Afternoon Tea

On Monday morning this week, I found this beautiful invitation on my desk.  I then understood why Rachael had asked me several weeks ago to take off this particular Friday from work.  An afternoon tea with Mom, my sisters, and nieces, nephew at Laura's house sounded delightful!

Rachael spent the night with the little ones at Laura's house and used this morning preparing the surprise tea.  We weren't sure what to expect but knew that great care was being taken to make it special and memorable.  And what greeted our eyes when we arrived at the Turner residence was  indeed lovely!

Placemats made by the children, tea party favors, a bouquet of flowers, cheese slices, fresh strawberries, nectarines, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, egg salad finger sandwiches, scones, and a pot of fresh tea graced the table.  It was a welcome sight for those who had spent the morning rushing around and were quite hungry!

The flowers were so beautiful.  They had just been picked that morning from Ben & Laura's garden.

Rachael bought some special, wonderful-tasting loose tea for each of her sisters and wrapped it up in beautiful cloth and ribbon.

While final preparations were being made, I enjoyed holding our happy Hannah.  Don't you just love her up-do? :)

It was a wonderful afternoon!  With our busy lives that take us all in different directions, it's rare that we can do things together.  So we treasured this opportunity to be with everyone before the pace of life picks up even more next month.  Thanks to Rachael and Laura for planning a great day with special memories!