Rewind: We Love Our Cousins!

As previously mentioned, my sister and her family came into town and stayed with us for nearly 2 weeks back in June.  It was positively glorious having them here and while much of our time together was spent doing relatively unexciting things, we enjoyed every last second of it.  Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I thought to pull the camera out until the last day or two that they were here...at least we got a few shots.  I'm sure I've mentioned it before but don't Hudson and Becca make a cute little bestie friends/cousins couple?

We all miss them already and really, we missed them the second they pulled out of the driveway.  Then they came back a minute later (forgot something...I think it was B's kitty or blanket) and we had to miss them as they left all over again.  Lots of missing going on around here.  Want to know what I don't miss?  Even though there were two of us mommies here to do it all, I do not miss laundry for 5 kids and 3 adults (4 at times).  Or cooking for the group.  Or the incredible amounts of noise.  Or doing the dishes.  Hence our use of paper goods for a number of our meals.  In closing, I'd just like to say: I LOVE SOLO & CHINET.

Rewind: Spring At Our House

I was just glancing through all the collages I made on Picasa in the past month or so and discovered a couple that are somewhat long overdue for being posted.  They're all overdue, really, but these are a little more dated than the others.

Back in May, we spent most of a Saturday out in the yard setting up the trampoline and getting some good old fashioned weeding and spring clean up done in the gardens.  I snapped a few shots of the very happy kids jumping to their hearts' content.  After having to wait several weeks into spring for the snows to finally stop falling and really melt before we could set up the trampoline, the kids did a grand job of wearing themselves out that day.

I also took a few shots of Hudson lounging on our jungle-esque lawn in the backyard.  When we first looked up to see where he was, we could barely see little bits of him through the tall grass (see 2nd pic down on the left).  It's hard to see in the picture on the top right, but he actually picked a blade that was a good foot long...time to mow, people!

Now that the hotter summer months are here, I'm really missing those cool (or perfectly not-too-warm) spring days.  And that grass looks really inviting...

Festivities On The Fourth

We had a very low-key 4th of July this year and it was WONDERFUL.  We started out the morning by rolling out of bed just in time to go to a little flag raising ceremony at our next door neighbors' house.  Hudson helped hold the flag up during a little presentation and then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  It's rare that I get to participate in this tradition and as the years go by, I'm more and more touched by it as it gains meaning as I age.  After the ceremony we enjoyed delicious muffins and orange juice...definitely yummier than our usual cold cereal!

The remainder of the day was spent out in the yard by Max, all over the house and yard by the kids, and inside by yours truly.  I tried to convince myself that I was being productive and pretended to be just that by wiping down the upstairs bathrooms, folding a bit of laundry, and changing the sheets on our bed (all done very slowly over the course of the day).  In the afternoon I finally made a trip to the market and then had my own little party in the kitchen getting things ready for company that night.  I made cherry chip cupcakes with almond frosting (which was dyed blue) and white pearl sprinkles on top...my last minute but rather tasty red, white, and blue dessert.  I also put together some black bean dip to munch on along with good old-fashioned sour cream veggie/chip dip.  Lastly, I mixed some lean ground beef with a few seasonings and such and formed burgers for part of our dinner.

Our little dinner party consisted of our family of four, Max's parents, and his sister Julie and her two eldest children, David and Megan.  It was the perfect sized group.  Not that I don't love having larger ones but this time, it was just what the doctor ordered.  We had a very delicious dinner (my burgers & condiments, chips, and dips and big hot dogs, delicious salad and best-ever watermelon provided by guests).  Dessert consisted of my cupcakes and some chocolate chip cookies that I'd made the night before.  Mmmmm...making myself hungry. And I'm not hungry.

Once the sun started to go down, we all headed out front for our little fireworks show.  Some of the neighbors were lighting them off as well so between the three mini shows, we had a pretty good thing going!  Our nephew was the official lighter of the night - first time that I can recall that it hasn't been me.  Having grown up in a county in California where they were illegal, lighting fireworks has been my "thing"  ever since I moved here and something I really loved doing every year.  However, I must say that I really, really, really enjoyed just sitting back, getting fuses on a few of the fountains ready, taking pictures, and watching the show this year.  It was wonderful!  The "grand finale" this year consisted of 2 aerials that David brought up.  This is the first year that aerials have been legal here so it was an extra treat and I must say, they were awesome!

I am so grateful to live in this great country.  It isn't always run the way it should be and some things have certainly gone askew over the years but all in all, it's truly a blessed nation.  We had freedoms that many people can only dream of and privileges that we take for granted every day.  I am positively proud to be an American and grateful to my Heavenly Father for this land that we love.  God bless America!