The picnic that wasn't

Summer is coming to a close, with the kids going back to school and the weather getting cooler and cooler.

With that in mind, I had decided to "host" an outdoor picnic with friends and family at a nearby park where we could all pretend it was still summer, get in a round of kid-friendly baseball and whatever other games the kids wanted to play. I promised fresh baked goods, which is why I filled the cookie jar in the previous post.

Then the rain came. And came, and came. And came. We didn't get quite the tropical rainstorm we were called to get, but it did rain alot, and didn't stop for almost two days.

Goodbye summer. We will have say our farewell without the picnic.

Three of the older children who were supposed to be coming to this picnic, my own oldest son and two of his best friends, were determined that they weren't going to be done out of an afternoon playing together. School starting was two whole days away - yes they would see each other at school every day but they needed to be together now!

So we had an indoor picnic.

Since it was cold and raining outside still, I opted to remake the Asian Meatball soup I had made a few weeks ago, and blogged about here. Only this time I had the chance to take a picture.

Despite the fact that everyone had brought their own picnic suppers, all the adults ended up eating the soup instead. The soup was warm, with a nice spicy tingle, providing a nice comfort on a cold day. Copies of the recipe were duly forwarded on, as requested.

We followed up our soup with a variety of desserts: all three types of cookies that I had made, the cupcakes I had made by request of my children (who actually begged me to make cupcakes from a boxed mix, with canned icing), and little cupcakes brought by another friend.

The kids ran around the house, toys scattering in their wake. Dress up costumes came out and were shared around. Occassionally a child would come into the kitchen for something to eat before running off again. Their were child like fights from flared up tempers, highly dramatic, followed by very un-dramatic making up shortly after.

All in all, the "picnic" was a good time for all those squeezed into my little house, despite the rain, despite the no baseball game. Spring is only months away - maybe we can try again then?