Summertime Fun

The last week and a half we've been busy with all sorts of things, which is why I kinda took a little break from blogging.  I say 'kinda' because I was actually going to take the week off to catch up on a bunch of things I wanted to get done (which you'll see I managed some), but we ended being invited to several other things last minute and many chores still aren't done...the time spent with friends and family was WELL worth it though! :-)

Cookouts:
We've had the opportunity to have several barbeque's with friends.

One afternoon/evening was spent with two other sets of friends and their kids. We all had a blast between watching the kids on the a water slide, good food (and drinks), music and dancing with the kids in the backyard. :-)

On Independence Day, Rich had the day off and we all went to watch a parade with my lifelong friend's family, then to their house for burgers and an afternoon of catching up.

We had a 4th of July party over the weekend that we attend every year where we see several family and family friends, enjoy good food and enjoy some fireworks.

Play Dates with Kids' Friends
Morgan was invited to help a friend at her lemonade stand during their yard sale.  We made a couple batches of cookies to go along with the lemonade and headed over.  Blake made friends with the oldest of the younger brothers quite quickly and her mom and I had a great time getting to know one another.  Unfortunately it rained, so the lemonade stand and yard sale were a 'no go', but it was still a fun time.

Blake's best friend's mom called one morning to have Blake over, so Blake spent much of that afternoon with his buddy.  I then enjoyed some time talking with his buddy's parents when we went to pick him up. :-)

Time with Rich's family:
We went to Rich's parents for a Sunday breakfast and just to see them. We had been busy the week before and hadn't gotten to see them for their anniversary and my father-in-law's birthday.

The kids also spent a night and when we went to get them they had barbecue ribs for lunch and we were able to spend more time with them.

Time with Cousins:
The kids spent an afternoon at my parent's with my nieces building forts and fairy houses.

Another morning my parents grabbed the kids first thing and they all met up with my brother and nieces to see some beautiful gardens about 2 hours away.

A Baby Shower and a Fair:
Morgan and I went to my high school friend/college roommate's baby shower as Rich took Blake to the town's 129th annual fair.

Gardening:
We had a fairly cool day in the mid 60's so I wanted to take advantage of the temps and work hard at working up and weeding the garden.  I would say a good 4 hours in the garden and it was looking good...for about a day. ;-)  I try to work at least a half hour a day to keep up, plus Rich and I water the garden when it doesn't rain.

Fireworks:

The night of the 4th, I popped a couple bowls of popcorn and we grabbed some snacks and drinks at the gas station, then found a side road to sit and watch the neighboring town's fireworks.  We all sat in the front of the truck enjoying our snacks and a wonderful (uncrowded) view of the fireworks.

Backyard Camp out:
We did our backyard camp out....more on that later....it needs a post of it's own! ;-)

I apologize for posting without pictures, but the only ones I got this last week were of our camp out and random other stuff.  So, even though you can't visually see all the smiles, friends, fireworks, food and general good times, just know that it was a GREAT week! :-)

I hope you're all having a fun-filled summer as well! :-)