4th of July (part ii)

Have I mentioned how the 4th of July was really a week-long event this year?  Absolutely wonderful.  Spending time with friends and family is pure joy.  And ending the weekend on a boat was just the icing on the cake.  But I'm getting ahead of myself!  The 4th started out HOT and only got hotter!  We kicked it off by going to a parade at the Greatest Fourth in the North!

After that, we headed to a friend's house for lunch.  We retreated to the basement to beat the heat with some pool.

Of course, the basement was nice and cool, but nothing cools you off like a swim!  Swimming on the sloped side of a dam is not strongly recommended.  These guys seem pretty casual about it though.

But they weren't the only daredevils.  Here's my badass mother, climbing right over the railing, in a dress.  Apparently she used to do this all the time growing up, so that makes it okay.

All that water made everyone hungry, so we headed "downtown" for some pulled pork.

Once again, the heat was too much, so we headed down to yet another basement for some ping pong, shuffleboard and shuffle puck.

Having renewed our spirits, it was time for pyrotechnics.  It's a tradition!  Of course, it's been so dry that we had to hire a fire patrol to keep things from getting out of hand!

There were some live victims of the fire patrol...

And then it was time to go "downtown" for the REAL fireworks.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with a 15-second shutter.

So...that was Wednesday.  On to the weekend!  We kicked off Friday night at the beer tent while listening to the Yes Berger band perform in the park.

Just HAD to try a potato spiral!

I just want to say that we had a lot of help in making this beer-amid!  But there were a shocking number of casualties by the time we left the beer tent.

And *someone* decided we needed some deep-fried pickles, so it was off to the bar we went!  Holy hot pickles!  I burnt my mouth so bad!

The next morning, there was another parade (but I left my camera at home).  After that, Kyle and I tried out stand-up paddle boarding!  I feel like the last person ever to try this!  That's what I get for living under a rock :P  (Thanks to Dad for having a cell phone along, otherwise I'd have no pics at all!)

 Then some bowling with the cousin.

Then on to wine and food tasting at a local market.  Check out that beautiful drink behind me!  Lemonade flavored with herbs and edible flowers (notably basil, mint and rosemary).

Whew!  I headed home for a nap after that.  But then it was off to my parent's for some pizza, and then we helped a friend get his boat ready for the summer! 

After watching a glorious sunset...

...we watched yet MORE fireworks!  This is probably the most interesting photo I got, but it's just hard to hold steady when you're on a boat!

And that was only Saturday...  On Sunday, we spent the day on the boat and at the beach with friends, and I learned just how exhaustive it can be to go to the beach with a two year old and a one month old!  Definitely no time for photos :)

After the go-go-go of the weekend, it was hard to return to the desk job, but I needed some recovery time!  I'm hoping to get in some more camping this weekend!