A Party for Forty

The Saturday before Christmas, Adam's parents, Dan and Nicolle celebrated a huge marriage milestone: forty years of wedded bliss!  Adam's siblings had been planning a surprise anniversary party for them for months.  For awhile after we first heard the plan for the party, I tried to convince Adam that the whole family needed to be there, and that we should drive up to Seattle for Christmas; but Adam didn't like the idea of driving over four mountain passes with questionable weather possibilities between here and there.  Reluctantly, I gave up my bid to have us all there, but Adam was still able to go.  He and his sister Angie, his other out-of-state sibling, flew in for the surprise.  They didn't know that Adam was there, working for a couple of days from his company's Everett office, before attending the party Thursday night before returning home to us on the 23rd. 

Dan and Nicolle were definitely surprised!  It all went perfectly and was a wonderful party.  The Seattle sibs, Ryan, Alea and Ashley did an amazing job planning and preparing, all while keeping the party hush hush.  After the big surprise, the kids dressed Dan and Nicolle up in the style of the year they were married, 1971.  Friends and family came in to celebrate the couple.  They planned a "Newlywed Game," where stories about their courtship and early marriage were told that Adam had never heard before.  Friends and family who couldn't be there sent tributes of poems and letters.  A slide show of photos from their 40 years of marriage and a wonderful concert by one of Ryan's friends, a famous male opera singer rounded out the night.  And I have to mention the awesome photo cake and the albums and photos that decorated the room!  Again, it was just perfect.  All six of the siblings were there, which was so much fun for them as well as for Dan and Nicolle.  The morning following the party, they were all able to hang out together before Adam and Angie had to head home.

Romance is still alive and well in Dan and Nicolle's marriage.  You can see how tender their feelings are for one another in their day-to-day interactions.  They aren't sappy, but their little gestures of affection are not missed.  They are still so happy together and proud of the life they have built together.  I love the moments when they share a laugh, which are frequent.  You can feel the joy they can still bring to one another!  Their personalities and characters compliment each other so well.  We are all so glad that Dan found Nicolle 40 years ago...or else none of us would be here!  Congratulations on 40 beautiful years and all the life lived between then and now including 6 wonderful children and 9 fantastic grandchildren!