The Nyes...They Sure Know How To Throw A Party!

They do it every year and have done for years. We've attended some, but not all of their parties. And we're the poorer for it--especially since they seem to outdo themselves each year. Tonight we decided to take a short walk down one street, down another, and down another still until we reached the gathering. And what a gathering it was.

They Nyes live in our neighborhood and they're the ones who put on the event. They try--and succeed--to make sure there's something for everyone, a waterslide for the kids (and adventurous non-kids...), a snow cone shack, hula dancers, fire dancers, and great tunes. They even had a big screen TV broadcasting the BYU-Utah football game, if you're into that sort of thing.

And they don't ask for anything other than the cooperation of the neighbors (they shut down the street...) and for us to attend. I looked around at friends and neighbors and everyone was having a great time, but I don't think anyone had more fun than the couple who made it all happen.

Thank you to our wonderful friends for doing something selfless for all of us! It really means a lot. And next year, we'll see how you can top this one--it's going to be tough.

Block Party...

About two dozen neighbors gathered tonight to eat, chat, and get to know each other better. And I'd say we accomplished all three. Tonight was one of those events where you come away thinking, "We should do this more often."

So why don't we?

That's a great question. We're connected by location. When it snows or rains, we're all affected. We shop at the same stores, for the most part. Many of us attend the same church meetings. We all have to endure the same broken traffic light sensors at the intersection of State and Main. And when the power goes out at our house, there's a good chance it is out at their homes as well.

Of course, we're all different people. The dynamics between families can vary as as much as possible--it can even vary between family members themselves. I asked myself as I filled my plate with delicious food and walked among my neighbors that if my family needed something, I could count on these people to help us out. Likewise, I feel we would do the same for them.

A million things had to happen for us to be standing in my neighbor's driveway introducing our families to each other. One lost job, or one missed phone call, or one unsaid suggestion and an entire family might not be there, replaced by someone else.

That didn't happen so I believe there's a reason we all live within shouting distance of each other. As who what those reasons are, exactly, I have no idea, except to say, I'm glad it happened. You know, we really should do this more often.

The Neighborhood Block Party...

We've done them from time to time, and each time we've participated, we've had a great time. This year's gathering was earlier in the year than most. One time we had to meet inside our neighbor's house because it was storming outside.

Last night we decided to get together and have another block party. It was organized by the Browns. Yesterday was so crazy for our family (see yesterday's post...) that we weren't able to do all the things the Browns had suggested we do, like decorate our bicycles. To me, this bike has an Italian theme...

We played a few games, like pass around the water balloon before a timer pops the balloon inside the plastic shell and gets whoever is holding the shell when the balloon pops all wet. It was a lot of fun.

Still, I think the best part of the evening wasn't the delicious treats (they were really good...), or the White Elephant gift exchange (I got a new desk lamp...), it was just sitting outside on a perfect Autumn evening enjoying each others company.

The sun set and the mosquitoes told us it was time to break up the party. I had so much fun I forgot that I had scheduled a phone interview for my podcast (sorry Braden...). But, that's the danger of having a neighborhood block party with such wonderful neighbors.