Block Party!

My in-laws have been visiting for the past week, and it's amazing how quickly time passes! They are able to visit us twice a year, and we haven't been able to travel up to see them because of the difficulty with two little ones. Luckily, in the spring we will be making our first trip north for my brother-in-law's wedding!

While they were here, I was able to throw together a block party. I was lucky enough to be chosen for MorningStar's House Party! This was an awesome excuse to invite old and new neighbors over to the house. They were calling for rain, but it ended up being a gorgeous evening. We set up some games in the backyard, visited with each other, and enjoyed great food.

Everyone pitched in and brought side dishes and desserts. In addition to the MorningStar burgers, we served hot dogs, baked beans, and chips. I also put out fixin's for the burgers. The tomatoes, pickles (recipe coming up, I know some of you have requested it!), and jalapenos were from our vegetable garden. I should have taken a picture of the desserts, too, because my neighbors are awesome and made the best stuff!

This party finally gave me the excuse to use all of my flamingo decorations and paper products from the Dollar Tree. I think I've been holding onto those since we moved down here three years ago! 

I have to add this picture, because the MorningStar burgers are the only reason I was able to host this party! They were really good; my favorite is the tomato & basil pizza burger. Yum!

Here's my brother enjoying the awesome spread. (See the flamingo plate and napkin?! I also had cups to match!!)

The games we put out, in addition to having the play set for the kids, included cornhole (Ryan just built it, and it is his pride and joy!), horseshoes that came from the Target dollar bins, and croquet.

Our guests didn't have to leave empty-handed, either. They got a reusable bag and a coupon for $1 off a MorningStar product. Publix just had their's BOGO and had a store coupon for $1/2, so I told them to hurry on over to get them! I also let them go into my herb garden and cut fresh herbs to take home. We have so much, and I hate to see only us enjoying them.

We had a blast, and most of our guests ended up staying for 4 hours! We have an awesome neighborhood :) Thank you, MorningStar, for giving me an excuse to have this get-together!