This weekend, we celebrated my mom’s 70th birthday at my sister’s house, and we had a surprise…

My mom had had a very difficult year with some health stuff, so we were thrilled to be able to come together and shower her with love.

First, we ate pineapple pizza and then my sister brought out an ice cream cake…

…with a photo of my mom when she was three, living in Manchester, England. How cute are those bangs?!

She had lots of help blowing out the candles.

And the highlight of the evening was when our close friends Austin and Mary came over to sing for everyone! They played songs by the Shins, Queen, you name it — and then busted out “The Longest Time” by Billy Joel, which was my mom’s #1 song when we were kids. She would play it while driving to school, the bank, the grocery store; by the time we graduated high school, we knew all the words and the harmonies, haha.

Here’s a video!!! How amazing are they?

We felt so lucky to be together.

At the end of the night, the kids presented hand-written notes saying how much they love her. Eight-year-old Anton captured how we all feel. Happy Birthday, Mom. xoxoxo

P.S. My mom’s beauty uniform, and the best thing my mom ever told us.