Party it Up!

 

Apparently, we don't have parties often enough at my house.

 

Because if we DID have parties often enough -- I'm sure we'd be better at it. Practice makes perfect??

 

We did throw a graduation party (well, "open house" -- does it make a difference if you call it something else?? I think not.) ... for Alyssa, a couple of days after graduation. It was actually a good idea to wait, since so many of her friends had graduation parties on the day before or the day of graduation -- and we were hopping, just to get to drop in on all of the parties! So we were pretty glad to do it on a different day!

 

This party maybe wasn't "perfect" -- but in life, what is truly perfect? It did go quite well, and it was so nice to visit with friends for a couple of hours. Here's Alys with her cake:

 

We were still doing some yardwork that very morning -- which was NOT part of the plan, but it did look nice when we were done. You can see the new flowers and bench area in the background here.

 

 

Ok, AND the fire table. AND the food table.

 

There was a flurry of food preparation, also at the last minute. I had baked 3 kinds of bar cookies, plus made some Oreo truffles. Todd was grilling up a storm that afternoon and evening. He had skewered chicken [2 kinds], skewered steak [also 2 kinds], veggie kebabs, and "moink balls". (Moink = moo + oink ---- they are actually bacon-wrapped meatballs.) And there was also chips & dips (using some of our favorite meat rubs) and that cake, and water or cherry limeade to drink. Whew!!

 

It was a LOT of food!! But, judging by how challenging it was to keep the serving platters full, I would say that people seemed to like it.

 

I also did an idea from Pinterest..... the "keys to success" frame and activity:

 

It didn't turn out quite as I'd wanted, but it was one of those things that I ran out of time for, and it is what it is. I don't think any of the guests knew any different. The idea is that each guest writes a little note to the graduate, giving them a piece of advice, or their own "key to success". It was fun to read what people wrote to her!

 

(Some of Alyssa's memorabilia from her school years.)

 

I'll say it again -- we're sure proud of this girl!!

 

 

(I love these lights we found in Spokane. I think I'll just keep them up all summer long!!)

 

 

 

And, in the interest of "keeping it real" .........  at the end of the day, the kitchen becomes a magnet for all kinds of party fall-out!!

 

Good times!!

 

(Uhh.... good times that took me 3 days to completely clean up afterwards!! Ha!!)