4th of July weekend

Four days off of work, spent at home. This is so rare for us. And treasured. We thought we would try to host a holiday gathering at our house this year instead of travelling as that gets to be so exhausting. I am still exhausted- in a relaxed, soaked up so much fresh air and sunshine and good memories that it tired me out. A far change from the exhaustion that comes from squeezing every minute from the weekend to be filled with one adventure or another. Both of which I crave. I like the simple, relaxing days at home just as much as the hectic days with projects and activities and adventures. The key is to find the balance in both.
I liked the slower pace of the long weekend; plans made spur of the moment, but I still need to have a plan. I need to have a plan for at least some aspect of things so I feel like I have some control. Not sure this is a great quality or not, but I am happiest when I know people will be eating and sleeping and have clean laundry. And those are all things I can plan for. The preparations for the weekend were simple- our little girl and I picked out some fun new toys (a slip & slide, bubble want for giant bubbles), and I made some food. The anticipation and planning is part of the excitement for me.

We crossed off items from our summer bucket list, like boating and tubing with friends and family and tried out a new restaurant on the lake.








We watched the fireworks, on a blanket by the water and I was so tired I fell asleep during the fireworks. And I missed a great show (so I was told). Sitting on a blanket by the water with my family was just enough to lull me to sleep.
We intended to go to paint pottery, but I took a wrong turn and we drove by an art festival, which lured us in, which was right by the lake, which lured our little girl in…and a new plan was made, without us even realizing it. A better plan.








We collected rocks and went home with several treasures. They are still sitting here in our driveway, a reminder of the fun day.




We ate, and laughed and ate some more. Any good weekend can be summed up with bellies that hurt from laughter and are full of food. We had both.

Our little girl played with her grandparents.

We pulled out that slip and slide and it was just as fun to watch my little girl (and husband) play as I remember it being when I was a child.

 

We made a town in the driveway, complete with our homes and those of our neighbors, friends and family. This was another unplanned adventure that just kept on. We added a bus, school and our places of employment. At the request of our little girl, I added the teepee that is in her room and I knew she was getting tired when she asked me to draw a bed and promptly laid down on it.

 

I love thinking back to the memories that were made, the moments that made us smile, laugh and think “life is good.” And there were many of those. Our little girl got some great quality time with her grandparents and great-grandparents. And those four days…were well spent.

~Angela