Independence Day 2014

You know two families are good pals with each other when they can spend eleven hours with each other--six adults, eleven children, two meals, several naps--and feel good about it all at the end of the day!

We began celebrating our Independence Day by picking blackberries in the cool morning. I highly recommend Summerberry Farm and its thornless blackberries. Of course, none of our children now have a story to tell like I do of the time I went blackberry picking as a child, alongside a sloping hill down to a river and slipped bodily deep into the blackberry bushes where I then clung with my fingers to the dirt, hoping I wouldn't slide down the hill to the creek, calling all the while for help from my aunt and uncle who didn't hear me until they came strolling along to where I was lying, scratched head to toe. I have that story, my children are a bit deprived by their thornless bushes and wide, flat paths on which to walk.

We then drove to our friends' home where we ate lunch. The two mamas laid down the toddlers for nap and then talked about serious subjects in silence for almost two hours while the dads and one grandma took all the children to the pool. Oh, we ladies were so grateful and happy!

When they returned, the other grandma supervised the cooling-off children watching "Muppet Treasure Island" while the other adults cooked dinner and enjoyed real conversation without constant interruptions.

The potluck menu was fabulously yummy:

Vegetable and Shrimp Kebabs on the grill
White and Wild Rice
Spinach Salad (with strawberries, blue cheese, pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette)
Macaroni and Cheese
Rainier Cherries and Watermelon
Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

Then we set off little fireworks in the back yard. The children enjoyed it so much, still being young enough to be excited by "grocery store fireworks." In fact, the two three-year-olds and two one-year-olds were all scared so came inside to watch through the window.

A wonderful time was had by all. Happy Independence Day!