Walter’s actual birthday isn’t until this fall, but his wonderful family spent a lot of time planning the perfect surprise birthday party for him!! His daughter Nancy and her husband Doug were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, so it became a reason for the whole family to get together so Walter wouldn’t suspect anything!! 
They had family come from across Canada, I believe from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and Walter’s younger brother came in from California!!
The family told Walter that a photographer was coming for some family photos, which was completely true, but they didn’t tell him that shortly after that lots of friends would be arriving to surprise him with an early 80th birthday party, so fun and sneaky! Shortly after I got there they did tell him and I loved seeing the surprise and shock and joy on his face, and then we took lots of fun family photos while everyone simultaneously went into high gear with decorating for the party and getting all the food ready. After the family photos I hung around for awhile to take some photos of the party decorations and guests and of Walter interacting with everyone. He was so cute and has absolutely the most heartwarming smile, I loved him immediately!
The whole family was wonderful and so much fun, and I was so happy for Walter being surrounded with so much love! Thank you so much to Jody for finding me, and to Mark, Nancy, Doug, Walter, Margot, and the whole rest of the family (I remember some of your names but this will get long if I start listing everyone, and then I’ll feel bad for the few people I left out!). Mark and Jody also had two cute cats who starred in some photos cause I love cats so much!!! Oh and I also loved seeing the so-cool bomb shelter in their basement straight out of the 50’s or 60’s!!
Here are some of my favorite photos, and CLICK HERE for a slideshow with some more of the photos (it may help to pause the slideshow after you start it to allow it to buffer and then run more smoothly)!
by Rebecca Whitney
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