90 Years Young

This past weekend I went up North to celebrate my Great Aunt Irene's 90th Birthday. These napkins were right on the money, because this lady is a real firecracker. She probably does more in a week than I ever do.

Here is my Nana and my mother sitting with the birthday girl on the right. After years of both coming to our house for special occasions and living in the same town, my Nana (my mother's stepmother) and my Great Aunt Irene (my father's aunt) have become the best of friends. They are always getting together to play cards or going out on the town. When they get chatting its like a couple of teenage girls - they can't stop laughing.

My cousin Lauren from Colorado came up for her grandmother's big birthday celebration and also to remind me how pale I am :(     I'm the sad Northern cousin who never sees the sun.

Her sister Kara made the trip too and we all couldn't stop fussing over her baby bump. We bought her a little Roots Canada t-shirt for when the baby gets older, just to remind it of all the people who love it North of the border!

There were also big boards full of pictures from different parts of Irene's life, but one thing is for sure she is always smiling :)

 

Turns out that back in the day, Irene was Toronto's only female driving instructor. I had no idea! There were so many gret pictures of all her milestones, like the little picture in the middle of her 25th wedding anniversary - love the huge hair!

She also used to have her own sewing store in Port Credit, and she still sews up a storm. I know for a fact that right now she is working on a gorgeous quilt for her future great grandchild.

One of my favorite parts of looking at old photos is seeing all the different outfits from every era. Just look at that plaid dress! Can you imagine dancing around with that much fabric? Her dress even matches her husband's shirt. Although I don't remember my Great Uncle Cecil, I love hearing Irene's stories about the man she shared her life with for so many years. He was my Grandpa's only brother, and they survived not only fighting in World War II, but also growing up with five sisters!

There were also lots of pictures of the family over the years. She that bare-butt babe up there in the middle?

Why that is none other than Lauren! I kept teasing her that we're going to put it up on Facebook and tag her.

Here is the gorgeous cake that my aunts' picked. Everything about this just screams "IRENE"!

...from the little spool and needle....

....to the paint brush and palette (She is a very talented artist. We even have a few of her paintings at our house)....

...to her award-winning quilts!

And for candles, nothing can sum up Irene better than "Young At ♥"!

I think that she was quite tickled about her whole birthday celebration. During her thank you speech at dinner, she even said, "lets get started planning this again for next year!" Even my Grandpa (on the left) looks really excited about that idea. More cake!

Here's hoping that when I'm her age I have even half the energy that she does. Happy Birthday Aunt Irene! We love ya!