July 4th

The weekend is over, the car is unpacked, leftovers are put away, dirty clothes have been taken out of the suitcases and put into the washing machine and the sadness starts to creep in.

What an absolutely wonderful weekend it was too! The weather was warm and sunny all weekend, there was plenty of great food and beverage to go around and FAMILY in and out all weekend! That's our brother Mark in the upper right hand picture telling everyone "HI" from St Louis. As you can see they are just about start the chicken cooking along with the guidance of brothers George, Mark, Dick and Pete. In the meantime the rest of the family gathered to chat and watch the kids play in the lake. They thought the water was warm enough to splash around in and have fun in while waiting for supper.

Astrid and I hit the Arts and Craft Fair on Friday morning which is a tradition in Phillips on the July 4th weekend. This year it was a total bust so we hit Harbor View for Bloody Mary's and conversation instead while George and Mark went golfing. After supper we all went over to the Probst's for fireworks. They put on an awesome show too, even including all of us in the finale! The last box of fireworks was not packed properly and when it was lit, it fired low and into the crowd rather than into the sky. Everyone scattered fast believe me!!

Next up, Colin and Autmn's Wedding in Lincoln, NE!!!

Up North

The Fourth of July holiday is almost upon us and I am so looking forward to it! We are going up north to the cottage(or as my children like to call it-The Chrouser Compound)to relax, fish and spend some quality time with family. Our brother and sister in law Mark and Astrid and their boys are here from St Louis for vacation. We haven't seen them in a really long time so it will be really nice to spend time with them and catch up on everything. it's hard to have them so far away after being used to them living right there in Phillips. We could see them whenever we went up to the cottage, Now it's Christmas and once in the summer. Saturday it sounds like a big family get together where other family members will be coming up for the day, with a cookout planned for later in the evening. This is always a production and cooking time is done in drinks rather than time depending on what the meat is. Chicken is usually a 4-5 drink dish where hamburgers are only a 2-3 drink dish. This makes for great fun and usually results in a wonderful cocktail hour! The men in the family stand around the grill making sure the meat is cooking correctly and giving the cook tips while the women usually are in and out of the kitchen making sure the rest of the meal is prepared and ready to go when the meat is done. The kids are running around having a great time and no one has to worry about them because they are within shouting distance and can be seen from where the cooking is taking place. They all wear life jackets if they are around the lake and an adult has an eye on them. Eventually someone says dinner is ready and a mad dash is made to the table where everyone enjoys a wonderful meal and then we all pitch in to clean up! That's what family is all about.

Hopefully George and I can get some fishing in while we are there. I love to fish but when we are around all the brothers, he usually goes out with them and forgets that I like to go too. I need to try and beat my 37 inch Muskie that I caught last year. We did see a 45 incher last weekend, but didn't have a pole in the water at the time. I guess if I don't get out much this weekend I'll be ok since I got to go out with George last weekend when we were up to the cottage all by ourselves. Shouldn't whine. Besides there will be a lot of other things to do. Just getting away for 3 full days is enough by itself.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July.