End of an Era

I couldn't get it together to do an On a Roll post for this week, so I thought I'd do a quick post about where my energy went instead this weekend.

For the past 3 years Crystal has been on our homeowner's association, and for the past 2 years she was the board president.  This month was her final month on the board, and her last hurrah, a community picnic, was this Saturday.



Checking out the tent the night before the event.





This was my station for the day - the bounce house.  To say it was a popular attraction is an
understatement.Even if I left that spot, little kids would come up to me and ask if they could bounce. 
I literally had to station myself in front of the doorway to keep kids from storming the castle when
we were trying to shut down for the day. I made one kid cry when I said he couldn't bounce
one last time.  I was so glad to see the vendor come back and deflate that thing!




Our police officers came and fitted about 100 kids with new bike helmets. The fire department brought the Safety House trailer and a fire truck, too. They were all very popular with the kids.




No potluck for this picnic! We had the event catered, and it was so popular.
I was actively trying to be good about taking pictures, but I forgot to get pictures of all
the delicious food and our dessert cupcakes.  Hopefully someone else managed to get
some better shots under the tent.



Blue skies, but It was approximately 975 degrees. When they dumped the ice from the beverage
chest at the end of the day, I seriously considered rolling around in it.  But after a cold shower
and some relaxation today, I think we've recuperated enough to face the coming week.

So as you can see, it was a big production. There were a few other volunteers for the event, but Crystal spent a lot of time making sure everything was in place for the big day.  She took a day off to accept all the deliveries and set up of the tents, all the tables and chairs, the port-a-potties and the dumpster.  Then that morning there were so many vendors to coordinate - the caterer, face painter, ballon artist, bounce house, caricature artist, other novelties and the DJ.  She made sure everything was set up in the right place and ready to go when we started at noon. 

While the whole three year board experience was a great learning opportunity, I am so glad it's over for her.  I know Crystal is anxious to just go back to being part of the neighborhood, instead of worrying about all the delinquents and deadbeats that can suck the life energy right out of a volunteer.  It's time to take a break and just annonymously sit on the patio every once in awhile.  Soon we'll be able to walk the dog without getting stopped for complaints about a neighbor's dogs/kids/trash can/lawn ornament.  Can't wait!


I'll be back later this week to wrap up my June kit. I have to say, we're working on getting ready for the July kits and it is definitely one of my favorite kits ever. I finished a few counterfeits for my kit yesterday, and I'm pretty excited about the whole thing.  I'm having a hard time focusing on the end of June waiting to play with it!