The Saturday after graduation, we had Jaelee and Jayse’s graduation party.

The kids wanted to keep things pretty low-key, and I think we accomplished exactly that. We had everyone over to our house, spent the afternoon in the backyard, and simply enjoyed celebrating this big milestone with family and friends.

Probably the hardest decision leading up to the party was figuring out the food.

I knew I didn’t want to spend the whole party cooking or standing in front of the grill. We tossed around several ideas. At first I thought about having everything catered, but Jaelee and Jayse don’t exactly have the same taste in food. One thing they both love, though, is sandwiches.

My first thought was to order one of those giant Subway subs, but apparently they don’t make them anymore—or at least I couldn’t find anyone around here that did. Then we looked into having one of the local grocery stores cater sandwich trays with meat, cheese, and vegetables. Once I priced everything out, though, it was surprisingly expensive.

So…we decided to do it ourselves.

We picked up ciabatta rolls from Costco along with turkey, ham, and cheese. Greg and I sliced all of the meat and cheese on our meat slicer, and we put together vegetable trays with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other toppings so everyone could build their own sandwiches. It definitely took some work, but honestly, it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as I had imagined, and it turned out exactly how I had hoped.

One of my favorite parts was getting everything decorated.

I had ordered a couple of balloon garland kits from Amazon, and my friend Sarah came over to help me put them together. She was an absolute lifesaver – along with the air compressor to blow up all the balloons. Greg even got a head start on them the night before while I was at a grade party for my cousins daughter. I would have been completely lost without Sarah. We laughed our way through it, and by the end everything looked so much better than I could have done on my own.

Since we were hosting the party in our backyard, I kept the decorations simple. I used a couple of backdrop stands that I already had and draped them with white tablecloths before hanging pictures of the kids throughout the years. Out front, Greg helped put together a display of their school pictures mounted on stakes, so everyone could see just how much they had grown.

Between the backdrops, I set up a screen and played the two-hour slideshow I had spent weeks creating. I connected the sound to the Bluetooth speakers on the deck so it could be heard throughout the backyard.

To be honest, I don’t think many people sat and watched the slideshow from beginning to end—and that’s okay. Parties are meant for visiting, catching up, and celebrating. But every once in a while I’d catch someone glancing over at the screen or recognize a favorite photo as it came up. Those little moments made all the hours of sorting through eighteen years of memories worth it.

Looking through thousands of photos reminded me just how quickly life passes. Tiny babies became toddlers, toddlers became little kids, little kids became teenagers, and somehow those teenagers graduated from high school. The slideshow wasn’t really for everyone else. In many ways, it was for me—a chance to relive eighteen wonderful years while celebrating the incredible young adults they’ve become.

Ironically, just a few days after we nearly froze at the lake because of the wind, the weather completely flipped. It was HOT. There wasn’t a breath of wind, and everyone was baking in the backyard. I found myself digging through the garage for every patio umbrella we owned just so people could find a little shade. Idaho weather certainly likes to keep us guessing.

Before I knew it, guests started arriving.

One thing I realized afterward is that I hardly took any pictures.

Normally that would bother me, but honestly, I was too busy talking with everyone, giving hugs, introducing people, and simply enjoying the afternoon. Sometimes that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. The memories are still there, even if they aren’t all captured through my camera lens.i Gratefully my mother in law got some that I grabbed.

I am so thankful for everyone who came to celebrate Jaelee and Jayse. We had family travel from different places to spend the day with us, and it meant so much to have everyone together.

My sister and her family weren’t able to make it to the graduation party, but I was so thankful they had already made the trip all the way from England to be here for graduation and the twins’ eighteenth birthday. Having them here for those milestones was a gift we’ll never forget.

It was a simple afternoon. No extravagant venue. No elaborate menu. Just good food, lots of conversations, plenty of laughter, and a backyard full of people who have loved these two kids throughout their lives.

Looking around that afternoon, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful. What a wonderful way to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.

Jaelee and Brennan making a blanket together that night.