I'm a little late in getting this posted, but I wanted to share with you some pictures from Sabrina's surprise graduation party. I say "surprise" bc she didn't know we were going to make it into a celebration; she knew we were going to have a family barbeque, but she was unaware of the balloons and gifts she'd be receiving, which made it especially fun to pull off.
Sabrina chose not to have a traditional open house, instead opting for a small family gathering. Some of her peers were quick to point out that they thought this was a lousy idea, as an open house was a surefire way to get extra money for college. She reminded them that she wasn't from a large family (with lots of aunts and uncles), and didn't expect friends or neighbors to give monetary gifts… but it still bothered her that she may have made the wrong decision – if her peers were correct. After all, how was she supposed to pay for her textbooks? And what about parking permits and extra campus fees?
So we decided to make it as fun as possible for her, so she'd realize that she hadn't made a silly decision after all.
We started with my mom's famous orange punch… she gets quite a tongue-thrashing from family members if she tries to leave this off of any menu!
A tray of buttermints representing UNL, where she'll be attending this fall…
My dad helped with the decorating…
Little Miss Natalie was fairly punch-drunk by the end of the night…
This is the best potato salad ever. Ever, ever, ever. I can say that (even though I made it) bc I didn't make up the recipe. So that wouldn't really be bragging. 🙂
Btw, we also had grilled chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, beans, and lots of other things…
Like cake. Ice cream cake, actually. And from the looks on these people's faces, you'd think it was a rare delicacy…
Sabrina's sweet friend Kate came to the party…
She brought Sabrina some very sweet gifts, like a new pair of painted shoes! (I don't have a picture of them, but they're wonderful!) And you've got to see this… look what else she created for Bean…
The photo on the left is one I took in Colorado, and Sabrina posted it to Facebook. Kate took that photo and sketched it onto a tote bag for Sabrina! Is that not the coolest thing ever? Kate, you are so talented!
Remember how Sabrina wasn't expecting any monetary gifts from anyone? Remember how I told you she doesn't have a large family? Well, unbeknownst to her, she suddenly had relatives coming out of the woodwork…
…and each of them had gifted her with cash.
You see, Bre and I gathered as many old, unused cards (okay, so they were all Christmas cards) as we could find, and I made a visit to the bank. We then piled the cards and money in the middle of the table and started writing congratulatory messages out to Sabrina from the likes of "Cousin Beuford" and "Aunt Hildegarde." And let's not forget loveable "Uncle Jack and Uncle Rooney." And my personal favorite, "Your favorite step-dad, Fran." (Bre, what on earth was that about, may I ask?)
Natalie was getting a little concerned that all of the dollar bills were for Sabrina, and not herself…
…And then she became downright annoyed.
So Sabrina gave her the job of money-holder…
Needless to say, Sabrina was very happy to discover so many new and generous relatives, as now the stress of paying for textbooks and parking permits was fairly covered. There were even some non-relatives that sent her a lovely card: "Sabrina, we've watched you grow into an interesting-looking young lady. Congratulations, Dr. Spenky and Associates."
I thought it was cute when she later exclaimed, "I get presents? Are you serious?"
Sophie got her a Pillow-Pet, which is something Bean had wanted for Christmas, but didn't get…
And here's my favorite photo of the night: she got a new Flip! video recorder, which made her a very happy girl…
(Btw, she also got that new Huskers tank from Victoria's Secret that she's wearing.)
It was such a fun night, and I'm so happy we were able to pull it off for Bean. Being the middle child, there isn't a whole lot that's just about her, so we wanted it to be wonderful. And speaking of wonderful, look what my sister and brother in-law gave to her:
A trip to Texas, to visit all the places printed on that sheet of paper! (Aud and Shaun, I can't thank you enough.)
The rest of the night was spent finishing off the punch, playing Apples-to-Apples, and being our loud, boisterous selves.
Oh – and bubbles! Mom always has a ready supply of bubbles on hand for our family barbeques…
And clearly, Natalie wasn't the only one punch-drunk.
