A Week full of Surprises!

I love Surprises. I ESPECIALLY like to be the giver of the surprises. My stomach gets all fluttery as the event approaches in anticipation. On Oct. 20th, my Mom flew in to AZ from Michigan. I knew she was coming, but Nicole didn't.

We arranged it so my Mom could see Nicole's last volleyball game and just be there on the bench when she walked in. When Nicole walked into the gym with her team, she glanced over and saw me, but it didn't register that my Mom was sitting next to me. So me and my Mom walked over (me with camera in hand) to Nicole as she was practicing her serves. I apologize for the shaky camera as I had tears in my eyes as I was filming. You can see the shocked look on Nicole's face when she turns around and sees my Mom. Unfortunately, Nicole damaged her knee earlier in the week from an unrelated event and didn't play that game. My Mom did get to see her in a tournament that Saturday and Nicole did great serving some Ace serves.

The next day, the school had another surprise for Nicole. The school emailed me earlier in the week that Nicole was going to be one of their Silver Star Quarterly Award Winners. It was a surprise for all the kids that earned the award. Nicole thought she was just going to an honor roll assembly. But when she walked into the gym and saw me, she knew something was up. You can see her giggling in the video, but not because of the award. Bruno Mars was on the loudspeaker and her friend, Emma, was thrilled, thinking the school played the song especially for her LOL. Nicole's school does an excellent job recognizing their students. I brought Nicole flower and cookies to share with her class.

It was so nice to have my Mom here in Arizona helping me celebrate my Birthday. She helped me out so much while she was here, even painting my patio furniture to spruce it up. THANKS MOM! LOVE YOU!