Our day started with finishing up Randy's cake. It weighed about 35 pounds and there was about a third left over. I hope someone remembered to freeze it!
Meanwhile, the kitchen was a hub of activity as the caterers were making papusas, an El Salvadoran dish similar to a quesadilla and we were busy setting out the fruit salad, punch and other items.
When done, we headed to the church next door for a lovely service.
I found the building elegant in its simplicity and the stained glass was beautiful.
The back to the hall for the party. A good sized crowd of more than 70 of all ages joined in the festivities.
The food was plentiful -- papusa, spaghetti, cole slaw, fruit and of course cake!
There was lots of memory sharing prompted in part by the slide show of photos from the past. Rick (below) spoke often of the time he was at Boy Scout camp in New Mexico and his mother sent him a cake for his sixteenth birthday in the mail.
There were plenty of hugs.
And a song from the the children in the youth group. Then Kitty introduced her boys.
Cake time! (We opted for a nice selection of pretty candles rather than making her blow out all 80!)
Then it was time to blow out the candles! and I think she got them all!
After the clean up, those of us who hadn't flown away went to a pub near our hotels. Let me just say that if you are in Irving, TX and see a pub called 10 Downing Street in a plaza on Walnut Ridge with a Boston Market in the plaza, stay very far away. The food came in batches over a half hour (they never told us they only had one fryer) and was cold when it came. The waitress made herself scarce. And apart from three at the bar, we were the only people there! Still, we managed to have a great conversation and of course, do the restaurant selfie!
All in all, a glorious time, and a wonderful tribute to a terrific woman.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
21 comments:
Wow-what a huge cake. But looks like there was a ton of people there to enjoy. I think your mother-in-law had the perfect celebration for her 80th-and she seemed to think so too-at least from the photos you showed us. Too bad the after party dinner was a bomb but the most important piece was the party. :) Happy weekend. Hugs-Erika
Soo cute in his outfit!
Still amazed she raied all 5 on her own..
I have never made such a huge cake! Kudos..all around..
PS I love your honest reviews:)
I'm so happy that you all made her day so memorable, and that cake is really a marvel! Okay, if I'm in Texas sometime, I'll avoid that pub! Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie
My favorite pic is Rick and his cake. That says so much about the mother she is. You covered the event so well with great photos.
Your two posts on Kitty's birthday are a beautiful tribute to an obviously wonderful woman. Such a lovely occasion! I like the older photos too, especially the one of the exhausted mom and open-eyed baby. Is that Rick?
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
"Momma" scored points for Rick on his 16th birthday . . .
What a great happening and memory!
The cake took the cake and the party was a winner. I know you enjoyed lunch far more than later in the day at that pub. I am NOT a fan of Boston Market, so that would have turned me off, I think. But your meal sounds like one my friend Sally and I had recently. So glad the rest of the day was a total and superior success.
WOW, what a cake, bet that it was good. The party looks amazing and I know that Kitty had a wonderful time with all her children and there wives.
Kitty looks like she enjoyed her self.
Thank so much for sharing - the photo's were great.
Mary
I'm glad you all enjoyed the celebrations. Shame about the long wait and cold food though... It sounded like it was all perfect up until that point.
If the worst thing that happened was one bad food but good company meal, the event filled celebration was a tremendous success. That was a lot of people together at an emotion laden time. It shows what good people all involved are.
That's so cute that your husband still has the pic of his cake. Looks like a good time had by all. Have a wonderful week, Jeanie!!
Jeanie, I'm sure the cake was delicious and yes I hope someone froze the remainder. Looks like a fun celebration and I love the pic of Rick when he received his b'day cake, so cute. The stained glass window is lovely. I'm sure this was such a happy occasion...........Have a great week.........
Good Morning Jeanie,
I am enjoying my morning here catching up with you.
The Birthday party turned out great! I am still gasping a tad bit over the weight of the cake. My Mother used to make a carrot pudding, which when looking back was almost a hybrid of a dessert!
It was heavy too and actually very tasty.
Great photos and what a fabulous time was had by all!
Jemma
well I guess it was one party that will be talked about for years to come, shame you had a bad experience but with a name like 10, downing st you cant expect much from them
What a lovely celebration! Tugs at my heartstrings because I have six boys of my own (and one daughter). Your Dallas meeting with bloggers looked so fun! My son lives in Dallas and we never miss Le Madeline if we can help it! Haha! Fun trip!
Yum, that cake looks amazing - and massive! I love carrot cake! It's one of my faves! I need to make a GF one sometime. I think it would turn out well as GF recipes with fruits or veggies in them, like banana bread and zucchini bread turn out great as they tend to be more dense in the first place!
Sounds like a wonderful day, aside from the disappointing restaurant! Yikes, that is awful! But I love your honesty!!!
It looked like such a fun and fabulous day! Pure joy. Have a wonderful week!
That was some cake! What a lovely wonderful celebration for a very special lady in your's and Rick's lives. She sounds like a very special person.
looks like it was a very special celebration!
Big family parties are the best! The more the merrier as they say, and you all look like you are having a wonderful time :)
What a celebration! Look at that grand cake! That is a treasured picture of Rick when he was in Boys Scouts. And that stained glass is beautiful. The red rose is right up my alley. ;)
~Sheri
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