My husband and I took a quick trip to Florida this week to help my father-in-law celebrate his 80th birthday!! What a momentous birthday. He started off the day, as usual, meeting a group of friends to play tennis. They play just about every day for a couple of hours. Helps keep them young and active!
We surprised Dad with a birthday cake after they were finished playing. Lots of his tennis friends came over and sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cake. A wee bit early in the morning for cake, but it was a special day after all!
My husband reminding Dad that he is indeed 80! See any family resemblance?!
We stopped by an orange grove to get some fresh oranges and while leaving the grove, my husband spotted an alligator in the water. I hopped out, grabbed the camera and shot a few pictures but you barely see the old guy. He's very close to the edge of the grassy area in this photo. In all the years we've been going to Florida that's the first "in the wild" alligator that we've seen.
We then stopped by a local park and found this guy meandering around. He was so huge and he didn't like me taking his picture!
And then we ran into a couple of these cool looking "birds" Loved the shade of red on his head!
We took Dad out to dinner for his birthday and came home afterward to have his favorite cake that Mom makes for him only on his birthday. She has a special brown frosting recipe that is so delicious. And only one candle to blow out, thank goodness!
Mom and Dad still happily married (almost sixty years). Think of all the birthday celebrations they have shared!
Dad is a big Detroit Red Wings hockey fan. My brother made this shirt just for his 80th birthday.....the big 80 on the back and a Red Wings logo on the front. Dad loved the shirt and couldn't wait to wear it. My brother did such an awesome job on the design.
I created a special scrapbook for Dad's birthday. Here he's reading one of the stories that my son wrote about from a few years back. It still made him laugh! He told me he wasn't going to read any of the other stories until later on. I told him it would make him cry!
Look at that handsome man in his new Red Wing shirt. Looks like he could still go out and play hockey!
Happy birthday Dad!! Hope you enjoyed your big "80" celebrations. We sure did love being with you on your special day.
Thanks for sharing this special celebration. What a guy! I enjoyed seeing all the wild animals - the turtle was my favorite.
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