I am happy to report that after much blowing of things up, all of my children have all of their fingers and toes intact! It has been a successful 4th of July! One note about the economy- when Chuck went to the tribe to get his fireworks this year, he got the same pack that he does every year, The Thunderchief, it was cleverly packed smaller and the guy was not negotiating on price- at all!. The fuel prices are far reaching- even when buying illegal fireworks! What are we to do? We did have a good time in our new neighborhood. I cannot believe the amount of fireworks that we witnessed. They went on until 1 am. The only bad thing is my old dog Max just sat with his head in the corner all night- it was pitiful. Poor guy!
Also, Ella has a new friend- Tyanna who just moved in next door. They have been like two peas in a pod since day one. I really like the little girl, however, she comes with about 5 big and little brothers and sisters. In addition, we just can't shake her. If you open the front door, her and her clan will be waiting on the front porch like strays- "Can we come in? Can I spend the night? Where are you going? Can Ella play? Do you have any ice cream?" At all times of the day- there will be six kids in our front yard. It is all I can do to keep Chuck from being the grumpy old bastard on the block screaming "all you kids get the F off my yard!" We have been trying to set some kind of boundaries, but it is hard because they are really nice little kids and it is rare to find playmates that are not too annoying. Their parents are the types to just kick the kids outside to play, and we are micro managers that watch Ella every moment of her existence- and we have otter pops... I was always told to never feed strays. I think that is my problem.
We had a nice break at Lakefair this year, and it brought the HOTNESS which was better than last years rain for sure. Let's see, so many people to visit this week- my little sister is in town, and we got to hang out for a while. We went to the high school battle of the bands- the kids did not seem too excited for that. Ooh, Nicci and Michelle stopped by the boat. Nicci looks so good- she is a Cali girl for sure! Michelle, you look good too! No slights here. We had a nice visit over a couple of brewski's. OH- and my fascinating thing of the weekend- I saw a bobcat on a leash. Kind of weird. This was in a pretty crowded parking lot, and the lady made the comment, "she's not that friendly." Good to bring your 'not friendly' bobcat to a crowded environment with lot's of small children. Also, Shad was in town with his band Hellrancho. It was nice to visit with him, screaming over a LOUD opening band. Kind of awkward in a make you feel weird and old kind of way. His band was quite good though. Mudhoney and Motorhead happily blended together. Chuck was extremely happy to be there. Pun intended! Happy to volunteer to leave and walk Katie to her car. What a cute preggo lady! I'm thinking the bun in oven was feeling the same as Chuck. Anyways, Nic, we will have to visit more when we decide to make the Cali drive. 
