An Islandshire Housewarming and Party!

Trudy here -- bringing you some on-the-spot reporting from the biggest event of the year (so far, anyway)! Since Benny and Nanea moved into their new house, and Eliot and Harriet's cousin came for an extended visit, everyone decided that we needed to have a BIG party! Nanea cleaned the house, and Benny cranked up his grill --- then it was time to let the guests arrive.

Nanea and Benny are ready for the party.

In no time at all, guests started to arrive. They brought food, balloons and everything that makes a fun party! Jill opened up the Fruit Smoothie stand and served free drinks, smoothies and snacks to anyone who came over. The boys set up a campfire and cooked some stuff (mostly just sitting around gabbing), and everyone had a lot of fun. It was sure noisy!

I was on hand to take a lot of photos, so here they go . . .

Click on any photos to see full size.

All kinds of guests showed up at the party, and there was lots to eat, too!

Mateo, Nachito and Harold enjoyed sitting around the campfire, chatting about boy stuff.

Harold brought his own Army rations and mess kit to share some homemade beans.

Masami and Zaida ate a picnic lunch, played with Valentino (the dog) and watch Benny grill kabobs.

Zale arrived in her Scuba gear (because she'd just been doing some experiments underwater), while Vicki and Nancy came in together (Vicki on her nifty scooter).

Just then, Harriet and Eliot showed up with Georgiana (and Eliot's scooter bearing a picnic basket full of homemade Devonshire Cider Cakes and Cornish Pasties. Eliot settled in to tell some stories to the other boys, while I interviewed Georgiana. She was a little shy because of all the people there, but Harriet kept right beside her and introduced her to everyone.

After a little while, Georgiana opened right up and told me all about her tea shop at home in South Carolina, and her family farm there (stay tuned for another article about that).

After the interview was over, Georgiana decided to mingle a little --- besides, everybody was getting hungry. Jill had the Smoothie Shop open, so Georgiana wanted to check that out!

Lauren Elizabeth was getting a smoothie and granola.

Georgiana read through the menu before deciding on some fruit juice and a banana.

There was all kinds of food to pick out over on the table. Everyone had outdone themselves in preparing all sorts of tasty goodies.

Everyone was gathering around and starting to eat. It was a very casual party, so you could help yourself whenever you wanted.

Valentino took a real liking to Georgiana, so she sat down to eat picnic style with Zaida!

Zale, Connie, Mina and Bessy grouped together to eat and talk about all the fun going on.

Connie brought along her dog, Albert, who was particularly interested in the dessert.

Robin and Violet are trying to pick out their dessert, but Robin is a little more interested in Albert (who is trying to get at the dessert from the other side of the table).

Eloy had been working hard in the pineapple field all morning (even bringing a whole crate of fresh pineapples to the party), so he sort of snoozed in the hammock.

Theresa and Hallie had a lot of fun talking, probably exchanging some recipes!

Nanea and Barbra (another visitor) were finished first, so Nanea took Barbra on a tour of the new house. Everything was spic and span.

Benny kept grilling all kinds of vegetables, burgers and kabobs . . . so, Lauren Elizabeth and Eloy kept him company and told him all about a new place opening on Islandshire.

Even Nanea's stuffed animals, Janie and Mrs. O'Malley had fun!

Meanwhile, the boys stayed put in their chairs and kept on comparing stories about the airplanes they'd flown, the scooter rides they'd had, and the biggest fish they'd caught. You know . . . boy stuff.

Suddenly, someone called for everyone's attention. It was time for Georgiana's formal introduction to the crowd . . . everyone clapped and cheered!

Harriet made the introduction, and Georgiana wasn't shy at all anymore!

Amidst all the cheers, Nanea stepped forward to present Georgiana with a present from all the inhabitants of our wonderful island. (Inside the pretty little box was a small jar filled with genuine Islandshire sand, a string of island beads and shells, and a beautiful sea shell picked up by Zale.)

So, to wrap up the event, I snapped some more photos for the Gazette . . .

We've all had a great time with Georgiana, and the joint housewarming and party went off without a single hitch! Benny and Nanea's house is a great place for events, so don't be afraid to talk to them about any future parties you may be planning . . .