3rd Annual Party in the Woods: Summer 2018

Several years ago I mentioned that I thought it would be fun to a have an annual party in the woods, inviting our friends and family and neighbors for an evening of fun and community. Some of you may know this but when I was in grad school my nickname was "Jackie" because I loved to host get-togethers and parties and have people over all the time. It was pretty typical every weekend gathering for a big group of us to be at our apartment and it was so much fun. There was a huge group of us that used to hang out and the fun we had with gatherings at that time still makes me smile. 

SO over the last several years we talked about it and logistically tried to plan it and and held our first one in 2016, celebrated my parents 48th wedding anniversary at last year's gathering, and this year decided to just have a theme of summer fun. Now some of you are probably thinking that I like to have a gathering full of people as much as I like the lights... but it's not true. *smiles* But y'all... the lights do make everything more lovely don't they? *hahaha*!

No... in reality... this little heart of mine that loves having people around and deep community, is already looking forward to the 4th Annual Party in the Woods next year (save the date- it's Saturday, August 10th y'all!). 

Once again we were blessed with perfect weather which was an absolute gift. Just like last year and the year before that the weather forecast was for rain and storms and it went right past us. It was such a blessing! 

It was a lovely evening with lots of laughter and lots of love and joy. Due to a variety of circumstances and personal reasons some people had to cancel at the last minute and our hearts were with each of you going through some serious things. We missed those of you that couldn't make it and we can't wait to see you next year for the 4th Annual Party in the Woods. It will be exciting to see what we will be celebrating in a year (Yes, mom and dad's 50th is on the agenda but you know them- they don't want to be the sole focus!) 

Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun! I realized in looking at these pictures that I only captured about 1/2 of the people who were here! That is what happens when you are having a ton of fun- you are definitely in the moment, forgetting to take pictures! 

I shared on instagram a quote that I read last year... it said, "The summer night is like a perfection of thought." That was definitely true of this evening. Thank you again for a wonderful evening y'all. It was so incredibly special! Remember: save the date for Saturday, August 10th! See you next year!