St Patrick’s Day Party 2025
May the dreams you hold dearest,
Irish Blessing
Be those which come true,
The kindness you spread,
Keep returning to you.
The annual Lloyd-Dunn festivity continues! Everyone can be Irish for St Patrick’s Day 😆. Which is great because there was nary Irish blood amongst us! I tried a mix of raisins and craisins in the Irish soda bread, and it was a hit! Jer cooked the corned beef and cabbage in his new Dutch oven pot and kept exclaiming that he loved how much food his pot holds. I also made a double batch of classic shepherd’s pie. Monica and Mark brought a chest full of special drinks and ginger ale, and the Dunns graced us with another corned beef and 2 types of cookies.
Each of the kids got treat bags of Lucky Charms cereal, which they munched on all day. The kids are getting older and seem to have outgrown the St Patrick’s Day themed games, choosing instead to hang out. They piled into the loft for video games, and L held a Crafting party in her room. Friends came out of L’s room with rainbow banded bracelets and knotted threads (friendship bracelets) that they proudly showed me they made. Some of the photos below show it. Our little cousins didn’t want to leave, so Aunt Julie left them haha!
There was music, and someday there will be dancing and some semblance of organized games 😆. For now I was pooped from hours of cooking and cleaning, so sitting and talking was my party life—I suspect lots of others felt the same! The Spotify station included both pub songs and music from Irish musicians. Victoria and I had some major nostalgia when “C’est La Vie” by B*Witched came on, and I can’t believe we remembered a lot of the words! Aunt Julie introduced us to Acid Crunk, which utilizes all kinds of unique sounds.
The adults got to catch up and laugh together. I was able to see a video of our little cousin’s heart procedure from July that failed; surgery again next week. Victoria showed me some pictures from the Disney parks in Japan that I didn’t even know they went to! We got emotional watching a video from her favorite ride / movie Beauty and the Beast. Jer gave Rob a tour of the basement and yard where they imagineered his future plans for said spaces.
Yes, I made all our guests take a picture haha.
We had too much fun with the props this year.
Apparently Mark was a park ranger at Goblin Valley back in 1988! This came up when we told him that for Spring Break, we will camp overnight to Goblin Valley so we can see the night sky there. I’m glad we were able to pick his brain and ask about his recommendations. He told us about Little Wild Horse Canyon in the San Rafael Swell and told us to hike in the morning to avoid flash floods in the afternoons.
Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! We are so grateful to enjoy these loved ones and delicious Irish foods / culture this time of year. We missed our family and friends who we hope to see next year.
And to all, I leave you with this Irish blessing…
As you slide down the banister of life,
Irish Blessing
May the splinters never point the wrong way.
Love, Kat
