2008 Neighborhood HOA Barbeque
This annual neighborhood barbeque was held this evening. We alternate locations for the BBQ between the "west side" of the neighborhood and the "east side" of the neighborhood. This year it fell to the "east side" properties to host the event, e.g. roll out our grills from our back yards to the street. I usually take quite a bit of pictures at these events for the benefit of everyone else, but I was busy on the grill and forgot to take pictures like I had planned. However, Kristy snapped a few pictures, including this one of Olivia after she had eating a handful of Doritos.

Overall, the event was a success, though several longtime residents were unable to attend... much to our collective disappointment. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence or not, but those that did not attend were the residents that have older kids (or no kids). The rest of us enjoyed a good time and the kids had an especially good time. We have had 4 homes recently turnover in ownership (well, within the last 18 months anyway) and all 4 of the new owners have younger kids and the parents by and large are the same age as Kristy and myself.

Since the party was held in the cul-de-sac right in front of our house, we were asked to provide tours of the new attic and deck to several of our neighbors. That was a lot of fun since many of them have the same exact (or very similar) floor plan that we once had. The attic is impressive (if I don't mind saying so myself) and so the tours were all very well received.

(Update Tue Sep 16 16:24:59 PDT 2008 // fixed several spelling errors)

2008 Neighborhood HOA Barbeque
We held our annual neighborhood barbeque this evening. Like last year, we held it on the first Saturday after Labor Day. It is an ideal time for the activity. This year we had 15 of the 16 families in our neighborhood attend. Our best attendance yet.

The kids had a great time. I am including a few sample pictures below. Of particular note is the one that includes Eliana and the rest of the girls in the neighborhood... quite a group! And look how pretty she is with her shy little pose. I wish she would pose like that for all of our family pictures!

Berkeley spent most of the evening playing with a scooter he found in a nearby driveway. He pushed himself up and down the street several times. It was fun to watch him enjoy the scooter. Might make a nice Christmas gift (that's a hint for any grandmothers reading this).

2006 Neighborhood HOA Barbeque
The yearly neighborhood barbeque was this evening in the cul-de-sac right in front of our house. I spent most of the day getting ready for the party. I wheeled out our ping pong table into the driveway and did a bit more tidying in the garage so that people could play darts obstruction-free if desired. I wheeled around our grill, set up some exterior music, and then assisted with another HOA board member setting up tables and chairs.

The party went well. Fortunately, we live in a very friendly neighborhood; a tight group of just 16 homes. Of those 16, probably 11 were represented... which is a pretty good showing. There is not much turnover in the neighborhood, so everyone knows most everyone else on a first name basis. Many (like ourselves) are original owners. So the party atmosphere was very cozy and carefree.

Berkeley and Eliana had a good time. Many of the kids that are the same age entertained themselves by riding bikes around the cul-de-sac. I snapped pictures of the event, but they are stashed behind a restricted portion of the HOA website. However, I can share a couple of pictures I took of the kids (click to enlarge):

Good times.