A Family Birthday Surprise

So on Saturday was my sister-in-law's birthday. She lives in Colorado Springs and unknown to her, there were secret family plans in the works for over a year. Eric and I have know for a while that his parents were planning on moving back to Colorado Springs and they finally settled on a September move. Heidi, my SIL, had no clue that they were planning to do this. She has been trying to convince her parents and us to move back to be closer together.
Here is where strategic planning comes into play. Earlier this week Eric got a call from his parents saying that they were packing a moving truck and would be leaving early the following week and wanted to surprise Heidi for her birthday on Saturday. Eric and I really wanted to be there for the reaction and to spend time with his family. Fortunately her birthday fell on the Saturday right before Labor Day and Eric was able to get time off so that we could travel to Colorado.
Normally in the past we have made the trip in 16 hours, but with a prego mom and a busy toddler, that time was seriously lengthened by numerous stops to visit the restroom, take breaks and recoup our sanity.
We finally arrived in Colorado Springs late in the afternoon on Saturday, Heidi's birthday, and found out that she was going to dinner with her family and would be back a few hours later. We decided to try and beat her home, park the van down the street, and wait inside for her reaction. Mom Stewart had called Heidi earlier when Eric, Alex and I arrived in town and found out her plans. Heidi, who's always so quick to figure things out, thought the grill about her birthday plans from her mom was suspicious began to suspect that they had traveled out to surprise her for her birthday.
After getting cleaned up and refreshed we jumped in Mom and Dad Stewart's van and headed over to her house. Just as we pulled up to her house Mom got out of the car and looked down the street. Uh-oh just as she got out of the car, Heidi and her family rounded the corner to their house. BUSTED!!!! We jumped back in the car and Dad Stewart started driving around the block and we were laughing in the van trying to figure out what to do next. Mike, Heidi's husband, who was driving their van was honking at us to stop. We finally pulled up right back where we started, in front of her house, they pulled up alongside us and Eric popped out of the van and was greeted by some very surprised and shocked faces. He grabbed the camera and I jumped out of the van to greet my nieces and SIL and BIL. Heidi was in such a state of shock, but the surprises were not over yet.
Heidi was talking to her mom and was saying what a bad liar she was because when they were talking earlier on the phone Heidi had asked where they were and Mom's response had been, "We're home." ( Which they were, at their new home.) Mom and Dad Stewart had lived in Colorado Springs 17 years earlier and had been leasing their home for all that time after they had left. They were now moving back to their old home, 10 minutes away from Heidi's family. Here is the video of a shocking birthday surprise.