Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Today They Came Over

The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it.
 - Author Unknown

Today was Open Yard at our house. It's one of our favorite summer traditions. 


About two weeks ago, I typed up the following invitation:
Hello Lovely Ladies!!

My children and I would like to invite you to an Open Yard at our house. We want to start summer off with a big party, and we'd love to have your come. Our backyard will be open for play on Wednesday, June 13,  from 10am-3pm. Please come at whatever time works best for you. If you will be here at lunch time, pack a lunch for you and yours. Otherwise, we'll have some goodies here as well as something cold to drink. If it's hot outside, we might pull out the squirt guns, so come prepared. We just want to celebrate summer with you and your kiddos. 

Some of you will know each other, and some of you won't. Please see this as a chance to make new friends, hang out with old friends, and relax together. 

Hoping to see you soon!!

I sent it out to a few mommy friends. Then I sent it out to a few more. And then to a few more. By the time I stopped sending invitations, I had lost track of how many people I had invited. I decided that it didn't matter. Those who should be here, would show up.


Today was the big day. I had no idea who to expect or when to expect them. 


The boys and I tidied the house and put a tablecloth on the patio table. I dumped a bunch of snacks in bowls, made a pitcher of lemonade and one of water. I brewed a pot of coffee. Then we waited. 


At about 10:30, our first guests showed up. It was great to see Mommies and Kiddos. Then the next guest showed up. And then the next. The guests kept coming and stayed until 4:30 this afternoon. 


Overall, our yard saw 11 mommies, 23 kiddos, and 4 babies!!!!!!! 

It was such an awesome experience! I got to sit around my patio table with friends today and just spend time with them! I'm trying to paint a word picture that will accurately describe today's event, and I'm falling short. 


11 women - some of whom had never met - from all different stages of life. Some with new babies, others with middle school children. Some all about healthy eating, others just fine with junk food. Some working moms, some stay-at-home. Some raised in the South, others lifelong Yankees. 

What did we have in common today? Just that we are women and moms. And that was enough. 

We made new friends, strengthened existing friendships, and learned from each other. It was great!

The children played pretty happily in the yard. They would come to the patio for snacks or some lemonade and then go back to the swing set or the trampoline. They had a great time playing and making new friends.  

So what's my point? Why do I want you to know about today? 

  1. Because is was so cool! It's totally what I want my house, my yard, and my summer to be about! 
  2. Because it was easy. I put out some munchy snacks from Sams Club and some lemonade. That's it. Very easy to do.
  3. Because I'm richer tonight for the girly interactions I had this morning.
  4. Because I want you to consider doing it too! It doesn't have to be at your house. Invite Mommies to meet you at a local park.
Investing in yourself and your children by opening your home/schedule to other Mommies and Kids pays rich dividends! 

To those ladies who came over today, THANK YOU!  



Covered in Grace

12 comments:

  1. Great day!! I love the simplicity of it! And such a great yard you have. When we left, Joshua said "If we had climbing trees like that in our yard, you would never see me!" :)
    Thanks for being such a gracious hostess -- your laid-back go-with-the-flow is just my style!
    Ps Love your kids - such nice boys!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jess! It was such a treat to have you and your boys here. Wanna come again?

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  2. That is sooo cool! I soo wish we lived close! You sound like a person who I'd love being friends with in real life! So happy everything went well and you all had fun! Blessings!!!

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  3. This is a fantastic idea! I love it and it sounds like it turned out great!!

    How fun would it be if y'all rotated yards?

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    1. It was a good time. I mentioned the idea of moving it to a local park on time. That would be fun too.

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  4. YAY Dawn! You did it... it's still a small party but it's nice to get it going again! I am happy you are my very first guest I hope our party will get big! ;) You rock!

    Paloma.

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    1. Thank you so much, Paloma! I'm so excited :-)

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  5. What a great idea! We actually have a pool and my girls always want to have friends over. This is a great, laid back way to make that happen! Glad you had fun, too!

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    1. Thanks! I would love a pool, but DH isn't on board yet. I'm still holding out hope :-)

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  6. This is a great idea! I am going to set a date and use it myself!
    Michelle

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I would love to hear what you think. And I'll write back. Thanks for making the time to leave me a message.

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