Afternoon of Celebration!

This Independence Day, I did not claim to be Canadian and celebrated the holiday probably more than I ever have discounting the past two years (in Boston and Philadelphia respectively). My parents built a crazy insane backyard patio/porch/landscaping area this past year, and we decided to make use of it, and host a huge barbecue in their backyard for all of our combined friends. It was a great turn out. There was plenty of food for all, Dad manned the grill of burgers and hotdogs, while I probably ate my weight in watermelon and garden sun chips. Nearly everyone we invited showed and stayed for the whole evening!The weather was less than pleasant that morning, gray and rainy, but by party time, the sun came out, but it never got too hot or humid, surprising for Iowa! But one of the biggest pluses of the event was a last minute invite to a friend of mine from high school was accepted. My tall lanky and lovely friend John came out, and we had a chance to catch up on the past year of our lives that we had so sadly missed out on! Love him. Overall the first half of the party was a huge success, even mom was able to sit down and enjoy herself a grilled delight and chat for awhile!
Then, as it started to dusk, we packed everyone up and transitioned closer into town to Tim and my place for the most glorious view of fireworks! (Coming soon to a blog near you...)