa?'
Families are cool.