Once again, I'm so grateful for our wonderful neighbors and the family friendships we are fostering. Right now, there is a core of four families on our block who are pretty consistent about organizing get togethers and it is always a fantastic time!

This time, the idea was a backyard movie with a potluck dinner. My friend, Kate, has an amazing backyard for just such a venue which is awesome since the whole movie night was her idea!

She arranged seating throughout and of course, the kids immediately flocked to their play gym.

I was mildly alarmed at the load they were applying to the structure, but thankfully, they weren't up there all at once too long. 

We have had a very mild summer so far, with only a few days hitting the mid-80's, and this particular evening it was downright chilly. 

Here are the Chase boys. Such great men.

From left to right: Mike, Kyle (holding Wilder), Dylan (crouched on the ground by his Dad), Andy and Skip.  These are some wonderful fathers and husbands and we Chase ladies are so proud of them.

They were plotting a Sunday fishing trip on Lake Michigan in this photo. They were pretty giddy. You can't take the boy out of the man. And that's a good thing.

It was such an easy, comfortable time with our friends. The party was the day before August's birthday, so I contributed a chocolate cake and watermelon. The kids (as you can see in the photo), pounced on the watermelon immediately. So while our kids played and munched, we just talked and enjoyed each other.

Kate set up a drinks table and to the right by the pavers is where the movie was to be shown.

Pretty nifty! 

Brooklyn, August and Dorien always find themselves together even amid crowds of other kids. Makes me proud.

Ok, so I was introduced to a seriously delicious drink - brewed by a Wisconsin company. New Glarus Brewing Co. So this Raspberry Tart Ale is something I'd never had before, but it rocked my world. Amazing.

The kids decided to eat like Romans and stretched out on their bellies to dig into their plates. 

Speaking of plates, the other amazing thing about our group is the quality of food. It's gourmet every time. We had a variety of foods, from a roasted gazpacho soup, caprese paninis, pasta salad, arugula salad, a couscous-chickpea salad, a shrimp and vegetable panzanella...it was unbelievably delicious. Not your average potluck, for sure. Two of the four families are vegetarian, so that always makes the food choices even better!

Sorry about the horrible moment I caught Wyeth, but it was too cute to see him eating by himself.

Dorien and Keira used some stumps under the cherry tree as their dining tables.

My handsome son, August, considers his delicious cake (Gone to Glory Chocolate Cake) before blowing out his candles.

Happy Birthday, August!

Almost time for the movie to start! When will that sun set?

At last! Andy set up the projector and they watched the movie, Sing!

Our sweet kiddos. 

Hi mom!

The later it got, the colder it got, and blankets were needed. I had to peek in on the movie, too, as I've only seen bits of it. Pretty cute movie!

Meanwhile, Kate and Andy moved the bigger chairs around a fire pit and had some grown-up time. I love her string of fairy lights!! It was a truly magical evening!

Kyle and I took turns holding Wilder who fell asleep on us. We brought a too-large sweatshirt and put it on him and it served as pretty nice blanket.

Wilder, Kyle and me. 

It was a wonderful night, we stayed up pretty late and I was thankful that none of us had to get up early the next day (Monday) as it was August's birthday.

Summer with my neighbors....it's delightful.