Still can't believe how great everything turned out when there were so many variables involved. Of course there was no question that as usual the Kloss tailgate bash would be festive and fun. That was a "given!"
Here are some photos that document events as they unfolded as well as a little narrative. Feel free to add any additional photos you might have and/or add captions.
On my end, I flew out to Kentucky on early on Thursday the 22nd. Everything went great, no delays, (one hour layover in Houston) and the flights were smooth.
Constant texting to Marianna, "It's happening! It's really happening!"
Arrived Thursday around 5 p.m. and Mari and Rex (sleeping peacefully) were waiting at the airport. We had a delay getting home (traffic jam due to accident somewhere on the highway) but ended up at their cute house safe and sound and later went for a nice dinner with Andrew.
During the day on Friday, we went grocery shopping and also made our treats for the party and to have in the car the next day (muddy buddies and chex bars). As the afternoon turned into evening, we received regular updates from the Keylocks as they were en route to pick up Ben and then were headed to Louisville.
So much anticipation!
Such joy when they finally arrived!
First part of Mari's master plan, done!
Leigh and Todd headed to the hotel (surprise for them!) and Ben and I stayed with the Boyds. We all headed out early on Saturday morning, with stops at Starbucks and Chic-fil-a as we left town.
Great celebratory mood in the van. Mari was texting Dorie, Dad, Emily, Jimmy. Dad said that he would be there later as he had stuff to do at home. Of course we all wanted to text him and say, "Dad!!! Get there on time!" but didn't want to give anything away.
Palpable excitement as we approached C-U!
We had a plan to have different arrival points to make all the surprises special (everyone meeting Rex for the first time, Leigh and Todd arriving, Ben showing up unexpectedly). I tried to kill time while all of that was happening by taking pictures like this:
Then I could tell from a distance that Mike was looking my way and just had a feeling that at least with him, the jig was up.
And then . . .
"What is going on here?"
Jimmy you are so cute here!
OK, the line I was saying: "Mary did it, George . . . Mary did it . . . " is from the end of It's a Wonderful Life. For some reason I thought it would be fun to use since Mari orchestrated this whole thing and deserves all the credit. Not sure if anyone got it at the time, though. But that's what I was referring to!
You can hear it here at 4:10 or so into the video.
Of course one hour later this happened (finally!)
It was fantastic to be there, experience all the great food and family love, and also to see the beautiful campus again after 20 years.
Andrew was a GREAT driver, and got us there and back in comfort and style. THANK YOU!
He also stopped somewhere in Indiana around 9 p.m.so that we could enjoy a little late night snack:
Rex was an amazingly good traveler. So quiet and calm. Actually, both he and Ben were perfect to have in the van with us!
The next morning we had a lovely breakfast with the Boyds (thank you, Monty and Gayle!)
And then, for one more surprise, I ended up changing my flight so that I could drive back to Ohio with Leigh and Todd and see the Keylock family in action at home.
Here was the beautiful U of Dayton campus as we dropped Ben off:
What a treat to get to share a little time with Leigh and her beautiful brood!
(chewing contest with Grant . . . )
a quiet moment together with Grant!
and in the evening!
Thanks so much to everyone for being wonderful hosts. Mari, I love ya. Thank you for coming up with this idea and making it all happen!
3 comments:
Thanks for the great post, Jan! I was wondering all the rest of the details. I am so glad your trip was full of family and fun. I wish i could have been there. I love all the photos. The one of leigh and todd holding Rex: Leigh "i'm just gonna take Rex home with us, ok, Mar?" todd thru clenched teeth, "Don't even think about it!" And I totally got the Wonderful Life reference!
Glad you enjoyed it! So funny about that caption, although after having spent eight hours in the car with a baby who fussed exactly once for about 70 seconds, it would have been tempting to have a little more time with the guy! Yay, so glad you got the WL line because on the videos now I feel silly having said that, but it's so true--she really did arrange it all! You were so cute and the boys were just darling with their perpetual motion and energy. What a special age--they're ready to explore the world! So proud of you for being the best Mom to those two cutie-pies!
Great post, Jana! I love how you gave the whole story, so we will always be able to look back and remember how it played out. It was so much fun! Hard to believe it really happened, after being back to regular life for a week. I think the special thing about it was the element of surprise, and that there was more than one surprise. I miss you all!
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