Rufus takes one last plane ride

As the due date looms closer, I think it might be important to clarify that Derek & I do not intend to call our baby Rufus.  Rufus, Babarufus, and Babarufette are silly names for our baby bump.  We have some lovely names chosen for Rufus after delivery, but we are keeping those secret for now.  Much like Prince, however, we will probably sometimes refer to our baby as "The baby formally known as Rufus."

Last weekend Derek, Throckmorton, Rufus & I took a trip to Lethbridge Alberta.  The occasion was Grandma's 90th Birthday.  Grandma's birthday was actually in January, but she wanted to postpone the party until spring time, when the weather would be nicer.  This turned out to be very ironic, as will be revealed later in the story.

Considering he is co-author, Throckmorton does not feel he gets enough press on this blog
Here he is, in travel mode.

We met Mom & Dad in Calgary and rented a car to drive down to Lethbridge.  We were tasked with picking up the cake in Calgary & mom carried it on her lap all the way to Lethbridge (2.5 hours!)  I offered the service of my lap, but everyone laughed, presumably because I don't have much of a lap to speak of these days.

We arrived in time for dinner and we surprised both Grandma & Grumps - they didn't know that Rufus and I were coming, as Rufus is not allowed to fly past 36 weeks.  But alas, Rufus is only 35 weeks old, so our doctor gave us the green light for the trip.

Grandma & Grumps

Dinner at Coco Pazzo with Grandma & Grumps, Mom, Dad, Aunt T, Uncle Bob,  Brad & Kim, Marc and Elma & Charlie

The next day was the main event.  The party was at the Dynasty Chinese restaurant and it was a big turn-out to wish Grandma well!  For me it was a chance to catch up with relatives that I had not seen in a long time - some as long 20 years!  All of my grandmother's siblings came from various parts of Alberta & BC to attend; it was very cool to see them all together.

Back row: the girls - Aunt Irene, Grandma & Aunt Laura
Front row: Uncle Harry, Allah (aka Uncle Henry) and Uncle Bobby

The Wilkinson's Table

The Louey family table - Grandma, Grumps, Grandma's siblings & their partners

The cake arrived safely to the venue & was greatly enjoyed!

Me & Grandma

I'm not sure what everyone else did in the break between parties, but Rufus & I had a serious nap.  I'm sure there were party guests more than twice my age that did not need a nap, but I sure did!  (they just don't make pregnant women like they used to.)

The "after-party" (I feel like Zoolander when I say that!) was held at Grandma & Grandpa's house.  Aunt T made a delicious roast & there were lots of great appetizers to enjoy.  The cake made a second appearance and was joined by Nanaimo bars, whoopie pies, cookies, pastries & so forth.  Between my grandmother's sisters, Aunt T and mom, there were some serious bakers in the house!

Aunt T prepares the roast.  The rest of us offer moral support.

Good place to be if you have a sweet tooth!

My grandparents' basement is a treasure trove of goodies.  My cousins found a box of old photos & letters which we spent hours looking though together.  It was amazing to look back at photos of my grandfather & his brothers as teens, my grandparents as happy newlyweds, and my dad & aunt as chubby little babies!

Derek & Devon sort through old pictures & letters

My dad, baby version.  All Illingworth babies seem to be on the chubby side- what am I in for with this delivery!?

My very hip grandparents 

Other great finds in the basement include old clothes from the 60s, 70s & 80's, and an assortment of canned goods that are probably older than that.  But we Illingworth's are pretty lax on "best before dates", and I'm pretty sure canned goods are good forever aren't they?

Marc, Andrew, Devon & Brad model some vintage Hudson Bay jackets

Allah has a good belly laugh at our expense

I would be amiss if I didn't mention one other special guest at the party: my grandparents' cat Felix.  Felix seemed to love the party & the attention he got.  He's an awesome cat and a great companion for my grandparents.

The after-party was also a huge success and Grandma obviously enjoyed herself.   It was great to see so many people coming together to help her celebrate a milestone birthday!

After all that action, I settled into a very sound sleep at the hotel.  I thought I was dreaming when I awoke to the sound of snow-plows outside.  No, it was no dream... it had snowed nearly 10cm overnight!  According to my grandfather, it was the biggest snowfall they'd had that winter.  Ah, the irony - we thought we'd wait out the weather by having the party in April instead of January, but Mother Nature got the last laugh!!

Hello Alberta!  Did you not get the memo - its mid APRIL!!!

Derek chauffeured us expertly back to Calgary for our flight & we landed in Vancouver later the same afternoon.  It felt like we had time-travelled though, as it was warm, sunny and green in Vancouver.  Not to brag, but BC definitely has spring figured out compared to Southern Alberta!

Despite the snow, the weekend was really fun and we had a great time visiting with everyone.  Dad and Aunt T did a great job organizing the event.  I'm so proud of how well Grandma is doing at age 90 and already looking forward to Grumps' 90th next year!

I love you Grandma & Grumps!!