Middle of summer goodness

I love the summer, have I mentioned that? Well I looooooorve it. I love warm weather (as anyone who knows me can well tell you), I love lots of daylight, I love sleeping in past 6:45 AM (can I ever have a "real" job?) and I just love it all). To celebrate our fourth of July we enjoyed a neighborhood parade. My aunt and uncle and their four kids and one dog joined us. We all watched while the younger cousins, their dad and "old-glorified" dog randomly joined the parade. There were plenty of hogs and low riders, local neighborhood floats and lots of fun.

Ready for the fourth!

Parade fun!

We're blue...and black, brown and white...

M and I rode our bikes down to the end festival and then came home and organized, watched trash TV and got ready for the evening's festivities. Almost all of M's coworkers joined us for our family BBQ; there was much overeating and good times had by all. Our friend Cynthia's mom and sister, along with me and my mom all enjoyed our patriotic tattoos!

Picnickers and grill masters!

¡Colombianos!

Some of our dinner...

Los tatuajes...

We got home after the fireworks show (which I can't help but clap at every time) and tumbled into bed. There were various booms and explosions throughout the evening and early morning but none so potent as the sounds of the fire that destroyed a local elementary school. The neighborhood was all abuzz with activity and curiosity today and there's definitely no word yet on the cause, but it's just good that no one was hurt. Though the irony is not lost on me that as a kid (or teenager...or college student...) it would have been glorious to wake up and hear that school was not just cancelled but burnt down (though I honestly would never wish this on anyone/school). Memaw and I drove by (shamelessly) to check out the damage this morning and it was pretty brutal, but it's a good thing that school's not in session for quite a while and that no one was hurt.

M and I cleared out some large things from upstairs this morning in preparation for our forthcoming garage sale. We also pumped my flat tire (due to a nail, as I found out today) with that spray stuff and took it to Sears where the tires are covered on warranty. However that spray stuff apparently mucks up the insides of tires and kind of ruins them so they couldn't just patch up the tire but need to replace it...but this specific Sears doesn't have the correct tire so I need to take it to the Sears at Eastridge tomorrow (an excuse to roam a mall I don't ever go to! Jeanne's coming with me...); good thing that spray stuff will hold up overnight.

We finally dragged our carcasses out for three miles and then took my brother, cousins and neighbor boy out for a "thank-you" dinner and dessert (Aqui and WG Frozen Yogurt, respectively) for all of the moving help...thanks boys! I'm gearing up for more organizing tomorrow (will it never end?!) and a possible morning run. Enjoy the pics!!