Party day

Yesterday turned out to be one of the highlights of our first year here.  I did as much work as I possibly could on Friday so that I would have time on Saturday to attend Joshua's 4th birthday party with the kids.  We woke, got dressed and Dave left with Alex while I washed the floors so they could dry while we were gone.  Tana and John threw a great party for their son and the kids had a blast eating cake and going on a treasure hunt.  I somehow managed to get both Alex and Genoa down for a nap when we got home and by the time they woke up, the bounce was here and the party was about to start.  It was like their best. day. ever.

Our Washington Day party was a ton of fun.  The best part was looking around and seeing our house full with all our new friends (and old family).  It's hard to believe than in one short year, we've already managed to make such deep connections here.  It's one of the main reasons we feel so much like we're finally HOME and something for which I will always be grateful.

Sadly, I completely neglected to take out my camera even ONCE after the guests arrived.  A few times it actually occurred to me and I thought, "As soon as I finish this conversation, I'm going to take some pictures!" and then I'd start another conversation and yada, yada, yada, I have pictures of the buffet tables and almost nothing else!  I'm SO bummed out about it too.  Here we have a party to celebrate with all of our new friends and I don't manage to take a single picture of them.  GAH.

Just like with every party, I learned a lot:

1.  Bounce house?
WORTH EVERY CENT.  Having a bounce house in your yard is like having a baby sitter the entire party.  I actually FINISHED some conversations without being interrupted by my kids every two minutes.  We had more than a dozen kids here and most of the time they were jumping their guts out.  It made me feel better about the fact that every kid in attendance stole at least one brownie from the dessert table without asking their parents.  At least they worked off all that sugar!

2.  TOO MUCH FOOD.  What's new, though.  We always have too much food.  Dave used his new "Man-B-Q" to roast his infamous terriyaki flank steak and it was a huge hit.  We have literally six or seven whole flank steaks leftover.  I see a lot of stir fry in our immediate future. 

3.  I made enough potato salad to feed the state of Rhode Island.  And the strangest thing happened!  I made the potato salad Friday afternoon and put it in my biggest stainless steel bowl in the fridge.  Because I find it works better, I covered the bowl with aluminum foil instead of saran wrap.  When I pulled the bowl out again, the potato salad had EATEN THROUGH the foil in several spots, leaving a weird metal discharge on top of the food under the holes.  Tana helped me scoop them out before we served it, but has that ever happened to you?  My guess is that it was some weird chemical reaction.

4.  Too much beer, not enough liquor.  Instead of spending the evening running the bar, I decided to prepare several different cocktails in advance and then let people serve themselves:

The raspberry lemon drops went first, followed by the Caipirinha (my favorite).  The only thing left at the end of the night was a few shots of appletini.  In hindsight, I probably should've had enough on hand to restock everything as it ran out.  I also had a personal alcohol-related epiphany: I like Rum WAY better than Vodka.  Bacardi Limon is my new best friend.

Not that I drank that much!  I actually drank less than I thought I would.  I was too busy chatting to get refills.

5.  Name tags?  Yes or no?  I decided against using them last night, but I'm not sure that was the right decision.  Naturally, I knew everyone there, but as the night wore on, I forgot to continue making introductions, which is probably my most important job as hostess. 

6.  Things noticeably missing from the festivities: MUSIC and HEAT.  Dave and I spent a while trying to compile some CD's to play during the party, but nothing I burned on my computer would work in the Bose we borrowed from Carol and I ran out of time to pull our CD's out of the boxes in the garage.  Not that Dave and I were able to AGREE on the music.  According to him, virtually every song I like (which, frankly, is MOST SONGS), is "lame".  It would've been nice, though, to have had some party music playing while we partied.

In spite of some of the best weather we've had all season, it got cold as the sun went down.  I'd love to someday find the cash to invest in a couple of those patio heaters.  We love our yard and I know I would spend a lot more time out there if I didn't get chilly so easily.  As it was, I spent most of the party in the kitchen and I think I sat down outside only a couple of times (to eat!).

Overall, everything went well and I loved every minute of it.  I'm sure I'll remember more soon.

Comments

[BethanyWD]

Congrats on your first year in the beautiful state of Washington! Here's the many, many more happy ones.

[Rachael]

It sounds like an amazing time! I am really jealous because I would like to have some teriyaki steak and Passionfruit Mojito. Right now! Congrats on your first year in Washington, I'm glad it didn't decide to rain on your party despite the evening chilliness.

[Julie]

I want to come to a party at your house! I'll bring the Bacardi Limon.

We had a bounce house for Tacy's fourth birthday, and I said the same thing: better than a babysitter!

['Tree']

Happy One Year!

Sounds like a great time was had by all - even the hostess - and that rarely happens.

And teriyaki flank steak - Dave absolutely must share that recipe with the rest of us Washingtonians!

[Henny Penny]

Sounds like a fabulous party. We did nametags at my sons birthday and I couldn't tell whether it helped the grownups mingle or not. It did make it easier on the museum staff to know which kids belonged to our party.

[Sheryl]

You're an at-home mom. You've been there only a year and you have enough friends to throw a big party! HOW did you meet people? Seriously, I need help! You MUST (please!) tell me your secret!

[Rhi]

I'm glad we had such a beautiful weekend here for your party! And, just so you know, I'm seriously considering having my 30th birthday at Inflatable Kingdom. I love bounce houses.