Dad's Surprise Party Weekend - Round 2

Surprise #3:

My Uncle Frank, Aunt Jan, Cousin Mia and Future Cousin-in-Law Alex all flew in from New York on Saturday to surprise my Dad for his party. My Mom and I were running around town picking up last minute things (balloons, decorations, etc) so we told Bryan and John to keep him busy at home. They told him they were going to go over to Hank's to get some tools because they were fixing my parent's water heater and maybe a beer too. My Dad thought nothing of it so they all went over there (John, Sue, Bryan and Tommy). My Mom and I were already over there with my Uncle Hank, Jackie (long-time girlfriend), Frank, Jan, Mia and Alex. They had stopped by the store on the way from the airport and bought orange streamers so we decorated the place with my Dad's favorite color. They also turned their hats from Steak and Shake into birthday hats for my Dad. It was so amazing to see my Dad's face when he walked in...he was so surprised! He teared up and we all did too. A little later my Uncle John, Aunt Cindy, Cousin Neill, Cousin Stu and his girlfriend Sarah came, but Hank kind of ruined that surprise, but I'm sure he figured they were coming too. My Mom, Mia and I went to go decorate the Moose for the party. My Dad opened up some presents and read cards from everyone.

Here are the pictures from Hank's shop...

Visiting Rosie and meeting Gabby

My Mom, Sue, Tommy and I went to visit Rosie and the boys and meet the newest addition to the Lozano family...Gabby! It was so cute to see how good the boys were with Gabby. She is such a sweet, beautiful baby! Congrats, Rosie and Dan! Tommy had fun playing with the big boys. We tried to get a picture of all of them together, but as you can see that was not easy.

Dad's Surprise 70th Birthday Weekend - Round 1

My Dad turned the BIG 7-0 so I decided to throw him a surprise party in Charleston.

Surprise #1:

Thursday my brother Bryan and I took the train home and my Mom picked us up at the station. We walked in my parent's house and surprised my Dad. He had no idea we were coming so it was funny to see the look on his face when I walked in. Little did he know that he had many more surprises to come throughout the weekend. We hung out at home on Thursday and watched a movie.

Surprise #2:

Friday, John, Sue and Tommy flew in from NJ. They rang the front door so I told my Dad someone was there to see him so he better answer the front door. I had my video camera hidden and was ready to start filming. My Dad opened the door and was in total shock! He couldn't figure out how they got there. It was so special to see him answer the door and my nephew Tommy to greet him along with John and Sue. My Dad had tears and was so happy to see them. Sue was video taping from the front and I was taping from inside the house. I will post them later. Friday night Craig and the kids came into town, but I told my Dad about that because I thought he wouldn't be suspicious of anything if he thought Craig, the kids, Bryan and I were in town to celebrate his birthday a week early. We went to Pagliai's Pizza Friday night, which is of course my favorite pizza. The kids had a blast running around. Tommy was running up and down the hall keeping Tim busy.

Julia's last volleyball game

Julia played in her final game of the season and they won one game, but lost the other two so they were out of the playoffs. She had so much fun playing this season and was the star player (everyone said that - not just us;) Now she starts club volleyball and has two practices every Mon and Wed from 5:45-8pm and the games start in Jan. Congrats, Julia!

Halloween in Iowa

Craig and I went to Iowa with his friend Chris and his wife Karla for the Iowa-Michigan St game. I have only been to one big 10 football game (U of I) so it was quite an experience. People in Iowa live and die for the football games. It was such a crazy experience. We went to several bars on Friday night and stayed out until about 1am. It was weird being out with a bunch of college kids dressed up for Halloween. We had fun hanging out. The next day we stopped by the Black & Gold store and bought our Iowa gear. I bought a shirt, huggies and beads and Craig bought a shirt as well. We went tailgating at 11am and met up with Dave's family (he works with Craig). Then we went to the game and watched Iowa beat the heck out of Michigan State. It was such a fun experience. That night we dressed up for Halloween as Austin Powers and the British Girl in the movie (played by Heather Graham). Chris was a vampire and Karla was Flo the Progressive Girl (hilarious!!). We went to at least 4 bars and partied like college kids (ha!). I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Ethan's 13th Birthday

We celebrated Ethan's 13th birthday a little late this year. His birthday was Oct 13th. Ethan had a football game Saturday and it was freezing outside because of the wind. His team lost, but it was a great game. Ethan plays defensive end and really likes it this year. Last year was his first year and he was a little hesitant, but this year he's definitely more confident. After the game we came home and I cooked pork tenderloin, new potatoes and cheesy cauliflower. Craig and Ethan went to see the movie The Town. Julia and I stayed home and made a cake for Ethan. We made a chocolate devils food cake with vanilla frosting. Once the boys came home we sang happy birthday and ate cake. We bought a guitar and amp for Ethan's birthday and he loves it!

Halloween Decorating

We FINALLY got our Halloween decorations so Craig and the kids put them up. It looks like its really dark outside, but it was still light out. Weird. We got cobwebs and big ugly spiders. We also bought pumpkins, but decided not to decorate them this year. Julia went trick-or-treating in Chicago yesterday (part of the city does it the Sun before). She went with a bunch of her friends from her new school. Her and Ethan are going next week in the burbs at their mom's. Craig and I will be in Iowa for the football game. We still have not picked out our costumes, but hopefully we will do that soon. Only a few more days. I hope everyone has a great Halloween!