High School Parties, All Grown Up

Over the weekend, we cohosted a party with a bunch of my high school friends and their kids. There was no specific reason for the party - back in January, I just started feeling sentimental, so I emailed a bunch of old friends about getting together. Next thing you know, it's May, and the party was actually happening.

My friend Suzanne volunteered her neighborhood beach for the party.

It was perfect. The view from the pier:

The kids spent most of their time on the beach, or in the water,

while the adults camped out in the screened pavilion. It's so nice!

The view from the beach (where I spent a lot of time, watching Dixon in the water):

We set up all the food and the drinks in the pavilion. We brought some wine and a keg (which, thankfully, we returned to the liquor store empty). Everyone brought food- either an app or dessert. And by that, I mean that pretty much everybody brought cheese and crackers or some sort of store-bought Mexican dip. By the time the 5th person opened some sort of Mexican snack, I was laughing. I guess great minds think alike? And like guacamole?

My friend Pat was the exception to the rule (that's him, above, in the blue shirt by the DJ equipment -
he and some friends volunteered to DJ). Pat makes this absolutely amazing fresh salsa.
He brought a giant vat of it to the party - which disappeared crazy quickly:

The party started at 12 and lasted until around 6 - as everyone left, we decided it should be an annual event. It was just so much fun. Thanks in part to a beautiful day and setting, but also because it's so fun to catch up with old friends, and fantastic to watch everybody's kids play together.

Plus, we need an annual reason for Pat to make that salsa.

Though really, once a year isn't nearly enough.