Summer BBQs

My friend Bekka knows how to throw a party. I mean, this girl can cook and entertain like you wouldn't believe. I was out at dinner with her after her son's T-ball game and we came up with an idea to do Monday night barbecues throughout the summer. We'd invite one or two families we want to get to know better and cook up a good time. We scheduled our first BBQ that night and I got excited because like I said, this gal knows what she's doing.

Over the summer we invited 10 or 11 families and cooked up every kind of meat you can imagine- kalua pork, teriyaki steak kabobs, marinated chicken, ribs, tacos- we didn't grill those but they were still good. We spent evenings in the grass playing cornhole and making acquaintances into closer friends. I feel like I get really comfortable in my little group of friends and I love that these barbecues helped me step outside of that circle.

There was always a cornhole tournament after dinner and we became quite good at it by the end of the summer. For those not in New England cornhole is also known as a bean bag toss. The bags are full of unpopped corn kernels and there are very specific rules for their weight, the distance between the boards and scoring.

The kids usually found water to throw around and Thomas was the target of many a bucket full. On one swelteringly hot evening Bekka had filled a whole tub of water balloons for everyone to toss at each other- that gal is brilliant!

I feel like this idea was so good for us this summer. I got to know so many people I had only ever talked to in passing and really expand my circle of friends. I am sad that the weather is turning colder and we've had to put an end to these barbeques. 

Perhaps we will have to do Chinese food and game nights for the winter months.