Happy 4th of July

Our 4th of July tradition the last several years has been traveling to Idaho to visit friends on Hayden Lake. This year, plans changed, and although we were sad to miss our friends on the lake, we managed to fill the weekend with lots of fun, food, and friends. I'll need a couple of days to rest up from all the activities, but the weather was fabulous, and reconnecting with friends was good.

 small crash trying to learn to ride without training wheels...all was well,

Little loving from mama, made the crash all right

Such a lovely day on the river. It seems as though summer has finally arrived

BBQ oysters to start our 4th of July feast.

Delicious and so tiny and perfect

local fruits and veggies made this BBQ amazing

Thanks to Ashley Rodriguez at http://notwithoutsalt.com/2011/06/29/this-years-strawberry-shortcake/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+notwithoutsalt%2FTjyU+%28Not+Without+Salt%29for the recipe for the best strawberry shortcake recipe...brown butter bread with fresh berries grilled on rosemary sprigs ahhhhh the taste was out of this world!!!

who needs kids?  All the adults were big kids playing with sparklers

Even with all the fun, it was time to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in the USA and to have the freedoms that many in our families have fought for.