The Tuesday of the last week before school was John’s dad’s birthday. A few weeks earlier John got the great idea to have a surprise birthday dinner with all of us on the Friday after his birthday. John called Lenora and his brother and worked out the details. The plan called for us to have a short trip to Oklahoma and meet everyone for dinner. We got to Oklahoma City early on Friday, so we stopped by Bass Pro Shop to waste some time.
It’s always hard to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time! So an easier picture is when no one is looking at the camera!
Chris, Kelly, and all of us were there waiting for Vance and Lenora to show up. The funniest part is she didn’t tell Vance where they were eating so he drove home, when he worked just a few blocks from the restaurant. I am surprised he didn’t figure it out when Lenora kept them from leaving at their “usual” time to beat the dinner rush. Lenora was awesome! We were sitting on the patio, so we told the kids not to stand up or be seen until they got close to the table. When they were walking our way John decided to let the boys get down and run to them. Vance told Lenora that the little boys he saw running reminded him of the boys. Then he got a little closer and realized they WERE the boys! It was a great surprise!
Vance even put on the sombrero and let the waiters sing to him. These are probably once in a lifetime photos!!
After dinner everyone crashed at Vance’s and Lenora’s. It was a nice Allen family evening. We stayed up way too late talking with Chris, Kelly, Vance, and Lenora. It was great, but the kids woke us up their normal early time. I am still impressed that Lenora was able to keep everything a secret and set all this up. She even had stashed the cake, Dr. Pepper (did I mention she is awesome!), extra food, and anything else he might get curious about in the closet. She was prepared for the extra people. I’m not sure I would have been able to keep something like that from John. Vance was very excited about the surprise.
Saturday morning we had planned on taking the kids to the neighborhood pool. The other visits we were unable to go to the pool and didn’t want to not go swimming again. Only problem was- it was COLD! Yes, in August the pool was cold. That didn’t stop the kids, they got in shivering and blue lipped and played for a while.
Then it was back to Vance’s to change, eat lunch, pack, and head back home. It was a nice short trip to end the summer.
I hate to see summer go.
