Alone With the Morning Burning Red

The title of the post is lyrics from the song "4th of July" by Shooter Jennings.  It is a favorite song of mine!  I think of it every year around the 4th of July although I listen to it all year round!

I feel like I was just uploading pictures from the 4th of July in 2010.  Where does a year go?  Even more extreme than that, where does a decade go?  I thought about that over the weekend because it was my 10 year high school reunion.  I know that this is a cliche, but HOLY CRAP those 10 years flew by.  I am not going to get all nostalgic about missing high school because I really don't but it sure was fun to B.S. with my classmates for a day and look at old pictures.  I was with these classmates starting in 2nd grade and many of them were together starting in pre-school so we all go way back.  Even when I haven't seen them for awhile it is like we were never apart.  People really don't change that much.  Well, I believe we have all grown up alot so that is a good change!

There we are in 2001.  This photo was taken at a non-denominational church service the week before our graduation.  There were 28 in the class and I think everyone is in this photo.  Our school colors were not orange and purple...we picked those as our class colors.  Our moms were not thrilled because it was hard to decorate for our graduation parties with orange.  At the reunion, we decided that the orange was a regretable decision.  Oh well...it is something to laugh at! 

The reunion took place on Saturday the 2nd and that evening we went to the annual street dance.  It was so beautiful out.  I can't remember the weather being more perfect than it was on Saturday. 

Here is Andrea and Katie doing some pre-gaming before the dance.  Shocking, I know.

On Sunday morning Justin and I went to MN to his parents' lake cabin where we saw our four nephews.  We also saw Bison, Belle, Rocky, Rosco, and Chloe, the dogs of various family members that formed a wild, wet, pack of dingos.  I think I laughed at the dogs' antics more than the kids' antics!  The weather was perfect for the lake and I look forward to returning for a future weekend.  I forgot my camera so I don't have any photos of the day but it was fun.  I love a lawn chair, a beach towel and some reading material on a hot summer day.

On Saturday my brother showed up with a quantity of fireworks that we have never had before.  They were real "big" fireworks and not the mediocre "fun pack" fireworks that don't do anything but shoot sparks.  I was shocked that he would spend so much money but it turns out that his roommate works at a fireworks store so he got a deal.  I hope he stays friends with this person for awhile.  

Here is a shot of my and my buddy Wallace/Walter!  He is a good dog and our first dog that hasn't had a complete meltdown over fireworks, thunder and gunshots.  It is kind of nice!  I like to joke that our former dog Chubby gets so scared on the 4th that he wakes from his peaceful grave and dies of fear all over again.  That poor dog hated fireworks. 

This is a weird lantern thing that Pete bought with the fireworks assortment.  Once lit, it rose like a hot air balloon and went sailing away with the wind over the trees around the farm and out of sight!  Who knows where it landed!  We didn't hear news of any fires so it must have fizzled out eventually. 

 There were quite a few house guests at my parents' house over the weekend. On Saturday night there were 11 people staying there and on Sunday there were 14 people camping out around the house! Six bedrooms in a house is a feature of yesteryear and those rooms usually are only filled at holidays.  It was good to have the space but I have never wished we had a third bathroom more in my life!  You could not find an open bathroom unless you watched it like a vulture and dashed in as soon as someone came out!

The morning of the 4th dawned hotter than Hades and steaming with humidity.  Yikes....We headed to the parade, which was the same as it is every year.  The horses brought up the rear and there were alot of them! 

That afternoon was the demolition derby, an event that is usually filthy, hot and full of crazy sights.  It was made extra nasty because by 2:00 pm it was about 100 degrees with 99% humidity.  Holy bananas it was so hot.  I hate to say it because I long for the heat of summer all year, but it might have been too hot!  Everyone looked like a soggy mess by the time it was over. 

I don't know why I like watching cars smash each other so much.  Any other day of the year I could care less about something like this.  I attribute it to the festive atmosphere.  There are entertaining distractions betweeen heats and lots of refreshments and socializing.  For example, a guy threw frisbees into the crowd before the event began and my brother caught one.  It had a man's name written on it.  He thought it was just a novelty and gave it to a little girl.  Four hours later, the man from the frisbee had won the whole derby and that little girl had won $50!  Silly Pete. 

So another 4th of July has passed and summer is flying by.  I went shopping today and noticed the back to school promotions and fall oriented merchandise were already taking over the prime spots and the flower pots, lawn chairs, and beach towels were on clearance.  Sigh.