Captivated: 40th Wedding Anniversary Partay!

Well, this picture about says it all! What a wonderful time we had this past weekend, celebrating my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary. In my garage. While eating blue crabs. Wearing Virginia Tech Hokie gear. On August 30th in North Carolina. Did I mention, in my garage? Yepper. And the smiles above are total genuine...

Here was our little gift/display table. You can see the Hokie birds, the black and white picture of mom and dad from their wedding day, VT paraphernalia, a few rakes and shovel handles hanging down and some awesome Harris Teeter flowers that held up in the sweltering heat.

Mom and dad had a surprise in that my Aunt Karen and Uncle Fred from Arizona showed up! It was their 45th Wedding Anniversary and their first grandchild was due any day (born Sept. 1st!! - Congrats Haley and Greg!). They at first did not think they would make it, but made a way, as always. These two are "the salt of the earth", as my dad would say. You really can't get much better than my sweet Aunt and Uncle.

And...from the other side of the family, my mom's baby brother and his family came. Mom was so delighted to see him and to get a chance to catch up. Here, I think they are talking about the fact that Ramsey simply could not wear a Hokie shirt...being a Duke grad and all...

My brother manned the crabs, the crab cooker, the shrimp...the chicken...he is a regular Frey cook. I am so thankful to have had his awesome help! I could never have pulled off the food portion of this party without him!!! Not to mention the fact that he endured many consult calls over the past two months and carried all 50 balloons we had blown up to my car for me!

He was proud, I think... I know I was, of him!

Here is his sweet wife, Tamara, daughter, Geneva (aka GiGi) and his mother in law, Deb. It was wonderful having John,Tamara and GiGi stay with us for the weekend. We really had a chance to bond and let the kids really get acquainted...you know how 2 year olds do it...lots of "mine" was echoing through the house, but they were two little peas in a pod, waddling around the house! I loved it! I also loved our late night talks with Tamara and John. It was especially awesome hitting Harris Teeter at about 10:00pm on Friday night with my brother to get Saturday off to the right start. :) This past weekend was probably my favorite time I have ever had with my brother. What a blessing.

Did I mention that John has a great mother in law? She even painted her toes in Hokie colors. She is so awesome! She is a tremendous help with little GiGi with my brother and his deployments. She is also just a ray of sunshine and has a super sense of humor. What a treat to have her in my life too!

My boys were more thrilled about the balloons than anything else...I think we lost 14 balloons before we had our balloon release because these little rascals were sneaking them out of the garage and releasing them early...kids. :)

See, two, tied to the swings...who knew?

Little GiGi loved the sandbox!

Mom and dad sitting down, taking a break between crab legs to smile for me. :)

Love these two!

Love this crew! You should have seen my cousin, Colin! Here he is showing my Aunt Kathy how to pick crabs. I tell you, he was a natural! I love what how this whole family is a bunch of troopers! Ramsey was very intense about his crab picking and then switched to chicken, since he is "results oriented". I told him that it was ok, that Stan often has said that he likes to get a cheese burger prior to picking crabs. :) In case you have never picked crabs, it is a lot of work for a little bit of meat and it takes a while to get full- which is why this feast went on for hours!!!!

GiGi is a crab eating fool! "More" is what you can guarantee hearing every time you give her a little taste of that yummy meat! Like father like daughter!

Landon is also an avid crab picker. He went with my parents when he went to Maryland to visit Tamara, John and GiGi and was hooked. He actually really focuses on crabs...and anything else when his brother is not around! :)

There is my Connorbug, sitting and trying out some crab. I was impressed. Hopefully, he will end up enjoying crab picking as well. I mean, Frey is in his blood...

Random crab picking shot. I just love that Connor is at the head of the table.

John and Stan, the Grill Masters!

One tradition we have is giving each other crab meat on a saltine with butter. It is a love pass...I mean, remember me mentioning how it is a lot of work for a little meat. If someone gives you a crab cracker like this, it is definitely a sign of love.

Dad found a love letter than mom wrote in 1974, 4 months after they were married. It was so sweet, talking about how much she loved my dad and how he was always there to make her smile and know that everything was going to be alright. It could have been written today, the way these two are still so very much in love.

Fun sweet memories for these two.

And, tears from mom.

And...more crabs from John!!!

Round three??? Anyone?

Frey guys.

Miss Lindsay Jane finally made it out in her little cheerleader gear after a long summer's nap!

I have to brag on Harris Teeter here. Oh my goodness. Can you even believe this cake? I gave the cake decorator a picture of two Hokie birds made out of icing and asked her to just be creative... Would you even believe me if I told you I paid 26.00 for that!!!!!!!!!!!! Love my Harris Teeter!

John popping the bubbly!

Mom and dad seeing their little wedding cake. I had no idea, but they apparently didn't cut a cake or sip champagne at their wedding! So, it was really sweet.

Time to celebrate!

My favorite picture of the day!

Was that fun or what? I think they enjoyed that.

Next up...our presentation of 40 memories for 40 years! We had a compilation of 40 memories from Fred and Karen, to represent the Frey side, from Ramsey, to represent the Jones side and me, Karen and John. We then asked them to pick their top five memories and they picked the same top five (plus one additional)!

Karen and Fred sharing their memories...

Ramsey sharing his...Mr. Comedian...

Karen, sharing her memories...also a comedian...

John, sharing his, and wrapping them up so sweetly.

And, the gift we presented to them. A framed print with all 40 memories plus their top five (plus one) with a map and little hearts designating all the placed they have lived. It is a treasure! Thanks Etsy!

Dad giving mom jewelry.

And for their "Ruby Anniversary", a remake of the ruby engagement ring that he gave her when they got engaged that unfortunately was stolen from their home in Oak Ridge.

Very touching.

And, then, it was time for the 40 memories balloon release!!! (Well, 36, thanks to the boys, but you know how it goes with kids...) Zaiya was first up, baby!!