July 4th recap

We had a lovely holiday weekend here at the lake. Our Dallas daughter and her boyfriend arrived on Friday, along with our nephew. Then Saturday our niece arrived. We had eleven for lunch on Saturday, and it was a wonderful time. Late that afternoon, I took out the younger set for a cruise on the lake. The older crowd  - my husband's parents and aunt - opted to stay in the AC instead of sweating in the Texas heat.

It was fun to watch the fireworks displays in our community on Friday and Saturday nights. The one out on the point, reflecting off the water, was especially impressive.

I didn't take any pics of our meals, but I did snap one of the pan full of onions I spent 45 min caramelizing for homemade onion dip that the kids enjoy. The husband did an excellent job smoking brisket and ribs, as well as grilling a couple spatchcock chickens. The younger daughter and I whipped up several sides, as well as homemade banana pudding. But the cookie cake covered in icing was also well received. 

With our Austin daughter and her husband in Colorado visiting his family for July 4th, we volunteered to keep our grand doggy. I've gotta say, Chorkie is mellowing out some as he continues to age. Oh sure, he hiked his leg on my ottoman as well as silk plant in the house. And probably a few other things got sprinkled that I haven't discovered yet. But he's generally easy to keep if you discount his need to mark things in our home. As luck would have it, our niece drove Chorkie back to her place in Round Rock, and thus saved me and my daughter a couple hours of driving to get him back home to Austin.

It's hard to believe this is our country's 250th birthday. I remember celebrating the 200th birthday (bicentennial) back in 1976 when I was in 3rd grade. We dressed up in colonial costumes for celebratory activities at school. I recall feeling really proud of this cute revolutionary era mob cap my mother made me to wear. Where does the time go, y'all? As the song says, "God shed His grace on thee"... and I praise Him for it. May the Lord bless and guide our country as believers continue to be both salt and light in a world that desperately needs to hear His Good News.