My Most Recent Party

My party planning has in the past couple of years expanded beyond the walls of our own home. A year and a half ago I was appointed to our HOA committee and given the responsibility of social committee chair, which basically means I am in charge of giving our community of 940 homes a couple of big parties a year. On Saturday we had our second annual Spring Fling which is a potluck picnic where the HOA provides hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, and drinks and everyone else brings a dish to share. This year also included a giant waterslide, a basketball shootout, a bake-off and kid's races. It was well attended, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Here are some pictures:

Logan is clearly excited! She won 2 blue ribbons and was over the moon. Her best pal Emily is on the right and her friend Nathan is to the left.

My friends Shilo and Ruth.

The Food Line

Griffin and Tyler ran wild all night and had a blast.

The waterslide was a big hit with the kids.

Here's me and Logan competing in the Mommy&Daughter race.

(There are no pictures of Daddy because he was holding the camera through the whole thing.)

But what made the event's success even more compelling was that we withstood a dust and rain storm right before it was supposed to begin. Since our Fall Festival was rained out, I was really in a panic. I wasn't sure what I had done to offend the heavens, but I was ready to take it back-- all of it, whatever it was. We have sunshine almost every day of the year! Except, of course, when I hold an outdoor event. What made it even more of a bag-over-the-head-punch-in-the-face was that it was 96 degrees and sunny until 2:30. Then this rolled in within 20 minutes:

What you can't see very well is that we were literally holding the tent down as they had not yet weighted it before the storm hit. We were spitting dirt; so nasty. We did outlast it though, and the rest went off without a hitch.

I do have to give a huge amount of credit to Thomas, who seems to anticipate my every need. He is, was, and always will be my right hand man, the guy I lean on. When things get really hectic and crazy, he is the one that holds things together. How did I get so lucky?