Seven siblings in Utah surprised their elderly parents with a slumber party — and the heartwarming footage is bringing people to tears.
“It had been 30 years since we’d all slept under the same roof,” Cody Andrew, 42, tells TODAY.com.
Cody’s wife, Christine Andrew, came up with the idea after she noticed her in-laws John, 81, and Luedeen, 80, were struggling with goodbyes. Though they see each other regularly, the siblings all have their own homes in Utah and mom and dad live in a condo.
“There was one time where Cody’s mom grabbed my arm and was like, ‘I would do anything to have them all here with me again,” Christine says.
In April, Luedeen got her wish. Cody, Teresa, 57, Chad, 55, Chris, 52, Bobbi, 49, Danny, 45, and Hiedi, 40, showed up at Luedeen and John’s door armed with sleeping bags and Chinese food. (Luedeen and John also have a daughter Jodi, who died when she was 16 months old.)
No in-laws or grandchildren were invited. For one night, Luedeen and John had their kids all to themselves.
After Cody, a content creator, shared the footage on Instagram, it went viral with more than a million views and thousands of comments.
In the video, Luedeen and John beam as their adult children come streaming one-by-one into their home. While “Pure Imagination” from “Wonka” plays in the background, Hiedi and Teresa curl Luedeen’s hair. Then the gang piles into their parents’ bedroom just like they used to do.
“Cody tells me stories about how he and his brothers and sisters would sit on their mom’s bed and have popcorn and orange juice every night,” Christine says. “They wanted to recreate those moments of having a full house again.”
Luedeen and John, who are known for going to sleep early, stayed up until 11:30 watching movies and playing Truth or Dare.
“My brothers and sisters got into some mischief in the neighborhood. We were so close to getting Mom to toilet paper a neighbor’s house,” Cody says. “She backed out at the last minute!”
John wore a smile all night.
“He’s had some health issues and we hadn’t seen that side of him in a long time,” Cody says. “He just had this second wind of energy.”
The next day, Cody’s brother Chad got a text message from an employee at a local bank. John had been in and he couldn’t stop talking about what his kids had done.
For Cody, the sleepover party was bittersweet. He knows his parents won't be around forever.
"All the memories came flooding back when we were all together," Cody says. "In a lot of ways it felt like we were kids again."
Comments continue to pour in on Cody's Instagram video.
"As the mother of six adult daughters, I can honestly say there is nothing that would make my heart happier," one person wrote.
Added another, "I have 9 kids, 4 are grown and gone (but still close). The youngest is only 9…if they did this to me some day, I think my heart would burst from the joy."
