Anniversary Dinner

One random day I was standing in our yard and I thought how much fun it would be to have an outdoor dinner in that particular spot. It didn't take me long to figure out that Mom and Dad's 40th Anniversary would be a perfect excuse for a dinner. I pitched the idea to Janell and we were off. First with a shared Pinterest board for ideas and then the fun of merging our ideas into reality.

We made a 20 foot garland to hang between two trees. We took several ideas and put them together. There was burlap, white and red tulle and paper hearts sewn together. It's still hanging in the yard and I still love it.

Stamped napkins. Adorable.

Mason jars. Wildflowers from the side of the road and citronella candles. (I think citronella is better in theory than reality, but we tried!)

There are 22 in the Sheats family now. We had 16 around the tables and a picnic table for some of the children. Aliza enjoyed being at the adult table. She kept Meghan talking the whole meal and afterwards when we were sharing stories and memories, Aliza was soaking it all in.

Ezra is happy to see Grandad.

Lydia was ready to see Grandma.

This was not to be our normal family dinner so the menu reflected that: jumbo shrimp, crab cakes (made by Laura), potato wedges (Laurie, they will forever be on our table!), corn on the cob, pasta salad (Pioneer Woman recipe thanks to Meghan), and rolls (made from scratch by Meghan).

And Smith Island Cake for dessert. Original chocolate and strawberries and cream (which had a lovely red layers which was perfect for our theme.

Yup, Mom and Dad cut the cake.

And had the first bite.

And when it was just about too dark we took pictures of each family with Mom and Dad. Of course, this is my family with them.

It was a very nice evening. I think everyone enjoyed it.