The weather Sunday was a little stormy but we set out for the 45 minute drive to my great uncle's house and got there without any more storms. They have a beautiful lake and although the temps outside were maybe 75 degrees, the water was super warm. We didn't bring our swim suits because we thought it would be cold. We were wrong! We took Lily for a paddle boat ride around the lake (luckily they have life jackets in every size because my great uncle has over 26 - I think - grandchildren!). She seemed to enjoy it. I have a pic but it's on Doug's phone and he's not here. I actually remembered my camera this year but guess what I didn't remember? My flash drive inside the camera! How did I do that?!! It was in my card reader at home. So maybe NEXT year, I'll remember both the camera and the card. Fourth time's a charm, right?!
We had a good time. This past year has been tough on that side of my family - my great uncle lost his wife (my grandmother's sister) and my other great uncle (my grandmother's brother) also passed away, plus the death of my uncle and my brother. Luckily though, the energy was pretty good there and with so many kids around, it keeps you busy with happy thoughts. Lily was definitely a star! At least to us. Maybe not my 26 second cousins or their friends (talk about a lot of people), but she was the star to many.
Lily didn't enjoy the food as much as we did, except for the cheese puffs, grapes and of course, the birthday cake for one of the guys.
This year I made the cookie brownie oreo combo that seems to be popular on the internet. I wasn't all that into them but all sweet treats go over well with the family.
And no celebration on the 4th is complete with fireworks, they set up a nice show. Here's SOME of the family watching the beginning -
My dad's cousins are known for building a table with small holes drilled into and inserting bottle rockets, tying all ends together so you light one end and they all go off in order. It's a lot of fun (if you like loud booms, which Lily did not!). Maybe next year I'll get a photo of it. They put on a pretty good show with all types of fireworks. I have a few photos and a some video on my phone, so I'll work on getting them up. The photos on this post all came from my phone.
i'm always scared of fireworks being set off at home. my boyfriend does it for new years, and i can't watch. glad you had a nice time with your family, despite the heavy year you had. and that brownie cookie thing? i don't know how you can resist that!
ReplyDelete