The Party's Over

Our party today went wonderfully. Because we had finished our preparatory tasks, particularly the making of dinner, well in advance of the first arrivals, it was a little easier to breathe. Personal highlights included the following:

• Watching all the kids ride their bikes
• Kim's risotto
• Laura's hummus
• Taking a break with Jesse Gill in the backyard
• Getting attacked by the fearsome foursome
• My wife's "Chicago" green ensemble
• Carlos making his hippo say, "Don't look at me!"
• Etienne and Alice fixating on each other
• Sarah's orange skirt
• Talking to Aurelie about her book
• Laura's delightful friend Scott
• Partially overhearing Eric's various sofa conversations
• Olivier's French-inflected anarchist prouncements
• Nana's ability to chat to anyone about anything
• Reed talking about the NBA playoffs
• Sean not knowing whether he needed to dress fabulously
• Lina's bemused expression watching her husband frolic with the youngsters
• Skylar handing out "gifts" to the adults in the front room
• Joanna's post-hooding look of relief
• Papa stopping by to see Kim's garden
• Hannah overcoming her fear to ride her slightly-too-big bicycle with the help of her stalwart dad Gill,
• Beth coming outside to hang with the rest of the mothers
• Natasha's dip
• Yuanyuan noting how rapidly children seem to have grown when you don't see them for a few months
• Des's primal drive for toys

It looks like a Critical Mass demonstration, doesn't it?

( See more photos from the party -- with captions! -- by clicking here. )