On the 7th May, 2004 I celebrated a "big 0 birthday" - 50, to be exact. My family gave me a surprise birthday party... it was THE best!

For the past year I've been telling Ron and the kids that I want a surprise birthday for my 50th. I was only half serious, and around Christmas, I told them to forget the idea of a party because I know how much hard work goes into organising something like that. However, I made it quite clear that I didn't want to be cooking on my birthday and they'd better take me out to dinner.

A week before my birthday, our daughter Lana told us she had a 2 for 1 voucher for a local seafood restaurant which had to be used on a certain night. So, off we went and surprise surprise... my cousin Wendy and her partner were there too. This was pretty special because I'm very close to this cousin and as she lives interstate (approx 800 miles away) we don't get to see each other very often. We had a really great night and I thought, "Wow, I did get a surprise birthday after all."

My birthday came around which was a Friday night, and my mum took us all out for dinner to an Italian restaurant just down the road. That was a pretty quiet affair, but very nice, and I enjoyed not having to cook.

The next night, Saturday, Mum told us to come over for dinner at her place and she had invited my best mate and her hubby as well. We were going to have dinner and then play cards... so I thought. We rocked up to Mum's at about 7.30... there were a lot of cars around, but I never thought anything of it because Mum had told me that one of her neighbours was having a party that night.. and the neighbour's house was all lit up and looked like it was in party mode. In we went, Mum told me to go in the loungeroom and say hello to my mate... and when I opened the door... oh wow.... there's about 40 people in there! I couldn't believe it. I was just stunned. I had absolutely no idea... no inkling at all... and apparently they'd been planning it for months.

Well, it was a wonderful night. Mum did all the catering herself... the food was beautiful and there was lots of it. I got some lovely pressies too. The whole thing made me feel just so special, to think all these people and done this for me. The photo here is of my husband Ron, son Luke, myself, daughter Lana, and Mum. I do look a little crazy in the photo (not an unusual look for me), but it was the best one of the 5 of us we got.

Thanks to my wonderful family, I had the best birthday I've ever had.

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