25th Wedding Anniversary

After months of planning, sworn secrecy and clandestine operation, Saturday was the surprise 25th wedding anniversary party that Mommy and Daddy threw for Papa Jack and Nana Cynthia. It was a big production with catering services provided by Chef Berttron, cakes by Mary Wildenhaus, guests flying in from California (Fairfax, Santa Rosa and Laguna Beach) and Pittsburgh, PA and a whole lot of coordination on a local level by Mommy and Daddy. It's truly amazing that Nana and Papa have been married so long and I know Nana and Papa's marriage is an inspiration to my parents. Heck, it runs in Papa's family... Gramps and Gramma J recently celebrated their 50th!

Chef Bert and his uber-professional crew arrived early to start setting up while Mommy, Daddy and the Logans ran around putting all of the little details in their place. While all of this was going on I was under the watchful eye of Miss Silver Galloway, friend of the website and teacher of mine at ELDC. Mommy wisely had her lined up to watch the kiddies during the day... And kiddies there were (at a certain point there were 12 kids under the age of 6). Since the weather was kind to us and we had tents set up and on hand, the only logistical wrinkle of the day was having to run out for 40 chairs to accommodate the idea of a sit-down dinner that Chef Bert conceived at the last minute. Mommy, the chairman of her very own operations dream team, tackled this little task with the greatest of sleaze ease.

Papa Jack's brother Bob gave the toast at Nana and Papa's wedding 25 years ago, so it was only fitting that he provided the toast yet again. Bob is a handsome fellow and a fine speaker... There was not a dry eye in the house. And after dinner we all headed into the living room to see a custom-produced movie that Annie Aaronson, sister of Mary Wildenhaus, had prepared from 100's of still images provided by Bob and Mary and stolen from the photo archives of Nana and Papa. Less like a toast and more like a roast, we'll just say that the video contained some pretty incriminating evidence (primarily of Papa Jack). Who knew Papa looked so hot in pantyhose, flats and a skirt!

And just how exactly did Mommy and Daddy manage to get Nana and Papa out of the house to allow Chef Bert and his crew to set-up in addition to managing the precise time of their return? By spinning a web of complex lies and deceit of course! Our friends Anne Marie and Brett Herron claimed that since Mommy and Daddy were too busy preparing the planned 13-course Julia Child anniversary dinner for Nana and Papa, they didn't know who else to turn to for watching baby Alice while they were to attend a wedding. Managing the return was easy... Cocktails and appetizers were to start at 3:00PM and you know Papa wouldn't be late for that!

Mommy and Daddy would like to thank each and every one of you for keeping the whole thing a secret and for showing up to make the party truly fabulous. But they would also like to give some individual shout-outs (in no particularly order) to some folks that went out of their way to help out:

• Mary Wildenhaus for making the cakes
• Brett and Anne Marie Herron for deploying Operation Baby Diversion
• Lanetta Robarge for running to the airport
• Deb and Lance Logan for flying from Fairfax, CA
• Sue and Tom Trautwein for flying from Laguna Beach, CA
• Joan and Jerry Herzog for flying from Santa Rosa, CA
• Bob Herzog for flying from Pittsburg, PA and providing the toast
• Chef Bert and his crew for a job extremely well done
• Tia and Doug Smith for loaning Daddy their camera
• John and Sandy Schmidt for clandestinely staging the AA Party gear
• Joe and Dan Wildenhaus for running interference on the parking
• Bonnie Kosko for the excellent last minute party chair referral

And finally, on behalf of Mommy and Daddy, I'd like to congratulate Nana and Papa on the marital success they've had to this point and wish them continued succes for the next 25 years and beyond. We love you two dearly and are so happy and proud to share this achievement with you and all of our friends.