Stop and Stare...

The evening began with a nice, quiet, ceremony that my mom's coworkers put together for her. She was shocked by how many people were there to congratulate her, but none of us were surprised at all. My mom puts her whole heart into everything she does. Then she goes the extra mile to make it pretty and fun. Well...FUN we had...


So... WHAT happens when you mix Elvis, a Mexican Restaurant, and a Retirement Party?

Answer...


Click the link below to get a taste of our evening entertainment..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejJ6FiuB0kY

The added bonus was that on Thursday nights, Elvis interrupts his performance every few songs for a little KARAOKE!

Tonight's performances: Aside from Elvis, of course

"Shoop Shoop" by HolleeAnn ...Amy and I were great backup girls

Followed by Eric Clapton's "Change the World" by Josh and

"Some country song I've never heard" by Big Daddy Paul

I dragged Amy up there with me to sing "Take a Chance On Me". Mostly for moral/vocal support... Don't worry about help with the sweet dance moves, I handled those all on my own.

I finally understand how people on shows like Big Brother and Real World can say they "forgot about the cameras watching" because after awhile, I zeroed in on my cheering and laughing family members, and honestly became totally unaware of the others in the crowd. Hopefully there were enough margaritas in their system that they will forget the events of the evening.

Then Josh ROCKED Neil Diamond's "Forever In Blue Jeans"...Amy looked a little scared when he started movin' her way during the "Baby tonight, baby tonight by the fire all alone you and I" part.

No need to worry though...Amy and Josh got a standing ovation. (seriously... who does that for Karaoke? and why didn't they stand for me after Dancing Queen?) They blew us away with their "Summer Lovin" from Grease. Amy I KNOW you two practiced that choreography...

We even got our very own Mama Mia to get up and show us how it's really done. I only wish we could have seen Mom get on the floor and do the worm one more time. I might have to look through my VHS archives and find that home video from 1983...

And finally...
A special gift for those who also read my sister, Hollee Ann's blog.

The missing photo.
She came.
She danced.
We stared.

The Braless Wonder.

We just couldn't look away.

The best part?

Upon closer inspection (since I had to move in to get a better shot...I realized that I went to High School with this beauty. Yes, that's right....Dancing Queen and I go all the way back to Kindergarten. Congratulations, City of Gilroy, you have produced a fine specimen.

Ha! Like I have any room to judge when there were plenty of photos taken that evening of me, like this...


Congrats on your retirement, Mom! We are so proud of all the accomplishments you made in your career. Unfortunately, you'll be stuck with the role of keeping your kids under control for the rest of your life.
We love you!