Celebrating the 4th and year #23!!!

Boy was it HOT here on the 4th, but that didn't stop us from our usual celebrations.  I had hoped that we could skip the parade this year, but Hope (and friends) wanted to walk in the parade with our church VBS float.  SO...we went to the parade.  LOL!

Hope is up by the red truck pulling the float, looking back at Joe.

Look at this group!!!

Ally was walking in the parade with her gymnastics team, so Mom, Dawn and Annie joined us at the parade.  Ally is on the left doing some kind of tumble that I would never have been able to do in my life.  LOL!

We actually scored a pretty sweet spot in the shade, since we didn't have to sit right on the edge of the street to get CANDY!!!!  LOL!

Then we all went back to Dawn's for some grilled goodies and a dip in her swim spa pool.

On Saturday I was enjoying my favorite relaxing ritual of sleeping in and then enjoying my coffee on our front porch with my fountain on.  Last weekend, the chipmunks were tormenting Taylor by running back and forth.  Here she was trying to track them down, but just didn't have any luck...Whew!

And of course...Joe and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary.  That was a HOT day as well (23 years ago).  :)

We went to church, had lunch at home and then we drove to Winterset to have a few drinks at The Winterset Cidery.  They brew handcrafted hard ciders...and they are tasty!  If you get a chance, you should try it out sometime.  They do have a few beers on tap too, but the focus is on the ciders.

It is also kid friendly; however, they do not have any nonalcoholic beverages, so plan accordingly.  We stopped and got Hope a drink at Hy-Vee on our way.  She loved playing with the owner's puppy...named Lucy.

Later, we went to Joe's Crab Shack and ate on the patio so we could listen to the live music playing by the lake.  It was a great day!

So in honor of LOVE, weddings and Anniversary celebrations...here are some crafty projects to share those joys!

Until next time...

Darla