Life is a parade...

Followed by a party! Or at least mine was yesterday...

Contagion and his lovely wife Ktreva along with their boys Boopie and Clone were the first to arrive at my humble abode. Troopers that they are, they managed to schlep ice, a super yummy potato salad and two bottles of vino even though they couldn't make it to my driveway! Yikes!

I was so glad that they were here, I immediately put them to work - Ktreva slicing and dicing in the kitchen and Contagion manning the grill... It wasn't *that* hot - or so he said - but I was glad to have quite a few beers for him to sample and he seemed quite content.












fire + meat + beer = happiness... For Contagion, anyway. And he is a master of all three...

Harvey and TNT arrived shortly there after - packing more Ice up the hill. (Thank heavens!) It is always a joy to hang out with them and the frozen H2O was waaay necessary - gotta keep those beers cold, don't cha'know. And it was melty mcmelty in the heat...

After a quick bite to eat and a couple of beverages we gathered up the kids and headed down to the parade! The only things missing were Andy and Opie - I swear to God...

Everything from octogenarian square dancers, to classic cars, princes and princesses for days... Marching bands, fire trucks and politicians. What I so dearly love, is that when the colors are presented to begin the parade everybody stands up and pays their respects. (Even the 14-15 y.o. boys behind us - though it took me giving them a curt nod and the "mom stare" to seal the deal) when I heard one of them sigh,

"Huh - guess we have to stand up now..."

Damn straight, dude. On your feet...








More tractors make for a better parade, right?


Computa and Clone were digging the candy throwing...



Sporta did too, though she felt the need to stake out her own territory. Imagine that...

Freezee pops make everything better. Definitely.





So after the parade, we headed back to my place.

We were all eager to cool off inside and I needed to get cracking on the mojitos! Once the illustrious Tammi arrived, we ladies moved back to the patio for some R&R. And snacks - always with snacks...



Brats and hot dogs, asiago chicken sausages and polish sausage...

Potato salad (thanks Ktreva!), my yummy veggie summer salad, baked beans and the like...

Followed closely by Grandma's homemade Macaroni and cheese, and crack...

Shrimp and bacon crack... Mmmmmmm....

And you know? I have discovered that I have been remiss in the past and skimping on desserts. This year I decided to rectify THAT error with a lovely (and delish) Tiramisu ala Christina.

Honey? That stuff is slap yo momma good. Seriously.














Between the tiramisu and the chocolate fountain with an assortment of fresh fruits, berries, and cheesecake bites for dipping, I think everybody was pretty happy.

I took this picture just *after* all the kids had gotten their chocolate groove on.

To watch their anticipation, you would have thought I was channeling Willy Wonka himself. I had some VERY happy campers on my hands - and more than one shirt had to be changed... You *know* it's good stuff when that happens...

All in all, it was a great gathering of friends. Roses was able to stop by with one of her boys and enjoy a bit of the evening. The new owners of my this cute little house dropped in as well! (Did I mention that I really like them??)

And my blogless friend Nancy and her family stopped by too... Between bites of mac-n-cheese she talked blogography with the Blogfather himself (amongst other things). I figure she'll be posting away in no time... You know how it goes...

Anyhoo, not long thereafter my good buddy AkshunJ and Mrs. J made their appearance! Remember their recent trip to Bejing? Well, they brought me a present! Look!












Isn't that just gorgeous?? Wow! Thanks you guys!!!

And the girls got a little somethin' somethin' too - I'll post pictures once their ears are pierced - they are over the MOON!

So after all the yum and much fun conversation it was time to gather up and head to the park for some fireworks. (Hope the walking wasn't too much, y'all!) Folks come from miles around to see the show! My good friends and former neighbors had saved us a spot to plunk down our chairs and ourselves...

Ohhhh.... Pretty!!!!












Then home again for a few extra pops and crackles. It was a great evening...

Thanks so much for celebrating with us, everybody!! Y'all were a blast - better than the bombs bursting in air even.

Same time next year - okay?