Beverly Fast Sinclair CRS, GRI

If you're like me, then I'm sure you love lounging outside with good friends and a glass of wine on a warm, summer night. For myself, this generally means curling up on my front porch with my husband and a few friends from the neighborhood.I have been blessed to have incredibly close relationships with my neighbors, as they are some of my closest friends, and I have always been a strong believer incamaraderie between those who live near us.Whether or not you spend your weekends with your neighbors, a block party is the perfect opportunity to strengthen your current relationships and to welcome new members into your community.With a few simple preparations and coordination with your neighbors and friends, you can easily pull together a wonderful summer party that every block will surely envy!

Invitation

Why send an invitation in the mail when you can simply hand-deliver?For a creative invite that screams block party, create a door hanger with all the party information, and then place the invitation on your neighbors'front doors. Be sure to create a slogan or a community saying for the front of the doorknocker to give it a personalized touch (we used "Queen Anne Rules" for our Queen Anne neighborhood).

Not only will your friends come home to a surprise on their doorstep, but they will also be even more excited when they discover that the decoration is also an invitation to a fabulous party!

Backyard Picnic

Outdoor tables and chairs felt like a hassle to set up at our block party, but we wanted to keep the party outside.Our solution? Waterproof blankets to create a picnic, family-like atmosphere amongst the group. These fun blankets come in a variety of colors and will leave less of a mess once everyone is done indulging in a delicious meal.Another added bonus for all of us Seattleites - last night's rain will not put a damper on your picnic décor!

Name Game

Hopefully all of the families at your block party are familiar with each other, but remember the possibility of new families and friendships.To spice up your décor or to help your guests with the names of every attendant, create signs with each family's name for the picnic blankets.Attach each sign to a wooden stake and place it in the ground next to the family's assigned seat.The signs will not only add a whimsical feel to your outdoor set-up, but they will also function as outdoor place cards for the backyard oasis!

Barbeque on the Block

Paper plates and cups will leave your backyard in a mess, and plastic utensils are certainly not eco-friendly.As a solution to the problem, we created small picnic baskets for every guest complete with flatware, a container for food and a cookie.We simply grilled meat, vegetables, and seafood, and let each guest create their own kabob to bring back to their blanket with their basket.This scenario was much easier than trying to arrange a potluck or large barbeque.Best of all, we used biodegradable flatware and cleverly buried our forks and knives when we were finished!

Signature Cocktail

I am a firm believer in a signature cocktail for every party, and I felt inspired by fresh-squeezed lemonade to make the perfect, summer drink.For the adults at the party, we made Arnie Palmers, complete with lemonade, iced tea and Finamore Limoncello.For the alternative kid-friendly version, we went with the original Arnold Palmer and simply mixed iced tea and lemonade.To display the cocktails, we used beautiful apothecary jars and created matching labels identifying the two beverages.The little ones had a blast sharing drinks almost identical to their parents!

Entertainment

While the adults may have been content simply chatting the night away, we knew that we needed something fun to keep the little ones occupied.As a solution to their boredom, we rented a sno-cone machine, so the kids could stay cool with their favorite treat.Sno-cone machines are fairly inexpensive to rent for the day, and the money is well spent to keep all the children in a constant state of fun!If a rental is not in your budget, a cheaper version can easily be purchased for less money, but just as much fun!

Takeaway

Even though we incorporated multiple houses for the block party, I still believe that a takeaway is important for a memorable experience.To solidify the new relationships formed at the party, I sent each guest home with a water bottle complete with the same logo as the invitation.As a helpful reminder, I attached a neighborhood watch schedule with the name and phone number of every family who attended.

The guests can easily place the tag on their fridge or bulletin board as a safety precaution for the community, but the note will also remind them of the wonderful time they had!

With a new coach the Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for the kick off of the 2009 season. Here is their preseason and regular season schedule:

Preseason:

8/14 Minnesota 7:30pm

8/20 Philadelphia 8:00pm

8/29 @ Detroit 1:00pm

9/3 @ Cincinnati 7:30pm

Regular Season

9/13 Jacksonville 1:00pm

9/21 @ Miami 8:30pm

9/27 @ Arizona 8:20pm

10/4 Seattle 1:00pm

10/11 @ Tennessee 8:20pm

10/25 @ St. Louis 1:00pm

11/1 San Francisco 1:00pm

11/8 Houston 1:00pm

11/15 New England 8:20pm

11/22 @ Baltimore 1:00pm

11/29 @ Houston 1:00pm

12/6 Tennessee 1:00pm

12/13 Denver 1:00pm

12/17 @ Jacksonville 8:20pm

12/27 New York Jets 4:15pm

1/3 @ Buffalo 1:00pm

The Indiana State Fair kicks off today August 7th and continues through Aug 23rd. They have extended the fair this year to a full 17 days. This year is the year of the tomato but there is much more to do than just eat. Here are some highlights:

Band Day: August 7th all day long

Purina Incredible Dog Challenge: August 7-8, Celebration Park. These pooches compete in freestyle flying disc, diving dog, Jack Russell racing, agility and 60 pole weave-pole racing. This is the 12th year and will be televised by ABC/ESPN

Hendrick's Racing Pigs: 11am, 1, 3, 5, and 7 pm daily, Riley Fun Park. Its exactly like it sounds racing pigs. They might not fly yet but they do race.

Break Dance Battle: 5-9pm August 8, WFMS Free Stage. All the classic dance moves will hopefully make an appearance. The format is a 3v3 crew competition, first prize is $300.

Assorted Livestock Competitions: August 7-23. These are the real competitions of the fair as far as tradition goes.

Hispanic/Latino State Fair Salsa Contest: 1-9pm August 9, Celebration Park. Not the kind of salsa that you eat but the kind of dance. Watch 12 hot couples compete for cash.

Spam Open Judging: 11am August 13, Home and Family Arts Main Stage. Contestants will cook up their best spam delights for cash and a trip to the 2010 Waikiki Spam Jam event.

Baton Twirling Competition: 10am-5pm August 14, Farm Bureau Building.

Pumpkin Sculpting Contest: 2pm August 14, Ball State Ag/Hort Building. Watch Chef's Academy folks put pumpkins under the knife and present their works of art.

Traditional Arts Indiana State Fair Fiddle Contest: 9am-3pm August 15, Pioneer Village Opry House. Listen to the best of the best Fiddle players in the state.

4-H Cat Show and Cat Action Demos: 10am-3pm August 10, Farm Bureau Building.

Giant Pumpkin Contest Weigh-off: 10am-12pm(noon) August 15, Tomato Patch Gift Shop. Local celebrity Don Stuck of X103 will join the contendors to see if he grew the largest pumpkin.

Liar's Contest by Storytelling Arts of Indiana: 5pm August 16, Pioneer Village Opry House. Indiana residents get the change to tell the biggest tale they can spin in 3-5min. Registration starts at 4 pm

Viking Fashion Show Judging: 2pm, August 16, Home and Family Arts Mainstage. Judges from Husqvarna and Viking are looking for the complete look.

Rooster Crowing Contest: August 18-20, Poultry and Rabbit Barn. Try your hand at the call of the rooster.

Indiana State Fair Celebrity Tomato Toss Contest: 3pm, August 19, Pioneer Village. You've always wanted to throw a tomato at a celebrity, but this year watch them try to toss them at a bull's-eye.

Celebrity Cow Milking: 11:30 August 19, Livestock Nursery. Watch assorted celebrities work to milk the cow the fastest.

Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant: noon August 23, Pepsi Coliseum. Women under 21 compete for the coveted title of Miss Indiana State Fair.

Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest: 1pm daily, Ball State Ag/Hort Building.

Cricket Spitting: whenever you want. Join Purdue entomology professor Tom Turpina at spitting crickets.

Elvis Impersonator Contest: 1-5pm August 23, Farm Bureau Building/ Watch as contestants get judged for vocals, originality, appearance, and delivery. Cash prize of $2,500. Sign up at elviscontest.com or just swing by a watch.

For more information about the state fair visit their website at : www.indianastatefair.com

The weather is supposed to be near perfect. Here is a great way to spend your Saturday!

When: Saturday August 1, 2009 from Noon to 10p.m.

Where: USA Parkway Circle

What; Events including: local restaurants offering tastes of specialties; healthy food options; performances by Left of Broadmore, David Fleming Variety Act, Silly Safari, Indiana Caledonia Pipe Band, 10th of Never, and Hotel California (An Eagles Tribute Band); free family fun; beer and wine garden

Price: $5 in advance; $7 at the door; Children 12 & Under Free

Tickets sold at: Marsh Supermarkets, Fishers Farmers Market, Fishers Chamber of Commerce Office (Train Station)

No pets or coolers allowed.

Bring chairs and blankets to enjoy a day out in the sun!

This weekend I got my first experience at the 'new' Indianapolis International Airport. Unfortunetly I was just picking up my aunt but her plane was delayed and I was stuck sitting in the airport for 3 hours. It looks gorgeous but my question is where's the rest of it? Indianapolis is supposed to host a Super Bowl in 2012 how are they going to do that with an airport that is only 2 small concourses big? I was there shortly after the Brickyard finished and it was getting busy I can only image how busy and crowed it is going to be during the Super Bowl time frame. Can Indianapolis lose its Super Bowl because of this airport? What are they planing to do, I'm sure I'm not the only one questioning the size of this airport. I think the size is fine for everyday use but when the Indy 500 is here and Brickyard every year it must get super busy and expensive to fly to Indianapolis. How do they plan to deal with this downsize of an airport during the super bowl?