Nearing the End

Today is August 24. If you look at a calendar, the 24th is near the end of every month. But in August, it seems to signify more. Not only does the 24th mean it's almost the end of August, but it also means it's almost the end of summer. There is one more week until school starts, until September starts, until things start to go back to a set routine. But before it all ends, we have to party.

It started back in 2005, the first summer we owned our home. We had friends and family over for a big BBQ and yard party to show everyone the house. It was such fun that everyone said we should do it again. So we have, every year since. We invite our friends and family, only asking that everyone bring a dish or treat to share to go along with the provided brats and dogs. By the end of the evening, we have tables full of delicious salads and snacks and yummy treats. We have Walla Walla Ball (aka Ladder Ball) and bean bag toss tournaments. We have a bon-fire. We have a ton of kids running and playing. It's So. Much. Fun

This past weekend we hosted our 4th annual End of Summer Party. The weather was a perfect 75 and sunny. People started showing up about 3:15 Saturday afternoon and the last people left about 11:15 yesterday morning. Yep, some people set up their tents or campers in the front yard. We'd rather them camp out than attempt to drive home when they are not fully capable. And really, we don't care. They are our family and friends. We love having them here. That's why we host this party.

Andy and I are always curious how many people show up--it's crazy and we're simply unable to talk for long with everyone that's there. Andy may get to talk with someone for 20 minutes, while I can only wave hello to them from across the yard. Some people pop in and leave 30 mins later; other people are there for the whole time. We sat down yesterday afternoon and thought of everyone that was there. Including kids, we came up with 91 people. That's who we remember, so it may be more than that. We LOVE it. There is nothing like being surrounded by family and friends.

So to those of you who came--Thanks for making it a great night! To those of you who couldn't come--Hope to see you next year! And to all of you--Thanks so much for being our friends and family! You all mean so much to us!

A handful of the kids, playing on our newly-added-onto swingset

This is Chief, Andy's old co-worker. He's like a surrogate Grampa to us all and we love him dearly (that's who we named our horse Chief after!) He has been telling this joke for years and though we've heard it a million times, it's still funny. And probably, no one else could tell it but Chief. It's his thing. This year, I finally got it on video. There is some language in the joke, but it's "not a really bad word, just a bad-bad one" as Alayna says.