Remembering 4th of Julys past...

We're back! On-line, that is. Turns out some of the storms last week took out some electrical lines, and the electric company made restoring people's power a priority over restoring our internet. Hard to argue that, I guess. But it's good to feel connected again!

So anyway, where were we? Let's start with our 4th of July celbration (yes, I know it's misspelled... just a little poke at our friend Adam's spelling skills. It's a joke that never gets old to the rest of us). If you're not familiar with our tradition, we, along with 4 other couples, have been trekking down to my parents cottage in Pewaukee (WI) to celebrate the 4th of July, every year since 2002. But since last year was the final year in Pewaukee (Beck & Bill sold the cottage), we weren't sure what we'd do this year. Until again, my parents came to the rescue - inviting the same group, and more friends, out to the house they rented!

The location is probably the most minor change in our celbration, if I look back over the last six years. When we started our tradition in 2002, out of the 5 couples, one was married, and between all of us we had one dog. I'll spare you the year-by-year changes, but if you look at us now - all 5 couples are married (see Jen & Aaron - June 24th post), and there are 5 kids (the latest is Sylvia Grace - see July 13th post) and we can't forget the three dogs and four cats that are a part of our families.

Back in 2002, our activities centered on getting some sun (and keeping Jenny from getting too burnt), playing endless bocce and goofy drinking games, bonfires, and sleeping late. If you were one of the squirrels in the trees, you would have heard conversations about going to Summerfest (we talked about it every year, but never went), how to slow the guys down so they'd be functional the next day, and how comfortable the hammock was for napping.

Pictures are definitely worth a thousand words... these are from the 4th of July celbration this year! You're seeing the Brodds and Roses centered around Kasey, with Jamie more than ready for little Sylvia to make her appearance. The other is Jodi blowing bubbles for Zach and Stuart - instant entertainment. These are a good summary of how we spend our time now - it's mostly about the kids! As you look at the other pictures, you'll see some of our other fun - we still managed to play a little bocce, spend some time on our floating oasis island, drink a few margaritas, and eventually have a bonfire on the beach. But a lot of the conversation centered on baby names, the merits of cloth diapers, and how to get your kid to sleep. And you know what? I wouldn't change a thing.