The Simple Scents of Life

So a few weeks ago, we were invited to a surprise birthday party for Ashton. For what seemed like forever, we were bubbling over with excitement and had to be very careful not to give it all away. :) We were scheduled to arrive at the Bandy's home 15 minutes before him, so, we all parked our cars, er...vans, in the alley near their home and waited ever so patiently for the guest of honor to arrive. Some of the children were posted upstairs as spies waiting for that one car to arrive. After two false alarms, Mr. Bandy called Ashton to see where he was. Finally, his car came in sight, so everybody took their hiding positions and the rest of the Bandy family acted as normal as ever. :)

Ashton walked in and was greeted by his family, and all of a sudden...31 loud and very excited people jumped out from several rooms shouting and yelling, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHTON!!!!!!!!" From the pictures I took, 'twould appear that he was quite shocked. :) All I can say is, I'm glad it was him and not me. :) Here some pictures for your enjoyment. I didn't get very many that night since my memory card was being used for other purposes, but I think these will give you the general idea. :)

L-R: Emil, Caleb, Nathan, Elita, Zach, Elaina and Derek acting as spies.

Back Row: Susanna, Jessica
Front Row: Adrianna and Lenna
Hiding and waiting for the planned moment...

Elita and Naomi look ready to burst...

I don't remember exactly what he said at this moment...

...but in this picture I was thinking, "Oh! Don't spill the Starbucks!!!" ;-)

And so I leave you with a picture of a very excited and happy Naomi...don't you ever wish you had that much energy? ;-)

Happy 19th Birthday, Ashton...can we do this again next year? ;-)