Last year I thought it was Big Daddy’s 90th and texted Aunt Karen asking about helping host an event for him only to find out he was turning 89 last year 😉 So THIS year was the big 9-0! His party was the same day as his actual birthday (Aug 15) and it was a surprise party!
Aunt Karen held it at our church which I thought was super great as we have the perfect area for it and it made it less stressful and easier to plan! Casey, Courtney and I came up with decor. Big Daddy’s favorite colors are blue and yellow so we went with that and I actually already had pretty much everything we needed on hand (being a party supply hoarder comes in handy ha!).
Big Daddy loves fish so Aunt Karen, Uncle Steven and Mr Rusty did a fish fry in his honor. The guest list was “small”, they kept it just to Big Daddy’s siblings and Big Daddy’s direct descendants. Which I thought was PERFECT. At his age it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with too much going on and too many people. It was just the right amount of people and couldn’t have gone more perfectly!
Sometimes magical moments just happen. You can’t plan for them. And they often happen when you least expect them to. Going into this party I figured it’d be just a typical get together. Everyone eat. Everyone visit. Everyone leave. But y’all this party was something special that just made me emotional when I left! It was such a great time and just seeing Big Daddy SO happy was the best part!
Decorators with the Most!
Courtney and Casey put together this “What Happened in 1927” poster which was neat! Big Daddy doesn’t remember 1927 because he was a newborn so it’s fun to learn about things that were going on during that time. Courtney was HILARIOUS because she’s just such a teacher and memorized like this whole 1927 book and gave the entire party a history lesson haha!
My idea was to have all the guests write down their favorite “Jake-ism.” I joke a lot that Big Daddy is the ultimate sitcom character. He’s sweet and funny. He has TONS of great one-liners and everyone has a favorite! I originally thought of having people write a memory with Big Daddy but then when I thought of the “Jake-ism” idea I knew it was a winner. I didn’t expect for it to take off as well as it did though! Everyone loved it and really got into it which made it even more fun!
You know how surprise parties go. Usually the person being surprised knows what’s happening. But not this time! I guess Little Mama told Big Daddy she was taking him somewhere fancy downtown. Then on their way they got a call from Karen to stop by the church real quick so she could wish him happy birthday in person. Big Daddy kept telling the story all night that he was not happy about going to some fancy place and was really just wanting fish 😉
When they walked in we all said “surprise!” and sang!
It was just the most precious thing y’all. He was SO genuinely surprised and just had this pure joy about him. It was perfect.
He sat down and wanted to see each of his great grandchildren right away individually (very Big Daddy)
Britt is his little sweetheart for sure 😉
Then all the great grands said they wanted to sit with Big Daddy to eat! So precious!!!
Told you…he likes fish 😉
Courtney shared the 1927 info and then it was suggested for Big Daddy to read through all of the “Jake-isms” and say them the way HE says them and also tell the meaning behind them. It was such a great idea and such a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get to sit and listen to Big Daddy and hear his stories.
(I love that Kye even had one to share!)
I wanted to video the entire thing because Zach couldn’t be there. He had to work a prison and was out of town. I felt SO SO BAD that he missed it. Not only b/c it was Big Daddy’s birthday but because the night was just so, so special. Of course Zach kept trying to call me while I was video taping haha! So I got these two videos: 1 and 2 and 3.
Best gift of the night? Someone bought him a fidget spinner hahaha
I love that smile as he opened the cards from our kids
When I first entered the Parker family I got a whole lot of resistance and eye rolls about all my picture taking. But I will say through the years they’ve begun to embrace it 😉 Everyone was all about some pictures that night which y’all know I love! I just think photos are SO important. They capture moments and memories and are things we can cherish forever. This was one of those nights where I know we’ll all be thankful to have photos because it was so special!
Here’s a direct link to my dress from Ali Express (I paid $12!)
Missing Zach 🙁
Big Daddy asked for a picture with the photographer, clearly having forgotten we’d already gotten a picture together 😉 But who am I to refuse?
I sat with Big Daddy for a lot of the night and just enjoyed that quality time with him so very much. He’s extremely special to me. I’m so thankful for him and that we had such an amazing night in his honor! I’m so blessed and grateful that he’s my Big Daddy!
Zach was able to FaceTime in at the end of the night to see Big Daddy 🙂 It broke my heart he couldn’t be there but I know it makes Big Daddy so proud that Zach works hard to provide for our family!
It was such a wonderful night and now we gotta start brainstorming for how to celebrate his 100th! Only a decade to go 🙂
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