We had a wonderful Labor Day. The weather predictions were for mostly cloudy with the possibility of showers - but it was almost cloudless all day, temperature in the low 70's, no sign of rain, and NO MOSQUITOS. Mitch and Jennifer Neilson brought up the idea of a block party and everyone on SE Sturgeon was for it, so we had a big neighborhood get together at our end of the street. Mitch rented a bounce house which went up around 2 PM at the dead end of the street in front of our house, and tables, food and two BBQ grills magically appeared shortly after.
The Korenthals - Amber, Chris, Isaac and Abigail - came over from Beaverton to join in the fun. Their friends John and Beth Opferman, with Johnny - 4 and Kayla - 2, were supposed to come with them. But, Beth's water broke in the very early AM so John and Beth decided to go to the hospital to have a baby instead of coming to Scappoose, but Johnny and Kayla came with the Korens. After the Korens arrived with the four kids, the kids had a "picnic" lunch on the kitchen floor, then went out front where all four kids took turns driving the jeep, riding bikes, trikes and scooters. Brandon Nielson, Isaac, and Johnny played trains on our garage floor with some of my old O-guage track and a couple of train cars (perfect cars for the kids: White Owl Cigars and Mogen David Wine).
The Korenthals - Amber, Chris, Isaac and Abigail - came over from Beaverton to join in the fun. Their friends John and Beth Opferman, with Johnny - 4 and Kayla - 2, were supposed to come with them. But, Beth's water broke in the very early AM so John and Beth decided to go to the hospital to have a baby instead of coming to Scappoose, but Johnny and Kayla came with the Korens. After the Korens arrived with the four kids, the kids had a "picnic" lunch on the kitchen floor, then went out front where all four kids took turns driving the jeep, riding bikes, trikes and scooters. Brandon Nielson, Isaac, and Johnny played trains on our garage floor with some of my old O-guage track and a couple of train cars (perfect cars for the kids: White Owl Cigars and Mogen David Wine).
By 3 PM the crowd had grown and our lawn and what little of the street was open between the curb and our side of the bounce house was full of chairs and people.
Attending were: from our side of Sturgeon St - DeeDee, Amber, Chris, Isaac, Abigail, Johnny, Kayla and me; Lindsey, Kevin, AJ and Shelby Mitcham; Michelle, Patrick, Kaitlin, Madison and Cassidy Smith; Denise, Jason, and Cameron Pisha; and Keri, Mike, Madalynn, Morgan, and Courtney Hall.
From the other side of Sturgeon St - Becky and Jason Lower; Nate, Eileen and Kaitlyn Kolb; Jennifer, Mitch, Brandon, and Matthew Nielson; and Donna, Greg, and Emily Hutson.
Representing the 8th St neighbors were Jennifer, Nick, Kaitlyn and Jonathan Wood.
And representing the Snowgoose St neighbors were Cheryl, Mike and Lauren Miller.
The food was unending and SOOOOO delicious. I think everyone over ate, I know I did - the most amazing part of the day was that with all the food consumed, that there were no "accidents" in the bounce house, other than occasional head bonking, etc, but nothing that had to be wiped up or cleaned up. A food delivery truck was in the neighborhood dropping off stuff at a couple of the houses. When he saw the group at our end of the street he drove down and handed out ice cream bars to anyone who wanted one (note: I said anyone who wanted one, not needed one - no one needed one), and in return we gave him a big plate of food to eat, so everyone was full and happy. It was a really fun day, with all the kids playing well together and only a few, "he pushed me", "it was my turn", etc, and just a few tears - but no blood, fights, or arguments. With the total number of parents around, everyone got a chance to visit and have fun without having to monitor their kids all the time. For the most part, the bounce house was constantly in use by the kids, although a couple of the BIG BOYS (Kevin and Mitch) figured out how to climb in and really bounced the kids around. A few moms got in also for a few minutes and even DeeDee got in with Abigail for a little while.
The party broke up as it got dark. After coming inside the four little ones had baths and got in to PJs and ready for the ride home to Beaverton. They spent a few minutes settling down by watching the Sprout Channel on the TV.
We are truly blessed with wonderful, caring, and giving neighbors. Dee Dee and I are so happy to be living in our dream house, surrounded by such great neighbors and friends, with family close enough to be here often.
