Walnut Grove Neighborhood Party Revival And Then A Reception And A Relief Society Social

Last Monday, we resumed our neighborhood party in the 850 W. cul-de-sac.  I think we started back in 2012 or 2013 with a break while we were on our missions.  Neighbors were excited to start the tradition back.

Although the weather had been running hot, we lucked out to have complete cloud cover by 6:30 when the party started so it made for a very comfortable evening.  The adults gathered for conversations including some of our newer neighbors which was awesome and we "revived" the paper rockets as well which were a big hit as always.

Gary pulled down our signs so we could
make new ones to post the day of the event, but
discovered they were already exactly right.
So we "revived" our old signs as well.
Treats and Rockets at 6:30

Getting set up for the evening

The city told us years ago that we could block off a street for a gathering if everyone on the street agreed and if things could be quickly moved in case of emergencies like medical or fire...so no bounce houses and stuff like that.  We haven't asked since then, just check with the neighbors every year.  No tickets yet.

This is Spence and little Cooper Tholen who are new to our neighborhood.  Cooper was sure because of the sound of the compressor, but once he saw his rocket take off after he pushed the button he was sold on it.  He would run so fast down the street after his rocket and then come back to shoot it again.  His mom said that he was still talking about it every day last week.

We didn't have as many people as we have had in the past, but our own kids are growing up and moving out in lots of the homes in our area.  We are getting a few young families but still we are an older neighborhood at the moment.  The treats were all amazing and the conversation was great.

It is good to belong to a neighborhood and to build relationships with those you live near to.  It was good even though Gary and I were busier with the mechanics of it rather than just having conversations.

Tuesday, we attend the wedding reception for Ryan Miggins.  He is the same age as Jena so he grew up here with us, so many of the ward members were also at the reception.  More time for conversations...

And no pictures from the Relief Society Summer Salad Social at Michelle's house, but it was also a good time for talking and connecting. Met a few new people and heard some fun stories and enjoyed being with others from our ward.

And more socializing coming up......it was all good.  Just part of the fabric of our lives which we have missed as we have been gone (not that we didn't love serving missions and there was a different kind of socializing there for sure.  Just different.)