The Fourth Annual Americana Porch Party

It seems as soon as one year's party ends my mind goes to the next year's party.

I'm already thinking about centerpieces and outfits for next year.

How do we make it better?

I may say it every year but I think this year was the best year yet.

The porch looked great as always.

We had our biggest group yet this year.

38!

Andrew says we are shooting for 50 next year.

In order for you to truly appreciate the growth, let's take a look back...

First Annual...2014

Second Annual...2015...in the rain

Third Annual...2016



And the Fourth Annual...2017


I love having these group pictures every year.  It's fun to watch new family members and friends join us.  


The group photo starts the party...


It was time to eat.

A huge shout out to Carl for providing all the meat...he smoked turkey, pastrami, and pork tenderloin.  I sampled it all and it was all AMAZING...and I don't even like pastrami. :)


As people were waiting to eat or finish up their lunch we snapped a few more fun pictures.

I shared the camera with Uncle Kevin.  It made me smile when I started going through pictures.  I think he captured his heart...

The Annual Porch Party brings with it the celebration of two very special people.  We love getting to celebrate Jayna & Jessica's birthdays.

Photographed and well fed, it was time for yard games.

Andrew outdid himself this year with yard games.

Whatever your favorite yard game may be, I'm sure we had it set up.

This is  easily one of my favorites from the day.  This is my niece Kandace.  I was just looking at her thinking about how tall, how pretty, and how sweet she is!

 Deep concentration before she throws...

Yes...Andrew and I changed outfits this year...we were too fancy for yard games.  Picking out our outfits is one of my favorite things about this party.  We have fun with it.

2014

2015

2016


2017



Andrew and I love this party.  But I will say we do not do this by ourselves.  My kitchen is full of women (and a few men) the entire time helping prepare the meal and clean up after the meal.  There are men moving about everywhere setting up tables and chairs, yard games, and any other last minute things.  We are so thankful for all the help.



And we don't have any pictures but my favorite part of this party is preparing care packages for soldiers who are out there fighting for our freedom and are away from their families.  The biggest sacrifice!  Everyone brings items and we fill as many boxes as we can.  I'm glad Andrew started this tradition the first year.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was such a fun one.

Andrew and I have spent the past four days with family and friends.

It could not have been more perfect.

Saturday afternoon we loaded up and headed out on The Liberty Belle.

We met up with some friends, Thomas and Jennifer and their eight kids.

I loved having kids on the boat.

One of their boys, G, ran a continuous loop all afternoon.  He would climb up on top of the boat, jump off, and then do it again.

A few weeks ago Andrew bought a new grill for the boat and we were excited to try it out.

Boat food is always the most delicious food you'll ever have.

Sunday afternoon brought family for some lake time.  

We were on the water until 10 PM.

It's just so beautiful and peaceful out there.

We were back on the water Monday with even more family.

When we closed the boat up Monday afternoon, it was a little sad knowing we wouldn't be back out there the next day.

I'm not sure any of us were ready to leave the water, but we had to get home for our Third Annual Americana Porch Party.

I have to admit I was little discouraged about this party a week ago.  It seemed as if no one was coming and things just weren't coming together.

So silly to stress.

Everything came together and we ended up having our largest group yet.

Andrew and I love hosting this party.  We pretty much start planning the next one as soon as one ends.  One of our favorite parts to plan is our outfits.  

I actually bought a dress last summer that I planned to wear this year.

And then I bought a romper a few months ago that I planned to wear.

And then a few weeks ago I found some presidential shirts which led to me wearing a Reagan/Bush shirt.  

Andrew of course had to have an losing candidate.  

He stands out in the group picture.  He's been looking for a way to bring in yellow since the first year.

This is the one time of year he doesn't mind us purposely coordinating our outfits.

I love it.

2016

2015                                                      2014

It's all fun, but it's all possible because of the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day.  Thank you to the men and women who have served and are serving our country.  There is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one's life.  Only two have done this.  Jesus Christ laid down his life so that I can have the promise of eternal life.  The American soldier laid down his life so that I can live in a free country.  

Thank you to the families of those who have served and who are serving our country.  Your sacrifice doesn't go unnoticed. 

And just when I thought all the family fun was over, we got to have dinner with family Tuesday night, including Cary.  We missed getting to see our other Carolina Weavers.