Happy Reitrement Diane!

Just in case you haven't heard - my mom retired on Thursday.  She's been working at the same company for the last 25 years and on Thursday, she finally joined my dad in retirement. 

 

And I am BEYOND thrilled for her!  I'm just SO excited for my parents right now!  They've worked SO hard to get where they are and they deserve every single moment of greatness that comes their way.  They have been inspirational to me. 

 

My mom's retirement has been the talk of the family for some time now.  So it got my sister and I to thinking and talking...what were we going to do for my mom for her retirement? 

 

There are two things my mom really loves - her family and having them at her house.  (which is probably why my mom is always trying to get us to move back to Cedarburg!) So it just made sense to us to plan a sleep over at my parents.  Now, anyone can plan a sleep over - we wanted to plan a SURPRISE sleep over.  We let Ray in our secret and let the planning begin. 

 

We met right outside of the neighborhood, pulled into the drive way at the same time - we were careful not to slam doors.  We were equipped with horn blowers, balloons and lots of excitement!  It's hard to tell - but you can kind of see her facial expression in the picture - I think she was surprised!

 

 

Another little weird secret about the Schroeder-Burchardt-Terrones-Bach family...they really like to wear matching clothes!  We embrace our inner dorks - It's actually more like a bear hug!  So, after some snacks and dinner, we changed into our matching jammies and let the party begin!

The girls (Minus E - she was running around somewhere)

Grandma and her grandkids

The boys

The entire Group!

 We spent the evening playing games, reminiscing about the past, and planning more memories for the future.  My mom couldn't stop telling us how much she enjoyed the evening and how surprised she was!  And we all equally enjoyed the evening too!

The grandkids even left one final surprise for Grandma!

I really am beyond lucky to have such an amazing family.  A family that you actually want to hang out with. That you LIKE to hang out with.  A family that you can laugh with, laugh with so hard your cheeks hurt, your side hurts.  And that people - like Andy and my brother-in-law Jason, can just come on in and embrace and accept - appreciate us.  And perhaps that why my sister and I ended up with people like Jason and Andy - because we know their family values are as high as ours.  But still - remarkable none-the-less.

So - Happy Retirement Diane!  I'm SO incredibly jealous!  And SO incredibly proud!  Enjoy retirement!  Enjoy your time with dad.  Do what you want! When you want.  and...Thanks.