Sunday, July 30, 2017

Our Backyard Anniversary Party Was Fabulous


Yesterday was the big day. Our backyard anniversary party. After a stressful week and multiple curveballs, it ended up being a fantastic day. No rain. Overcast skies. Cool temperatures. Dry grass. We couldn't have asked for a better day weatherwise.

Lisa and I got up early and tackled the last few items on our party to-do list. Precook some of the meat. Marinate the rest. A bit of housework. Dishes. Extend the kitchen table and move horizontally. Tie the balloons to the backyard fence. Set up the canopies and non-alcoholic drink station. Arrange the chairs.

We remained on schedule the entire day. I even had time to polish my finger and toe nails. 

About an hour before the party started, our friend Carolyn stopped over. I was under the impression that she was coming to the party, but unfortunately, her senior pup wasn't feeling well. She wasn't able to make it, however, she stopped by to give Lisa and me one of the most beautiful bouquets of flowers. We were both speechless.


The incredible Jonny Debi arrived early to set up and he played a few songs while we were setting up in the backyard. We discovered this talented soul at the Annual Spring Festival and Craft Show we had participated in on May 20th. He was one of the musical guests.

When Lisa and I started planning our backyard anniversary party, we wanted someone to perform live. At our wedding, 5 years ago, we hired Justin Jaymes. He's a New Hampshire native and very popular. Our wedding was in New Hampshire at my brother's house.

For the backyard anniversary party, we wanted someone local. I reached out to the coordinator of the Annual Spring Festival and Craft Show. Within an hour I found Jonny Debit on Facebook and sent him a friend request. The rest, as they say, is history.

He put on an amazing performance. All of our guests were impressed. Lisa and I were impressed. He's exceptionally talented and he's going to be a rising star in the months ahead. We'll definitely be hiring him in the future when we host backyard parties in the future.


After Jonny Debit's first hour of playing, he took a break. Jonny turned over the microphone to me. I made a special tribute to Rick who was with us yesterday because of a life-saving kidney and liver transplant back in June.

I also introduced our special guest, Tabatha. We haven't seen her in 5 years and 2 days. On our wedding day. She's the beautiful woman who married us. It was wonderful to see her and both Lisa and I got teary eyed when she read her speech.

When Tabatha was done with her speech, it was time for door prizes. The day before, I used a round cake pan, both heart and round, to make homemade chocolate chip cookies. I wrapped them and tied with ribbon. I also made 2 goody baskets. We also included a few DIY Dog Mom Projects we had made over the past few months. In total, we had 10 door prizes.

Shortly after, we sliced the cake that was made for us. Our neighbor friend Nancy had her friend make it for us. It was one of the best cakes I've ever had in my life.

By 10 p.m., most of the guests had left. The ones who were still here joined us for a back yard fire. We sipped adult beverages, enjoyed great conversation, and had some laughs. It was 1:10 a.m. when the last of our guests went home.

Lisa and I were exhausted. We cleaned up a bit and then headed to bed. Neither one of us remembers our heads hitting the pillow.

Today, with the help of our neighbor friends, we cleaned up the back yard. Lisa and I took care of cleaning the kitchen and putting everything back in order.

We had no ambition, but we got it all done.

Exhale.


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