COEUR d'ALENE - There's nothing unusual about a trip to the Silver Lake Mall to pick up a gift for an aunt, or so thought Beth Brubaker when her husband Danny said they needed to make a stop.

And there's nothing unusual about meeting a friend at the mall, which is again, what Brubaker thought when she ran into Gina Schuette.

They exchanged a hug and smile, perfectly normal.

But it was about then things got a little crazy.

Music suddenly filled the air. And just as suddenly a swarm of students charged out from surrounding stores and started swaying and hopping and bopping to the tunes. It was about then parents emerged, cameras in hand, watching, grinning.

It was flash mob for Beth time.

"All I could say was, 'Thank heavens I took a shower.' I was just mowing the lawn right before we came here. I had no earthly idea," a stunned Brubaker said later.

For four minutes, she watched about 50 of her current and former students as they performed a routine to a fiesta music mix made especially for the teacher they wanted to honor as she retires this year.

She smiled, beamed, wiped away tears and eventually was pulled into the midst of that mass of energy, where she felt the love and appreciation of it all.

"It was perfect," she said.

And when it was over, the gifts kept coming.

Flowers, cards, a balloon, more hugs and thank yous and we'll miss yous and more tears, too, for Brubaker, who is retiring after 33 years with the Lakeland School District.

But she's also the co-founder of Invent Idaho, which stirs the imagination and creativity of kids every year.

Parent Tammy Cass was on hand to record Sunday's flash mob surprise.

"We had to think of something big and awesome and out of the box, which is what she is, an out-of-the-box thinker," Cass said.

When Brubaker wanted to know who was behind it, Cass answered, "Gina did it. Time for a confession."

Schuette, a parent, said Brubaker is an amazing teacher, and they wanted to say good-bye in a special way.

"She leads all of them with so much respect and dignity and class, and they love learning from her," Schuette said.

She brainstormed for a few weeks and considered hundreds of ideas before deciding what to do.

Two weeks ago, she and others began rounding up Brubaker's past and current students to practice. First-graders to high school responded. Absolutely they wanted to be part of the mob.

Schuette said considering Brubaker is behind Invent Idaho, they knew they had to be inventive in their send-off.

"I knew it's what we had to do," she said.

Jennifer Bassett, Lakeland High School cheerleader coach, helped train the students, create the music mix and cranked the tunes once she saw the signal - Schuette hugging Brubaker.

"The kids worked very hard," she said.

Tanner Lawrie, an 11-year-old at Garwood Elementary who danced Sunday, said Brubaker is "beyond the best teacher."

"Whenever you run into something, she's always there to help you," he said.

Brubaker, surrounded by her students, said she would never forget this day.

"Thank you all. I never in my wildest dreams imagined anything like this," she said.

As the students milled away with parents, a pleased Brubaker stood in the mall and watched with pride. "Happy, happy tears" streamed down her face.

While she's retiring from the Lakeland district, Brubaker said she will always have her hand in education and continue working with Invent Idaho

"I have never been speechless like this in my life. I'm still shaking. I'm so proud of all these kids. I'm so touched," she said. "I'm very blessed, they would take their time to come here for me."

Brubaker shook her head in disbelief, noting students rehearsed for weeks while keeping their plans a secret.

"I've always known that I loved them," she said. "I didn't know they loved me that much."

Surprise.