.

.
Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, June 24, 2012

What a party!

You can probably guess how I spent my time for the last three days.  Friday was busy getting everything ready for Robyn’s retirement party, Saturday was the party, and today was cleanup from the party.  Whew!

68 Robyn's Retirement

One of the things I helped set up was the remembrance table.  Robyn had kept a scrapbook of her Army years, there were a couple of framed pictures, and we configured the soldier saluting the flag in the middle.  On Friday night, my oldest son Dan with his wife Crystal, my youngest son Andy with his daughter Ruby, and my ex-husband arrived from Minnesota.  Dan and Crystal camped out in a tent in the back yard while Andy and Ruby joined us to sleep inside the house.  We had quite the boisterous group, and I had all three kids to visit with.

68 Robyn's Retirement1

We put up a canopy in the driveway with tables and chairs underneath.  There were more tables in the garage, and plenty of seating in the back yard around the pool.  The décor was decidedly patriotic. Tons of food had been ordered, and many relatives and friends brought scrumptious dishes as well.  The cake depicted a set of dog tags with her entry date and retirement date along with her Sergeant First Class stripes.

The set up was running pretty smoothly until we opened the box with the cake.  Can you believe they spelled her name wrong?  On the right hand section it read Robyn Lark instead of Robyn Lapko.  You can bet that a last minute run back to the cake maker ensued for the correction.

68 Robyn's Retirement2

The hours for the party were from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., and it wasn’t long before people started showing up.  I’m certainly not going to tell you who all the people in this and the ensuing pictures are because I didn’t even know most of them.  I will, however, point out some for you to take note of.  Winking smile That’s my youngest granddaughter, Ruby, in the pink dress in the middle bottom row with her almost worn out, but proud grandmother in the pic to the left.  Very bottom right is my son, Daniel, and his wife, Crystal.

68 Robyn's Retirement4

That’s my sister, Pam, and b-i-l, Stan, in the top left picture.  Retiree Robyn along with Phoebe in the bottom right.  I think Dennis’ latest estimate of how many people attended is about 82.  That’s a lot of folks!

68 Robyn's Retirement3

Tons of kids were visitors, and you can see where all of them ended up.  Andy and Ruby are in the top middle.  With that many kids and the pool being used for about nine hours, it wasn’t a surprise that the water was looking a bit cloudy by the end.  Confused smile  I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out why.

It was a great party, and all of us were pretty done in by the end.  I’m very proud and thankful that Robyn was willing and able to serve her country for twenty years.  Because of her and countless others that have been committed to defend our freedoms, we continue to benefit as citizens of what I think is the greatest country on earth.  (Being the mother of three children that have either served or are still serving, I am admittedly biased and make no excuses for that.)

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

32 comments:

  1. Congratulations to Robyn and to you as well. It isn't easy to be the mother of a military member as you are proud of them but worry a lot as well. Been there and done that with both of my boys as well as their Dad. It's nice that people are more appreciative of their military these days. It is not an easy life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those cakes are a great idea. How clever!

    If the pictures tell the story, you all had a wonderful fun time.

    Pleas pass on our congratulations to Robyn and a HUGE thank you for her service!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like a fabulous party and a good time had by all!!! Congratulations to Robyn for her 20 years of service!!

    That dog tag cake was very cool!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats to Robyn on her years of service..what a great party to celebrate!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great party! Congratulations, Robyn, and thank you for your service to our country!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you to Robyn for her many years of service. She should be very proud.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations to Robyn. I appreciate and thank her for her service. What wonderful family pictures. Looks like a great day for a party.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations Robyn.

    What great party and looks like everyone had a great time. Now you need a good rest for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful. Thanks for taking the pictures.
    Congratulations to Robyn on her retirement.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congratulations once more to Robyn on her retirement. And what a way to celebrate!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congratulations to Robyn. Retirement is wonderful. Looks like the party was a huge success.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sincere congratulations to Robyn and you also deserve congratulations for having three children who have served in the military!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Robyn's service says it all. The party was a small tribute for a career of service. Thank you for your service.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great party and love the cake.

    We thank Robyn for her service.

    ReplyDelete
  15. How wonderful to have all of that great family around you!! And what a great looking group of family you have. I think Andy looks like you, and Ruby is adorable..You will now stand "at ease" and will have to be "de-briefed" after all of that excitement...Have a relaxed and safe trip home to Emma...thanks for sharing you family with all of us, and a big salute to Robyn for her 20 years of helping keep us safe..

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great party! Thanks for inviting us along to share...

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great party! You have every right to be proud as does your sweet daughter Robyn. That cake was a hoot! Glad the bakery was open to make that correction.

    Reminds of a some years back when Len turned 50 and I gave him a surprise party. I went to pick up the cake at the bakery. East being our last name, I asked for the EAST cake. The woman looked at me strange, went to the back and came out with a small brown bag. In it she had put two YEAST cakes. OOPS, I was real nervous for a moment. Her misunderstanding - whew! there was a real East cake in the back.

    Continue to enjoy every moment with your delightful family.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congrats to Robyn on her retirement - well deserved. Glad to see you all sending her off in style with a terrific party.

    Judy, Robyn emailed me a question about her computer last night but it came with a 'no-reply' email address. If she could send me the brand name and perhaps the model number of her laptop, I'll check into the issue she asked me about o.k. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wonderful party, wonderful day for you all! Congrats to Robyn, and I thank her for her courage and service. You have every reason to be a proud Mom! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Three children in the military! Wow! Congrats to Robyn, and what a wonderful time had by all....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great and well deserved celebration. Bet you are all exhausted!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congratulations, it sure looks like a fun party.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a wonderful, fun day for your family. Add my thanks for Robyn's years of service. We have a nephew in the Navy who will soon have his 20 in. I don't know if he'll retire then or keep going. I think he really likes what he does. They live in Japan now and he's out to sea a lot so it can be a struggle for his wife to keep it all together at home with three kids.

    ReplyDelete
  24. That's a good kind of bias to have. Congratulations to all of you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Looks like you and everyone had a great party, it's always better when you have all the family around. And, Robyn, thanks for your service. My husband is retired USAF and my son just retired from the Navy.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Please thank your daughter for her service to our country. I am very grateful for her and her families sacrifices that I may live in the land of the free!

    ReplyDelete
  27. She's going to love being a member of "The Check of the Month Club". She's earned every penny of it. I understand how proud you are of her.

    ReplyDelete
  28. No excuses needed! And you, and all of you, should be proud as punch of yourselves for the contributions you all have made!

    What a grand celebration and send off to retirement! And the perfect setting for it too! I love patriotism and any time it is celebrated!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. butterbean carpenterJune 25, 2012 at 9:43 PM

    Howdy Judy,
    We're very proud of Robyn and thank her for serving OUR country for 20 years, but one thing I'd like to know; WHERE'S THE BRASS?? Surely she had 'some' friends with shoulder epaulets!! Loved the cake and the misspelled name story..
    Great set of pics, even if you don't know who they are!! Grandkids are growing up, too fast.. Now Robyn can relax and just fit bras!!! Glad you changed your mind about 'hotels', but it may have been EXCITING!! Yeah, right, TOO EXCITING!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Congratulations to Robyn. The party looks like it was wonderful and lots of fun. I'll be you were exhausted by the time it all ended.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Congratulations Robyn and Thank You for your service! Judy, you need to get back to work so you can rest :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Beautiful photos...looks like a wonderful time was had by all. Congratulations to Robyn and an enormous THANK YOU to her for her years of service. It's courageous people like her who make it possible for us all to live in this Land of the Free. Thank u for letting us "come along" to this special family get-together. So glad u changed ur mind about the motel situation....what a shame such things exist.

    ReplyDelete