Bevy of birthday balloons says, 'Gotcha!' Bevy of birthday balloons says, 'Gotcha!' (March 19, 2004)

Mitzi Shaffar woke up Monday to discover her front yard floated in a sea of pink and purple balloons. Sisters Michelle Yelkes-Paul and Maureen Hayes and mother Helen Yelkes secured nearly 300 balloons with coat-hanger wires embedded 18 inches apart throughout the entire yard for Mitzi's 40th birthday surprise. The trio woke up at 4:30 a.m. that morning for the clandestine activity, which required two trips in a Suburban and one in a car to transport the balloons to Mitzi's home. Michelle said the surprise was three years in the planning. She thought about getting one of the high school marching bands to perform but didn't want to disturb the neighbors and opted for the visual surprise.

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