HLA Hoopla

Good morning, HLA! It's Katie here to bring you another day of celebration for National Backyard Games Week! Today we are going to talk all things carnival! A few weekends ago, Heather posted about local festivals in our towns, but today I'm posting to challenge you to host your own festivals and carnivals in your backyards!

As inspiration for today's post, I will share that Claudia purchased some banners from Pottery Barn that are meant for your own at-home carnival. Take a look at the slide show below to see some of the banners hung throughout her backyard. (sorry, blogger was having issues and I could not upload the pictures directly into the post when I wrote this!) These banners would make the perfect decoration and inspiration for any backyard carnival.

One way to incorporate a backyard carnival into your summer plans is for you to host your own neighborhood carnival. Picture this: You volunteer to host the carnival in your yard and then invite each neighbor to host a booth at the carnival. One neighbor may take face painting, another the classic duck pond, and another pin the tail on the donkey. Each family in the neighborhood would attend the carnival with their children, but would also host a booth. This would be a great summer get-together for your neighborhood! If you feel so inclined, many of the banners pictured above would make great additions to your carnival. I'm sure Claudia will be glad to share purchasing information.

For those of you in Student Affairs, what about a carnival at your summer staff retreat? Each department within your division could be responsible for hosting a booth. Judicial Affairs could take a pie throwing contest, and Res Life could take the ring toss.

When I think back on the early seasons of Jon & Katie Plus 8 (before all the drama began), I remember when they hosted a birthday party for the sextuplets that was a carnival. What if each attendee was in charge of having a booth instead of bringing a present? The possibilities are endless!

Just as we shared our summer traditions and plans for water and soaking up some sun, how about we share plans we can make for carnivals this summer? Who is up for the challenge of planning a summer carnival for your neighborhood, family, or friends? What carnival game ideas do you have or have you been a part of in the past? Do you have a theme in mind for your carnival?

Signing off until tomorrow with the song of the day...

Free For All Friday: Tents, Tiaras, Timely and Thoughtful Tips, and Taste...of USA

As you can tell by the title - which is nothing less than a novel - there is A LOT of Free-For-All-ing to do today.  I don't want to waste any time before letting the devoted and creative readership of highlowaha get busy doing what you do best... sharing your collective creativity.

If you're new to highlowaha or just new to our Friday ritual, today is the day we brainstorm solutions to topics raised by you the readers.  Put on your creative caps and get ready to contribute.  Or let us know a topic for which you would like highlowaha's input and I will make a note to cover it next week. 

 

Here we go.  Let me set the stage...

TENTS:  Andrea is hosting her son's sixth birthday party in two weeks.  The party will have a CARNIVAL theme.  She strikes me as organized, so I wasn't surprised to learn that Andrea already has a number of games selected for the children to play.  What we are brainstorming today are things such as: decorations, food options, treat bags, prizes, and novelty items she might have on hand... basically anything that helps create the ultimate carnival ambiance.

TIARAS: Maureen, our loyal reader from New Yawk is already in the midst of making plans for her daughter's Sweet Sixteen extravaganza... in FEBRUARY!  I might live in Texas where everything is supposed to be bigger, but I feel comfortable in saying...we miss the boat on birthday parties.  Apparently in portions of the country Sweet Sixteens are quite a formal ordeal with male and female friends serving on the "court" and participating in some ceremonial activity.  This is Maureen's first time going through the whole Sweet Sixteen Court Ceremony, so if there is anyone out there with a clue about what this is supposed to entail, do share.  I'm guessing many of us will get a kick out of reading it (mostly because it sounds a little like wedding planning) and Maureen can certainly use your help.

TIMELY AND THOUGHTFUL TIPS: We've had whisperings throughout the week of people sharing a favorite acts of kindness they have performed (paying for the person behind you, etc...), but how about formally opening today's lines to share all the examples we can think of.  There are still two full days left to the week.  With some of your random act ideas, we can still do a lot of "damage" before week's end.  Here's another one of my favorite things to do...  I love to spend ten dollars on $1.00 lottery tickets at the gas station and randomly distribute them to people, while wishing them good fortune.

TASTE OF USA:  We made it through the first week of Taste of USA, thanks to the able work of Cheryl our Cruise Director and Katie our Bean Counter.  So, here's what happens today... the first REAL day of competition.  Residents of Alabama, New Mexico, Texas, D.C., Massachusetts, and Hawaii should:

• Click on the Taste of USA icon in the top right hand corner of my blog.
  
• Go the Comments section immediately under Cheryl's post for today (6/23)
  
• Tell us what your state is made of.  Do this by telling us a place you'd love to take me should your state win and I end up traveling to your city. 
  
• ONLY residents of the state should be making posts today!  Be sure to let us know from which state you are hailing.

BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Starbucks Update:  I went to Starbucks this morning at 8:30 a.m. and the books WERE STILL THERE and... placed back in a perfect stack!
  
• This morning there was an article in the Dallas Morning News telling of Herb Kelleher's retirement after 31 years as Chairmen of Southwest Airlines.  Here's a quote from one of the many pilots employed by the company.  "I still have personal notes written by Herb," he said.  I can't imagine any other executive having time to do that or taking the time to do that."  Yet again, affirmation that a simple note packs a powerful punch.
  

The lines for brainstorming are officially open...

Signing off until tomorrow...