BBQs, Fireworks and Hot Temperatures

Well, here it is at the end of the long, July 4th weekend. Tom & I were just saying (on our way home from a fireworks show at a nearby lake) that this was one of the nicest, most relaxing weekends we've had in a very long time. It was actually a PERFECT weekend, and those are pretty hard to come by! Thank you, Lord!

We were thrilled, and thankful, that our nephew, Jeff, came over Saturday morning and cleaned out the gutters on our house. We used to have a family-owned company that automatically cleaned them twice each year, but they went out of business, and when I called around to get prices for other companies, I found they were 3 times as expensive, which is why it's been 2 years since we've had them cleaned. Anyway, thank you to Jeff! He did a fantastic job on a VERY hot and steamy day.

Our nephew, Jeff, cleaning our gutters. Yes, those are 12 - 18" high saplings growing in them. How embarrassing!!!

Later on Saturday, we went over to Tom's youngest brother's house (Jeff's parents) and spent the afternoon with them lounging around in their pool trying to stay cool. They also BBQ'd some fine-tasting burgers for dinner. Since the temps were in the high 90's, and the humidity was RIDICULOUSLY high, staying cool, even in the pool, was certainly a challenge. The pool thermometer read 92 degrees! Yep. It was hot in Michigan on Saturday! Later in the afternoon, we had hours-worth of thunderstorms and nasty-looking black clouds go by their house, but all they received were 2 bursts of rain showers. Other cities around theirs weren't so lucky and had hail and high winds up to 70 mph! Thankfully, all was quiet back at our house (1/2 hour north of theirs), and our garden was happy with the rain showers it received.  :-)

I also have to add here that Tom & his brother had a lot of fun hanging out with each other, and by the end of the night, and several Tuscan lemonades and Coronas later, neither was feeling any pain. LOLOL

Look how happy Tom and his brother are here! Can you guess why? LOLOL

Sunday we went to church, then Bible Class, then hustled over to Tom's nephew and soon-to-be niece's new home for a BBQ.  (Their wedding will take place in September.) Quite a few of Tom's family were there, as well as a few old friends from days past. The food was good, the company was awesome, and the farmhouse that they bought was absolutely COOL to the max. It was over 100 years old, and had been very nicely maintained. You can find more pictures of it on my sister-in-law, Jeanette's, blog at "Net on the Net."

Mike & Sarah's first home. Isn't it gorgeous???

I just LOVE this photo of Sarah rocking on her front porch. I was telling her that she looked like she truly belonged there in that rocker!

After leaving Mike & Sarah's BBQ, we went home and prepared to have a deck-full of our "river camping" friends over to visit and see the fireworks on our lake. We have an open spot between the trees in our back yard and our neighbor's back yard where you can see the fireworks perfectly. We were surprised at the number of river family that showed up, but happy as punch to see them all. The fireworks were awesome and afterward, we all sat around a campfire in our backyard just talking, telling stories, and laughing. It was a nice ending to our day.  :-)

Today was a day of rest for Tom & me. We watched some TV, I sat here at the computer and read all of your new blog postings (I swear, that took me 3 hours since I haven't been on Blogger in almost 10 days...lol), then he & I took naps before eating some dinner and then heading over to another friend's house who lives around the corner on a different lake in order to watch more fireworks. This guy lives right on the lake, and is a mutual friend of the river family, so they all came to watch the fireworks too. It was another great time, for sure.

Before the fireworks began, the guys were lighting off these tall, colorful things at water's edge, and they probably shot 10' into the air. In the background you can see red flares lit all the way around the lake by the lakefront home owners. It's blurry here, but when you see it in person, it's neat because the flares turn the entire lakeshore red. I have no idea how this tradition got started, but it's pretty neat, and it happens every July 4th on every lake around us that has a professional fireworks show. Fun, fun!

This came out a little dark, but it's the flag that our friend, Jay, had flying on his flagpole near the lake tonight, and there was just enough of a light breeze to make it fly proud.  :-)

Now it's late, and I should be in bed, so I'll stick a few photos in this posting and head upstairs for some shut-eye. Hope all of you had a wonderful July 4th weekend also. We are free to do fun stuff like watch fireworks and visit with our friends and family because of the hard work and dedication of so many service men & women, both past and present, and I am SO thankful to be living in this great country of ours. Happy Birthday, U.S.A.!