WBS Block Party

When we moved, one of the things we liked the most about our new neighborhood was the way it was laid out.  We are in the very back of the larger development, in a loop - think giant cul-de-sac with an island of homes in the middle ;). There is only one way in and out, so we don't get a lot of traffic and it's as though we are our own little town back here.  Plus, almost everyone on the block is a young married couple with young kids, just like us.  Since we plan on being in this house for a loooooong time so we wanted to make sure we met our neighbors and started building friendships with them.   I mean, why not?  We live close and will literally raise our children together....we may as well be friends!  

Dan and I really started talking about organizing a block party for the new 'hood before we even moved in.  Then when we got to know some of the people on either side of us and mentioned the idea to them.  They thought it sound great too!  One of our neighbors  even dubbed Dan the 'Mayor' of the block because we haven't lived here that long, but we have met the most people.  So we couldn't disappoint and finally decided it was time, set the date and passed out flyers to all of our neighbors.  

Saturday night was they 'First Annual' block party and it was a HUGE success!! Most of the neighborhood came.  I think we probably had around 50 people, plus 20-25 kids!!  The kids played really well together too.  We blocked off the street, there was a pool set up, a couple jump houses and we projected a kids movie on the garage door when the sun went down.  The adults ate a little and drank a lot.  Everyone had a great time getting to know each other and have already planned on getting together more often for informal hang outs.  And, I know there are going to be some great Buckeye tailgates this Fall.  It was fun to see everyone else get as excited as we were about it.  We made a Facebook group for the neighborhood that most everyone has joined and is buzzing about the party and what else we can do.

The girls loved every minute of it!  Hannah was being sooooo cute running around playing and flirting with the boys.  That is the only problem - there are only a handful or girls, but a ton of boys! Middle school and high school should be fun for us...  Aly played with her new best friend, Lainey, who lives right across the street and will start kindergarten with her next Fall.   Dan and I got to know a lot of people too. I ended up coming home around 10:30 to put the girls to bed because they were so tired, but Dan stayed and didn't come home until people left at 1am!! 

It is just really cool for us.  For a while we weren't even sure if things would work out for us to get this house.  We wondered if we were even doing the right thing trying to sell in this market, then I got a job teaching in Gahanna and after a lot of frustrating showings our old house finally sold...just days before our contract deadline with Westport.  We feel like we have really been placed in this neighborhood for a reason.  After all, Dan was appointed to neighborhood mayor...which make me the first lady ;)  Our hope is that we all, as neighbors, genuinely become good friends and enjoy spending time together.  I am sure it won't all be butterflies and rainbows, but its good to know we are all in this together!  We LOVE our new 'hood!!