Pictures from the waterslide party

I realized I never posted any other pictures from our neighbourhood party on July 18. It was such a wonderful day! Our neighbour Lynne rented a blow up waterslide (and at the behest of her daughters made sure to get a double one so the kids could race).

The kids got on that thing as soon as humanly possible and continued playing as long as they could. We did call them away a few times to have some lunch. They had made all sorts of things—BBQ chicken, chips and salsa, fruit trays, and a platter of cupcakes that spelled out "WE WILL MISS YOU HEISSES!"

I wouldn't say the kids were reluctant to eat, but they were certainly reluctant to leave the waterslide. 

The party started pretty small, with just our immediate little cul-de-sac family—four of my kids (Miriam was already in Utah, unfortunately), two of Lynne's, and one each from Shell and Janelle—but soon it blossomed into quite the affair as more neighbours trickled in. It was a good and long and hot day—and will probably be a core memory for these kids for a long time. Even the grown ups eventually joined in!

I guess I'm rather beyond words at the moment, feeling rather distraught about leaving this wonderful corner of paradise we've carved out for ourselves. But...adventure calls!

A note to my future self: If at any point you want a picture of all the kids together, we did take one! I just didn't put it here because I was trying to keep little faces off teh interwebs. So just look in your files under July 18.