Block Party!!

So Kristoffer and I hosted our FIRST ever block party this past Saturday night!  I've been wanting to do one for a while, and Kris was simultaneously looking for a ward missionary/community fellowship opportunity, so we both landed on this block party. 

 It actually turned out way better than I had thought.  We did some flyers and passed them out about two weeks beforehand, asking people to RSVP if they were coming.  I got one RSVP a week before, and then two more the day before the party.  I was getting a little ticked at the lack of community cohesion at that point, and was planning a stoic revolt, complete with passing out flyers with a bright red CANCELLED on the front "due to lack of community response and interest.".  I talked myself out of this obviously and we went ahead with the party.

We had planned to have our 4 ward missionaries there ahead of time, just to make it seem less awkward, and it worked out really wonderfully.  Just note, this wasn't a come-and-be-converted kind of thing, we just wanted to bring community and church together in a fun, relaxing way.

Everyone was asked to bring their own meat to grill and a dish to share.  This lessened the cost for us considerably, and we just provided the drinks, the grill, some chairs and a little bonfire.

I wish I was able to get more pictures, but I was having way too much fun!

 

 Marin washing her hands at the spigot after some sticky roasted marshmallows.

All in all, I think about 7 families showed up from the two streets we invited.  Truthfully, a little lame, and I'm still underwhelmed at the lack of response we received, but I am totally grateful we had the people come who DID come.  It was so nice to meet people and chat and have a relaxed evening with a little buzz and excitement in our own backyard.  We'll have to do another one next year, and get a better turnout!