Much Needed Break & 4th of July

(Hailey and Landon)

FINALLY, I was able to get a day off, two in fact. We started off the break with a trip to Shaun and Jennie's house last Wednesday evening. I brought along my bottle of Bacardi and Cherry Coke Zero...don't think I've had a drink since Megan and Tim's wedding. Jennie cooked one of the best meals I've had in a long time- steak, fresh sauteed veggies, potatoes, and wheat yeast rolls! We topped dinner off with brownie sundaes. Landon was already out for the night when we got there so after dinner we started up a game of Taboo while waiting on the Hangover to download. Yes, we had already seen it and laughed our butts off, but Jennie and Shaun needed the experience. Taboo turned into a heated tournament, ladies versus men, and of course the ladies came out on top!

(Jennie and Landon---so cute!)

With Thursday, came a much needed break from everything. Aside from grabbing some Mi Rancho, I was able to get quite a bit of napping in. Feeling rested, we ventured out to the Critzer's house again on Friday. This time we took Hailey with us so she could get some playtime in with Landon. We planned ahead and brought her pj's so she could sleep while we had a rematch of Taboo. Although, we didn't get to the game again, Rich and Shaun set off some amazing fireworks and we had a nice grilled meal. This was the boys night to really enjoy themselves..hence the sombreros, pellet gun practice, swimming, and fireworks.

(Shaun and Rich, need I say more?!)

If you aren't getting the picture yet, we always have tons of fun with Shaun, Jennie, and Landon. Sooo, yes, they came over to our house for the 4th of July and some more fun. We grilled peanut chicken kabobs, veggie kabobs, and had asparagus and rice. I made my traditional fruit pizza for dessert. Rich and Shaun set off some tame fireworks in our driveway and Hailey and Landon had fun with the roller coaster. A walk was needed to work off dinner, so we headed down to the lake to see the ducks and geese. Everyone managed to catch at least one fish, which the kids loved, until you got too close to them:)

(Not so close!)

(Fishy!)
(Another fishy!)(Where'd the fishy go???)

A side note--I have been trying to do some of the big cleaning for the last couple of weeks, but haven't had the time. Having Shaun and Jennie over got our butts into gear, and we were able to really scrub down the screened in porch, front porch, and all the hardwood floors. I still need to get to the garage, but that'll have to wait until next weekend.

Odyssey is over and summer school starts tomorrow. I'm hoping that I like the change, but we'll see. Next week I am teaching at another big science camp at UVA in the afternoons, once summer school is over. It's a little stressful since I hate the parking situation at UVA and I have no idea what to expect. Oh and yes, there will be 50 kids in my class! YIKES! Let's hope I can keep them under control when we are building our "green towns".