Post event review

I'd like to take credit for the entire barbecue, but all I really did was had an idea (thanks to Amber), send out an email, set-up a Facebook group, cleaned house and ran some errands around town.

Fran was in charge of recipes, rib prep, southwestern salad, baked beans, peach cake and sangria.
N blew the pathway and deck clean of blossoms/leaves, mowed the grass, cleaned the chairs and smoked the ribs.

Lise helped with the pups and keeping things organized and tidy.

And (as equally important) guests brought chairs, a table, beer, wine, cider and so much delicious food. I wish I'd taken a photograph before we all dug in.
AND I just (yes, right now) learned that several guests worked hard at setting up the desserts and ice cream on the table.

What would I change next time?

• Add the sparkling water to the sangria before serving and put out a bowl of sliced oranges to add to each glass. 
• Think about grilling something that takes less time
• Think about how to illuminate the yard to keep the party going
• Making so much food, guests can just show up and enjoy
• Any other thoughts?

Peach cake recipe
Southwest Salad
Alton's rib recipe
Pink Lemonade Pie (may or may not be recipe Kristi used, plus she subbed oreos for graham crackers)

Here's the sangria recipe we made (we quadrupled the recipe using 2 Bota boxes of Malbec & Red-volution, but left out 1/3 of the sugar and half the spices):

Easy Sangria
Cooking Light MAY 2003

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)
Ingredients
1 (1.5-liter) bottle dry red wine, divided
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 whole cloves
3 whole allspice
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
2 cups sparkling water, chilled
8 orange wedges
5 lemon slices
5 lime slices
Preparation
Combine 1/2 cup wine, brandy, liqueur, and sugar in a 2-quart glass measure, stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in the remaining wine, juices, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. Chill at least 2 hours.

Strain mixture into a pitcher, and discard spices. Just before serving, stir in sparkling water and the remaining ingredients.