Arrrgh!!!

We had a wonderful Fourth of July celebration!

For years Elegante Mother and I have stayed home on the Fourth. EM is a tiny person, and she's rather frail now. I wasn't willing to take her into crowded areas to see fireworks, unless other family members were traveling with us. I watched the fireworks displays on T.V. and she went to bed early.

This year, I decided to ask My-Oldest-Sister-The-Nurse if we could join their celebration. Sis has five kids, and the eldest resides in Australia these days. Eldest Niece, her husband and their youngest son have been visiting, and they've been joined by their twins who are going to be sophomores in college this year. With all of MOSTN's family in one place, it seemed like the perfect time to take Elegante Mother to visit. We were even honored to have Dear Husband, who gave up half a day sailing to join us!

MOSTN has two sons who live in the same subdivision. As a matter of fact, their back yards connect, so they hosted the celebration. There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the houses and games set up in the yard for all ages. The adults were playing boccie ball and a bean bag toss. The youngest kids seemed to like water sports the most; the older kids gravitated toward tossing a football, and trying to find sneaky ways to make successful passes around the opposition.

The meal was mostly potluck. Just about every salad you could want was there, and after dinner, it seemed that there was every dessert, too! The guys grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and brats. No one went hungry!

My brother and his wife joined us for the meal, and took EM and me to see their gardens. They live just a few blocks away, and the gardens were at their peak. They have a dab hand at planting. I envy them the shrubs and cypress trees, and the pergola with wisteria at the back of the house.

We settled into the shade after dinner to wait for the neighbors to shoot fireworks. EM was beginning to look tired, so we left around 8:00. The drive home was amazing. We had constant firework displays all the way home. It was delightful!

I'm pleased to say that my mother's youngest great-grandson was prepared to celebrate the birth of our nation. His gramma (MOSTN) had taken him to the library and he was told all about the Fourth of July, and got to read several books about the country's "birthday." He asked for, and was given, a red, white and blue "Uncle Sam" hat to wear, and they made sure the American flag waved at their house on the Fourth.

I hope that you all enjoyed time with your families, and that you remembered the reason for the day off. Whether you think we are on the right course or not, the United States is still our country and deserves our support. Happy Birthday, America!