July Fourth Party at Louie and Cece's

When we were gadding about in Cleveland County over the Fourth of July weekend, we attended a party hosted by my niece and her husband, Cece and Louie at their lovely home on Chatfield Rd.  It was a great opportunity to visit with family and friends.

Louie welcoming guests. 

Dan and Andy (my grand nephew).

Cece and Louie's daughter Laura.

Sisters: Kelly and Cece.

 And to have some delicious barbecue prepared by my brother-in-law, Hal.

Barbecue and other delicious food.

The children especially enjoyed the pool, and even the smallest ones were able to float around safely and some of the small ones were already jumping off the diving board.

Brayton enjoying the water.

Cason ready to jump. 

Kristen and Brayton (my great grand nephew).

Cason (my great grand nephew) out of the pool.

What's a party without a game of cornhole?

Thank you Cece and Louie.  We had a marvelous time!

Zach and the Aussies (Part Two): The Aussies in Raleigh

Claire's relatives in Australia were such wonderful hosts to Zach that it was a pleasure to be able to host them recently during their visit to Raleigh.  Michael and Meredith (Zach's Mom and Dad)  hosted a dinner for them---Southern fare: BBQ and hushpuppies with all the trimmings, Jeanette (Claire's Mom) made Smithfield ham rolls, and I baked pies: pumpkin and pecan.

BBQ, hushpuppies and trimmings, real Southern fare.

Jeanette's sister Diane and husband Bob, Diane and Bob's daughter Claire and husband Daniel and their seven-month-old son Lachlan made up the Aussie contingent,  Zach's Claire was named after her cousin Claire.

Back row left to right: Daniel and Uncle Bob  Front row left to right.: Jeanette, Claire, Lachlan, Cousin Claire, Aunt Diane. 

Everyone enjoyed Lachlan who was a good little traveler on this trip.  Grace even brought Briggs, their cat, down from upstairs to meet Lachlan who was fascinated with the feline.  I must say Briggs was pretty patient too.Check out this video of Lachlan meeting Briggs :    Briggs and Lachlan

Zach and Claire with Lachlan.

Michael seemed to be enjoying the evening.

Michael enjoying the party.

Jeanette chatting with Dan

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Uncle Bob and Claire ready for dessert.

Pound cake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie.

Brooks and Aunt Di; Dan and Jeanette in background.

Brooks got home late because of basketball practice, but he got there in time to visit with Aunt Di and to have some dinner---there were plenty of leftovers.

 It was a great party and fun for everyone. And it was especially nice to meet Claire's Aussie relatives.

Zach's Graduation and Bon Voyage Party

Grandson Zach graduates on the 10th of June and leaves for Australia on the 15th, so we had a little family party here on June 3 to celebrate both events.

The ten guests were greeted with an Australian flag as they entered the front porch and a sign on the door to set the mood for an Aussie-themed party.

National flag of Australia.

Welcome to the Outback sign on door.

When Marcia and I were over at Southern Season the other week, I found some pretty lime green and some yellow paper plates so I used a green, yellow, melon color scheme.  I made this party as easy as possible---had barbecue and all the trimmings catered by Cooper's Barbecue---and used disposable plates, cups, and napkins.

"Green" table in dining room.

My friend Helen who is an avid scrapbooker made the little kangaroos attached to the cups that served as place cards. 

That left just the dessert for me to make and I made macadamia nut, chocolate chip cookies (Macadamia nuts are native to Australia.).  Dan prepared a fruit salad of cantaloupe and kiwi which matched the color scheme perfectly.

Macadamia nut, chocolate chip cookies.

Fruit bowl of cantaloupe and kiwi.

To make preparation even easier, I had flower arrangements prepared by Kelly Odom Florist.  (Kelly and Brian are our neighbors here on Davis Street)  Their floral designs are widely acclaimed, and the arrangements they prepared for this party were stunning.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) in living room.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) for "yellow" table in living room.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) for dining room table.

Dessert table arrangement.(by Kelly Odom).

I gave a quiz to determine the guests knowledge of Australia.  Claire's mother, Jeanette, is a native Aussie, and she helped me check the quiz answers to determine who had the most correct answers.  Michael won first place, a gift certificate to the Outback Restaurant, and Patrick was second and won an Aussie bush hat. 

Gifts of Aussie-style hats were presented to Jeanette, Claire, and Zach for their upcoming trip to Australia.

Jeanette, Zach, and Claire.

Zach and Claire with their Aussie-style hats.

It was a fun party!!!!

Barbecue and More Barbecue

I'm visiting in Cleveland County now.  Cleveland County is known for its great barbecue, but last night there was Q and more Q at the Fairground's Hog Happnin'.  I usually eat barbecue when I'm in Shelby---either Red Bridges or Alston Bridges barbecue. This event allowed me to sample a lot of different barbecue.  My friend PJ, her granddaughter Kristen, and I went over to partake.

PJ and Kristen getting tickets for the tasting.

One of many vendors.

Clever signs of vendors.

Barbecued beef and chicken.

These ribs were delish!

Some of the trophies that one of the vendors had won over the years.

 I think I've had quite enough barbecue for a while.  Probably until I visit Cleveland County again.