the first annual higgins 4th of july hoopla took place 10 days ago. it seems like ages ago and though we had a fabulous time i am afraid my retelling of it will not be quite as good as the bacchanal it's been built up to be.as with any good party the picture above is only picture taken of the beginning. i had my camera out and really, really meant to take at least one picture of every guest as they arrived and some of everyone enjoying the music, the food and the lawn games. however, it just didn't happen. when you are the host taking photos is the last thing you feel that you can devote time to. afterall, there are drinks to be refilled, people to introduce and napkins to fetch. in fact, the only photos there are of the whole event are few and far between and 95% of those are of kyle. (i'll let jess explain that one.) you'll just have to take my word for it...it was a F-U-N day.
we had about 30 people in all. family, NJ friends and PA friends all joined together to make it a great day. we played boccie ball, polish horseshoes (i think ryan's cousins dan & joey invented this) and cornhole. cornhole, the most in demand game of the day, is so much fun that i plan on having ryan build us our very own cornhole platform. tia and rob (both super competitive and wearing sox & yankees hats respectively) held their position on the cornhole field for what seemed like hours. in fact, i think they won so many times that participation rates began dropping!!!
my dad manned the grill with great expertise and everyone chowed down on burgers and brats, keilbasa, chips, and pasta salads until there was almost nothing left. after all the eating was done lucy combed every square inch of the lawn for lost tidbits and might've even been successful a few times.
as night drew closer the real fun began. we made kyle, lindsey's man, repeat some stories he'd told us about a coach he once worked with that sounded like a real character. shawn mckinney tried an unsuccessful sail from wil's swing to the roof of our house (see video below). shawn & tia supplied the moonshine (yes, you read correctly, real moonshine from the hills of kentucky: peach, apple pie and regular, aka turpentine) and we passed it around until it was gone. everyone except my mom who had hers in a glass like wine. classy.
listening to kyle tell a story
tia breaks it down
lou & kylewe had a wonderful time. there was so much laughter that it made your sides ache. it was the first really great time of our summer and we are so grateful to everyone that came to help us relax, recover and celebrate life.
celebrating life (emily...this one's for you)oh, and yes, there WAS an RV parked out front all weekend. so, that adds a little mystery don't you think.
