Party People, Inc.

With the back to school shopping out of the way, we decided to make the most of our last "Summer" weekend. Knowing that the first few weeks of the school year tend to be chaotic for us and all of our friends with kids, we thought it would be fun host a Farewell to Summer pool party and BBQ so we could see all of our friends before the insanity struck.Plus while bidding Summer farewell, it would be the perfect opportunity to welcome the two newest members of our local gang, Kelly & Brad. As an added bonus and "party favor" for the adults, hours upon hours of swimming with their friends would surely result in an early bedtime for the kids. It was decided. A party was definitely in order!Before the crowd arrived, we decided to make the most of Brad's fancy cameras and lens and snapped a few family pictures. Luckily, Brad was happy to assume the role of party photographer on top of all the other hats he was wearing that day, primarily grill master and head chef. Oh how great it is to have friends with legitimate culinary skills and an entertainment industry background!We instructed our guests to simply arrive armed with their best summer stories to share, but they didn't listen. As a result, we had the best assortment of party foods that one could hope for! The buffet had a Caribbean theme and featured Nguyen's "famous" coconut shrimp, Brad's jerk chicken, and a slider bar complimented with an exotic assortment of toppings. Throw in a variety of side dishes, salads, and some of my friend Lacey's TO-DIE-FOR CUPCAKES & and you've got heaven in an edible form!I'll admit that as Anh and I sat down to write out a guest list for the party, we suspected there was a good possibility that some of the crew wouldn't be able to make it. We're all prone to procrastination at times and a party invitation would surely be trumped by the need to actually prepare for the start of the school year. So Anh and I decided to invite ALL of our friends hoping that at least half might be able to make it. Well, what we didn't account for was that we're friends with these people for a reason. We think alike! Everyone (for the most part) is type-A and on the ball. The school preparations were long done & people were ready to party! EVERYONE made it which was great because we live by a The-More-The-Merrier motto.The adults sipped on ice-cold refreshing beverages and stuffed ourselves silly with food as the kids splashed away in the pool. It really was the perfect afternoon!It made me wish we had hosted more pool parties throughout the summer. Oh well, we'll be more on the ball next year! It is a lot of work due to my perfectionist mentality, but the reward is so worth it. We've been blessed with numerous good friends and due to busy lives and schedules, it's hard to see each other as often as we'd all like. A party is the perfect opportunity to slow down and enjoy everyone's company.The kids probably couldn't have agreed more. Music, laughter, and joyful screaming filled the air. I feel sorry for any golfers trying to tee off on the 11th hole behind our house. Their concentration skills were surely tested that afternoon!Baylor eventually tired of the water after a couple of hours and convinced his posse to follow him inside to play, but Jaxon had to be lured out of the water after FIVE hours of swimming, splashing, diving, cannon-balling, and sliding into the pool! Where the energy comes from, I have no idea!The sun was no longer directly overhead and slowly some of our guests started to make their exit and return to the reality at hand. We all knew that in a few mere hours our current jubilant festive moods would be replaced by stressful clock-watching as we scrambled to get our kiddos up, dressed, fed, and out the door to start another wonderful year of educational adventures. Of course, some of us continued to live in a world of denial and the party continued. Ha!By 6 o'clock, there was no denying our future. The kids were wrangled from the pool, and we bid farewell to our final guests and what was truly an amazing summer. While I'd normally feel a bit of sadness and remorse for not savoring the carefree and schedule-less days, I now know that Fall is pure madness. We have the school day and tennis and golf and Cub Scouts and events and parties to fill our schedules and lives to the point of exhaustion. So you see, there was no time to reminisce about our wonderful summer adventures. We had to get ready for all that future fun. I say, "Bring it on!" We're ready!