Happy belated birthday! The pictures look like everybody had a great time -- esp love the pic of you and your granddaughter, too -- bet you want an 8x10 of that one!

But you MUST be lying about your age! You say you're 70 so you can get senior citizen discounts -- admit it! You look at least 20 years younger!

Oh how wonderful Susan!!! What a lovely celebration for a beautiful woman. Happy 70th!

Jodi-

That looks like a great party! What a nice rememberance.
You would not pass a test for looking like a 70 year old!
50 yes, 70, no.

Very nice! Happy Birthday. A fun time to always remember.

What a marvelous party and friends. I agree...no way you look 70!

Wow! What a wonderful celebration! And they managed to actually surprise you! Your family looks fantastic, including you! I agree you are certainly a young looking 70!! Thanks for sharing with us.

Happy Birthday. You look too young to be 70.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my age. I was joking at the party that 70 is the new 19. Yeah, right! LOL

What a wonderful memory that your family gave you. Happy Birthday.

What a wonderful surprise for you! I agree, you look exceptional for 70.....giving up ice cream must have been the right thing to do! ;)

Haha, Marilyn--you're right! And there's a lot of truth in humor.....I'm certain that if I ate the Great American Diet of processed foods, saturated fats, and sugar, I'd not only look quite different, but I probably wouldn't even be alive. Heart disease and diabetes was rampant in the previous generations of my family.

It's funny how we perceive ourselves. A friend pointed to one of these pictures and said, "You look great. You look like you had work done." (She knows I'm not into plastic surgery.) I told her that when I looked at that same picture I thought to myself, "You look like you had some bad work done." Ah, perception is everything....

Wow, I have to echo what everyone else wrote, you do not even look in the neighborhood of 60, let alone 70. I bet your SIL is so happy his wife has such great genes. :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I agree with everyone that you look 50, yes, but 70, no. You are a beautiful lady and your family is so glad to celebrate your birthday,no matter which one it is!

What a wonderful suprise--especially thoughtful that the kids invited your best friends, too.

Hate to sound like a parrot, but you DO look fantastic! Wish we could all age as well as you, but I'm not against a little work and would love to have some!

Looks like your whole family (including DIL) got your good genes!! Pretty people!!

What a great family you have~~Happy Birthday! You are a very beautiful woman;)

You're all so nice! I'm happy with these pictures, but the first thing I noticed was that my eyes look awfully squinty. I noticed the same thing in photos taken at a wedding some months ago. I wonder if it could have something to do with the flash hitting my lens implants. When I photograph myself I don't use flash, and my eyes look more normal. But no matter.....I think I look happy--and I was!

Holy Moly!!! Congratulations on looking decades younger than your age! I knew you were pretty, from your previous pictures, but 70??!

How nice of your kids to throw the party for you. Great looking bunch of kiddos and in-laws too Susan.

What a wonderful way to spend your 70th birthday!

Awesome!

How great. I love it when surprises are actually pulled off.

Susan, what a wonderful celebration and the fact that it was a successful surprise makes it even better. Can you imagine how many telephone calls went back and forth while this was being planned? I know I don't need to tell you this but you have a family to treasure - and it's obvious how much they love you.

And it's an added treat that your BFF was able to attend. When did you see her last?

You look stunning (as usual - honestly don't you ever take a bad photo?) but your necklace is definitely eye catching. It definitely complements the black top. It looks like carnelian or some other red stone - what is it? I need a close up.

No wonder you have such a good looking family...you look great! Glad you had a wonderful 70th.

Happy belated birthday. I'm in agreement with everyone else....you look great. I'm so glad the party was a complete surprise for you, and you were surrounded by people who really love you. Beautiful family you have.

LOVE IT!!!
Eileen

I'll bet you were surprised, but at least you looked nice. Some people are surprised in less than desirable clothing with no make up on. Your party was planned very well. Kudos to your daughter and DIL.

Lovely to see you and your happy family and friends! I sure wish I had aged as well as you have, Susan. Happy Year ahead -- no more ticks -- lotsa fun!

What a lovely surprise for a lovely lady! Happy Birthday Susan!

You do look amazing young lady and your family is beautiful like you!

Thanks so much, guys!

Maire Cate, here's the closeup of the necklace. I bought it from my favorite eBay seller, Waly Beads. Everything they sell is made of natural stones, but I bought this one some time ago and I don't remember the description.

I received several compliments on it, and people were surprised to learn it came from eBay and probably cost less than $15. I didn't add--though I could have--that my outfit came from the Salvation Army. My skirt was ecru-and-black striped pleated satin.

Signed,
Frugal Me

Thanks for posting the close up. It looks even better than I had thought from the original pictures. You always look so 'artsy' - and that's a compliment.

Thank you, Maire! I take it as a compliment for sure, and I'm very happy to hear you say that because I usually think I don't look artsy enough. I relate to that look, but I keep ending up looking conservative--at least that's how it seems to me. Maybe I haven't been going so far off the mark after all. :-)

Oh this is funny - I checked out Waly Beads in Ebay and he's located in Cherry Hill - that's the suburb next to mine. He's probably a 15 minute drive from here. I'd love to see his work in person. I should email and find out of he does any of the craft shows in the area.

And your necklace is a 'gem' - I think it's nicer than anything he's currently selling.

What a lovely birthday ... and to think that they were able to keep the surprise intact!

As for "work" - probably it was quite a lot of work on your part that kept you looking so young.

ole joyfuelled

You look lovely (and I'd have never guessed you were 70)! Your family and friends are all beautiful people too... I'm so glad they planned this celebration of you!