This is the largest post EVER on all of Bubblesland - took me an entire day to upload photos & write this posting. Here you will find a collection of photos from the BIG party. If case of any comments or photos that may not agree with you or if you have been a victim of my BAD humour, I apologise in advance - hee hee. But in all fairness, you were all sufficiently warned, at the time these photos, were taken of the likelihood that they would end up on this forum.
As I explained in
Bubbles in Europe, I went to Canada as part of conspiracy for a surprise birthday party for my brother,
Luc. It is not possible to explain the look of shocked surprise on his face.
Julie had been working SUPER hard for more than 6 months to prepare for this party & leading up to this precise moment. Above is a photo with
Luc & Julie where he might be feeling a little nervous under the spotlight. We had some difficulties getting him to the hall but eventually, he arrived to greet all his eagerly awaiting friends - some of which travelled 2 hours or longer to celebrate his birthday. Now that is what I call REAL friends & they were all there to celebrate this important birthday.
Above we have a suspicious looking Easter bunny that hopped & wiggled down the room to offer Luc Easter eggs. At first, he was apprehensive & god only knows what he must have been thinking. One thing for sure - THIS BUNNY WAS NOT A STRIPPER - just thought I'd clear that up straight away!! He got one look at the Easter bunny's face & broke out into an enormous smile which, I believe, we captured nicely above. 
For some strange reason, my bunny face jumped from me to Luc. I don't remember doing that but it might have been a nervous reaction on my part because so many pairs of eyes were on me, watching me tear up as I looked into my brother's joyful eyes. Looks like this surprise birthday party was starting to liven up. 
This is an extraordinary cookie (koekje in Dutch) called an Abraham koekje that travelled all the way from Holland - thanks to Chris & Ria for the superb idea (bedankt naar pa en ma for het uitsteken idee). This cookie is a Dutch tradition for those celebrating a 50th birthday: it is a speculas cookie (this is a typical cookie eaten during holidays such as Christmas) which is comparable to a gingerbread cookie only slightly richer and much tastier AND has a colourful marsepein trim (this is a sugar and almond based substance that is soft & mushy - make sure that you never eat too much of this stuff at one time ... or else you might have a sore tummy). If you are a man, you will receive an Abraham, if you are a woman it is a Sarah. Abraham has to be pre-ordered and are freshly baked on request so our cookie was ordered on Saturday morning and ready to be picked up on Monday. Our bakery was thrilled with the fact that her cookie would travel all the way to Canada so she made it extra special. 
Now for the Canadian-style birthday cake which was also specially ordered as well & gigantic in size. 
I just love this photo of Luc with his 2 kids Kevin & Julie - it displays a unique bond & closeness that the 3 of them share. 
This is a fabulous shot of the 'boys' & their "Canadian beers". For those NON-Canadian viewers out there - this is not us being patriotic. It is just a really terrific beer that just happens to be called "Canadian". Coincidence - perhaps ......
This is such sweet photo of Luc & Julie - love the blue 50th pins. Luc was an awesome sport & wore these throughout the evening - one was from Holland & the other Canada. 
Next in the family shots is Bubbles & Julie - at this point in the evening, I switched from Canadian beer to double Bacardi & diet coke. This might play a MINOR role in why I felt so unproductive the following day.
Luc was positioned at a special head table as the guest of honour and he had a steady flood of visitors always at his side, throughout the evening. On the table is the cool digital photo frame that also came from Holland - thanks to Arnie.
This is Malcom, a friend of Luc's that goes way back through the years. Later on we played the longest game of pool in the history of man. I still say that you & Luc were toying with me and could have cleared the table of it's balls at ANY time. Next time I am going to womp your behinds & clear the table. 
This is the famous Brad who makes me smile when I think about how happy he is 24 - 7 with a little help, of course. In the background is a poster with some historical family photos, this is the first of 2, prepared by Julie (thanks to Carmen who shared the family collection). On the right, we have our Mom & Dad's wedding photo. On the left is Luc at Christmas with his new skidoo suit (and a construction hat in lieu of a skidoo helmet) pretending he is on a skidoo - awesome photo that just oozes with our family humour!
This is Terry, another of Luc's friends from many years earlier. This was our temporary solution to prevent Terry from talking but it was not effective for long :) 
In this photo, is Suzanne & Paulette who were both just amazing from the beginning to end. They helped us with the balloons, the door, the tickets, the food & so much more - plus they were the first on the dance floor. Thank you both very much for all your help.
Here is Kevin with his Aunt Suzanne - again, I can't thank you enough for all your contributions to the success of the evening.
While I am on the subject of appreciation - another thank you for Darren's parents who were most helpful on Friday night with food preparations for the the party. I had to run out to meet friends for dinner and did not have time to help. Darren's mom was invaluable in the kitchen (more so that I would have ever been cuz I would have likely burned down the house).
Here is my final thank you for the evening. As I mentioned in Bubbles in Europe, Megan was instrumental in our BIG, BAD, SECRET plan. Thanks Megan for bringing Luc to the party & it was a pleasure to meet you. Also, thank you for that REALLY big ceasar at the end of the night at Luc's place - that must have been the biggest drink in history of Bubbles World! 
This is one of many shots from the dance floor - the DJ played some really excellent tunes. 
Not quite sure how to explain this one. Darren's Dad & Max are having some fun with the photo frame that was sent around for signing. Turns out this will be a momento in more ways than one. 
Julie & Max are quite a sight in this shot - one of Julie's favourite pictures. Max is such a character - full of energy, hilarious & always interested in talking with everyone. Max's beard also has some serious history--> for all YOU BBQ lovers out there, this a story for you. I was told that when Max stores away his BBQ at the end of the season he starts to grow his beard & it will remain with him throughout the winter until he reunites with his BBQ again in the spring - a distinctively Max tradition. 
This is a group photo of the night - unfortunately about 10 people had already left due to the long drive home but we did photograph a majority of the group. I could not resist to point out the extracurricular activities of Angie in the centre of this shot. Angie, what are you doing to that balloon? She is so cute & and I sincerely hope she will continue to be cute when she reviews this posting and photo. Angie was such an enormous support & applied her artistic talents on all the posters in the hall. I look forward to meeting you again at Julie & Darren's wedding.
Looks like we are witnessing the beginning of Angie's addiction for blue balloons. Earlier she was kissing one & now she is in the process of becoming friends with this one. Actually, a little birdie told me she was sucking the helium out of this poor balloon. Beside her is her mother, most-likely shocked by the strange sounds escaping from Angie's mouth - hee hee. I don't actually know this for a fact but I am trying my best to recreate this particular moment - not the easiest task.
Speaking of Angie - here we are at the end of the night- just before we made the move to Luc's place.
This was the last dance of the night - following DJ tradition, it was a slow song. 
At the end of the party, we had to share a warm farewell with the bartenders to took such EXCELLENT care of myself & all our guests.
This pretty much shows you what happens when you let Bubbles drink too much - take the camera way NOW!
This is all that was left of Bubbles by the end of the night - the rest of her can be found somewhere underneath the couch!!!!
Eventually, Chopper calmed down ... briefly ... and put his cute puppy head on the edge of my chair so he could say hello to me. 
I think I was excited about this shot because we had not seen a blue sky for a long LONG period so please forgive me for my sentimental and somewhat desperate behavior :) but I really love the pure white clouds. When I am alone at the beach I like to stare up at the clouds and look for hidden shapes and figures. These nice white ones are the best for this favourite pastime of mine:) What can I say - I gotta an active imagination!?!?
This one is kind of neat - there are tiny fluffy clouds that are baby pink from the sunset and a blazing fire in the middle of the sky as the sun descends against the horizon. Simple but pretty. That's all for now :) 