Surprise!

Mom recently retired from 37 years of nursing, and the day came and went with little fanfare. Janelle was getting married, and we were all caught up in the gong show that is planning a wedding. So, when we were unable to get a family picture at Jani's wedding (because Grant wasn't there... and i didn't really want a family picture with wedding dresses in it, and our outfits didn't match) I was happy that we were able to throw together a day in September where we could all make it to Rimbey, and finally get a professional family portrait taken. (In the last one, Nicole had a mullet, Jani had a bowl cut, and I was wearing a belt as a scarf...)
While we were braving the elements including rain, and gale force winds, people were gathering at our house to surprise mom. However, because of the weather, the pictures (that I thought would take at least an hour) were wrapped up in 30 minutes (the perks of having two photographers), and then we needed to stall for 45 minutes.
I was sure that mom knew something was up. There were three different types of dips in the fridge, a cooler of beer in the garage, and a lot of sneaking around her all day. I really thought the kicker was when Dad insisted that we go and check his crops before going back home for pie and ice cream. Seriously??? Who, besides Grant would care about Dad's crops? Anyhoo, she had NO clue.... none. She walked into the house, everyone yelled surprise, and she said, "What is this for?" Your retirement silly.