Melissa's Housewarming Party

Melissa had sent out invitations to all of her friends to show off her new place... I think they ALL showed up! Brittney had the day off and it's a good thing... we needed all the help we could get preparing all of the goodies Melissa planned to serve.

Bruce did the honors of Master BBQer on the new pit Melissa's very good friend Denise and her hubbie had given to her the day before. He did chicken, fajitas and sausage.

The family did the work while Melissa played hostess... welcoming her friends in and showing them around. It was such fun to see her in her circle of friends, laughing and joking around. It was also good to see her pride in ownership... she DID IT!

I was in charge of making sure the food was ready at about the same time. Meat, vegies... all done finally!

And of course, it was my job to make sure we didn't run out of margaritas! This is a task I take very seriously!

Denise and Danny have been Melissa's friends for some years. I have a lot of respect for this very special young couple and I'm glad Mel has them around. Denise also makes a really great pico that I had to try very hard to weasel the recipe for... Danny finally told me the secret ingredient and I didn't believe it!

Another of her long time friends is Elizabeth. She's seen Melissa through thick and thin. It was good to see her again. I heard later that she had been giving Brittney relationship advice and for that too... I thank her.

This advice was much needed as Brittney had invited a friend to the party who wished to be more than just a friend. Brittney needed all the help she could get in finding ways to break this to the guy. Here he is trying his best to ingratiate himself to Bruce.

Melissa finally got around to opening up the gifts... always my favorite part. She got some really cool things but there won't be any problem coming up with a gift list this Christmas. The party was great and the best part about it was that Bruce and I got into our car and drove away when it was over... leaving the cleanup to the kids. Congrats again Melissa!

Oh and it was KETCHUP!