July 4 Pre-Fireworks

Saturday Afternoon: Robin invited the girls and I out to Morrison for the 4th. It's been HOT for days now--in the upper 80's and low 90's--so it was very refreshing to jump in the water!

 We shared a delicious meal together and I ate TOO much TOO fast and ended up with a very tender stomach! I had to give myself a little extra time before jumping into the water myself.

 Morrison Lake is a beautiful lake. It is NOT full of algae or seaweed. It has a nice sandy bottom to it, and it doesn't drop off until past the dock, so there is plenty of room to swim and play.

 We decided to take a late afternoon boat ride. Robin supplied veery cool July 4 face stickers ... Robin knows how to throw a good party and seems to think of everything.

 We saw one of those motorized air bikes ... which was very wobbly for the longest time. I wondered if the pilot was going to be able to keep it in the air!

 Kaity made herself right at home ...

 Phinehas McGee, however, was rather "spooked" by every little noise. There was folk shooting off noisy cherry bombs, etc. at their cottages, and Phinny got shaking like a leaf.

 He was happiest in Robin's lap.

 We figure we must have miscounted the cygnets last time I was at the lake. We thought one had gone missing--but there were definitely SEVEN today.

 Robin asked if Emma wanted to drive the boat ... so she did!

 Poor Phin got to the point where he just could not tolerate the noise, nor would he be comforted--so Robin took him inside, turned on her TV nice and loud, and closed windows and blinds so that he could settle down.

 We hung out for a little while, waiting for it to get dark.

Pretty soon it was approaching eventide, so we headed back out to the boat ...

July 3 at my house

Friday:  Another steamy-hot day today! I had three precious guests come over to spend time here at my house. I had to be careful to keep these guys cool and comfortable, so I tried to keep things low-key most of the day. 

Here are some super cute pictures of our little QP doll Erin Lucia.

 This picture (below) is SO her ... such personality in this little lassie.

Erin shared her lunch with Matey-Bird. She loves him to pieces.

 Brendan kept himself busy most of the day just exploring stuff ...

 Aidan played with the robot alphabet, trains (naturally), and lots of stuff in the playroom.

 I did set up a side yard water park for the kids and they played out there for a solid hour. Yay!

 These guys are really nice little kids--all of them. They are a busy bunch, but they are not whiny or destructive. I love to watch them play.

 Erin! Gah! You are such a cutie-pie.

Super thankful we all made it through a very hot day. Mid-afternoon, we watched "Herbie Rides Again" on Disney+, requested by Brendan. We laughed a lot during the story and managed to survive our day very well. Thank you so much, Lord!

July 2 at Versluys Park

Thursday:  Kaity and I played for awhile today over at Versluys Park. It's super close to my house, which is very nice if you struggle with a long drive (Kaity does). 

 It wasn't very crowded, but perhaps that's because we didn't really arrive until about 4:30 in the afternoon. We had played first at my house. Kaity was a little "out of sorts" today ... quieter than usual, and I think more tired too.

 It's a very nice park actually, and the water is checked by the DNR on a regular basis. We swam for quite awhile, played catch, and then Kaity hooked up with some children more her age and played with them for awhile.

 This is one of the two playgrounds at the park.

What a really HOT day it was too ... I was glad we could get some refreshment in the lake. My little house usually doesn't get too hot--but the 90's does get somewhat extra WARM and uncomfortable at times here. We will return here I am sure. I purchased a season parking sticker for my car, which will save us $$ in the long run.