Our Memorial Day garden party.

Cement, level, sand, trowel, shovel?

You might look at this picture and wonder, "What on earth does this stuff have to do with a Memorial Day Garden Party!

My husband Jeff who is retired military after 22 years in the Air Force, received this flag and flag pole last fall for his 60th birthday. He raised the flag for the first time on Memorial Day morning.

The United States of America Flag looked beautiful flying high in our front yard. It is a reminder of all the freedoms and One Nation Under GOD, for the many years of war to protect and stand up for our Nation, for all those who have served so faithfully in the Armed Forces, for every State that holds a star in the blue field. We give thanks to God for all the blessings He has bestowed on our USA. Our Garden blocks were laid, our garden planted and the rain was just ending.

The flowers were starting to bloom, lilacs smelt fragrant, and the old wooden cross made by our grandchildren 6 yr's ago had its prominent place in the back center of our garden.

WE THOUGHT IT WAS THE PERFECT TIME TO HAVE A GARDEN PARTY,

AND SO WE DID! Below you can see a nice smoky fire in our fire pit. Actually, we needed it for warmth, it was only 58 degrees that evening.

Everyone was to bring some kind of blooming flower. Here they are. Lilac's, yellow Pansy, a lovely branch from a blooming crab apple tree, some hyacinths and Lilly of the Vally, a peony bud showing a little red, and finally, a big bright yellow happy dandelion. It made a beautiful bouquet for on our serving table.

Our friends enjoyed a fun evening with a lot of laughter, food, games and visiting. Our friends all pitched in with the party by bringing a salad, veg tray, yummy rice crispy bars.

This is the group of us minus two guests who came a little late.

Below is a list I had put together for each guest to find the object listed during our "Garden Walk" Some things were easier to find then others. Everything was out in the open, you just had to be looking at the right place to spot each thing. You can see by all the flower stickers that this guest found quite a few of the 40 items listed.

You just cant, I say, can't have a party and fire pit fire with out roasting marshmallows. Our friend had found some REALLY BIG marshmallows. It was fun and the smores turned out very tasty and gooey.

It was a fun party and maybe next spring we will have to have another. Hot dogs and bratts went over great. We did retreat into the house for the last couple hours since we were all getting a little chilled. Friends are a gift of God, it just seems time goes by so fast and we just don't get together as often as we should. We sure do enjoy our time when we do though.

A LITTLE ADVICE FROM A FRIEND,

#1. Thank God for something

#2. get together with a group of friends

#3 smell a flower

#4 and eat a home roasted hot dog or smore.