Last weekend our family was honored to celebrate Grandmother’s 90th birthday. We planned a whole weekend of festivities – it was a lot of work and a lot of coordinating, but it was worth every second. Grandmother loves a good party and definitely enjoys the attention that comes with turning 90. She was so excited leading up to the weekend and told everyone she saw about her upcoming milestone.
Things kicked off on Friday when several family members from out of state, including my uncle, aunt, and cousins from Indiana, my cousins from Florida, and now me, from South Carolina, arrived. The Indiana crew picked me up at the Nashville airport on the way down and we all enjoyed dinner out at the Rogersville Chinese buffet. The next day we’d planned to have a family birthday party/reunion – very casual with plenty of time for “visiting” as Grandmother says. 
Mom, Uncle Richard, and I put together a timeline with pictures from different points in Grandmother’s 90 years.
Kenslee was kind enough to lend Grandmother her Birthday Girl pin for the day.
Speaking of Kenslee, guess who has lost 5 teeth!?! Didn’t stop her from eating ribs though.
Publix did a great job with her birthday cake – exactly what we asked for and tasty:
Thanks to one of Phillip’s anniversary presents (a remote for my camera), we were able to get a group photo:
After enjoying our lunch, we headed back to one of the lakeside cottages at Joe Wheeler State Park (which are very nice, by the way, if you’re inclined to visit) for more visiting, fishing, and rides on the pontoon boat. As the afternoon wound down, we piled into the living room to watch football. 
It was so much fun to watch the game with fellow UT fans for a change – at least for the first half. And that’s all we’ll say about that.
Sunday was Grandmother’s actual birthday (and fun fact, was also her mother’s birthday) and we were up early and hard at work to finish preparing for her birthday party at church. Much thanks to our good friend Christi for doing another awesome job decorating – we would not have pulled this off without her. 
A suit and sport coat Grandmother made.
If you know my grandmother (or basically any member of our family), you know how much she loves sweets. She always needs a bite of something sweet after every meal and usually carries an assortment of miniatures or other chocolatey treats in her purse. In honor of her love of dessert, we decided to only serve sweets at her party (except for the obligatory nuts – there’s no reception without nuts). We had crockpot candy, cheesecake, key lime pie, Death by Chocolate, a chocolate fountain, Hershey miniatures, and fruit. 
For an extra special surprise, Grandmother’s good friend from high school, Doris, came all the way from Gadsden for the party. Grandmother and Doris were Piedmont High School’s first ever majorettes and both celebrated their 90th birthdays this year. I hope I look half this good when (if) I’m 90.
Grandmother was thrilled that so many people took time to come by. She got lots of cards (which are her favorite) and at the end of the afternoon, was able to donate over 300 items to Fish & Loaves, a community food bank our church operates. 
It was an amazing weekend for an amazing woman. Happy Birthday Grandmur! We love you!
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