Happy Fourth!

I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July!  This year was a little bit different because Eric had to work graveyard on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  That was kind of a bummer.  But, luckily, since we live so close to the lake, where all of the activities are happening, we could still walk down there each day and get lunch and be part of the crowds.

When Eric went to work on the 3rd, I headed down and watched the hilarious Cardboard Boat Regatta.  I made it in time for the last couple of heats of semi-finals and the finals. It is extremely fun to watch and they always have a good announcer that knows how to entertain the spectators.

On the actual Fourth there was a flag-raising and pancake breakfast at our ward building.  The neighborhood parade started at 10am and was right at the end of our street.  For the evening,  I was invited by my dear friends/neighbors/adopted parents, the Ponds, to join their family 4th of July fun.  There was a BBQ with tons of food, kids of all ages, and very nice people at their son's house.  As it got darker, I realized how very tired I was, so I headed home and listened to the snap, crackle and pop of the fireworks outside.

Considering that Eric had to work, it was still a fun 4th.  But it is so much better with him!

Here are some pictures I took over the last few days.  Click on the pictures to see the full-sized versions:

Some of the entries in the regatta.  There sure were some creative designs!  The winner, however, was a very sleek regular boat design of two canoes with 5-6 people in each, connected in the middle by horizontal rods.  There were plenty of slow boats and some that even capsized and sank, but there were others that were incredibly fast!

The neighborhood parade is very simple, but cute.  The 3rd picture is the Pond family marching for Hilander Dental, which is where I go too.  They were all wearing their camo shirts later on at the BBQ.  Such a great family.

 Gus and Shawn, the Ponds' new puppies.  So cute!  They spent the whole night licking people's toes.

 Masterpiece in progress!  Rene and her friend, Callie, worked very hard on this flag cake.

 Steve and Diane, my dear friends and neighbors

 Is this the perfect party house, or what?

 Their beautiful deck

 There was tons and tons of food!  More people kept arriving and there was more than enough for everyone.  The hamburger sliders with pretzel rolls were a real hit, as well as this salad that Tracy made with chopped nuts, kiwis, boysenberries, strawberries, and...brown sugar.  It was almost a dessert in itself!

 Ta da!!  The cake is done!  Along with some patriotic Rice Krispies treats.

 Callie and Rene with their masterpiece.

 Look at all of those yummy desserts!

 Trying to ceremonially eat the first piece.  Yes, they ended up on the floor.

 This is why it is called the Flag Cake!  Isn't that cool?