Our 4th

We had a good 4th of July weekend! Brad, Mary, and I enjoyed a nice evening of wine and conversation at our neighbors' house on Thursday. Then on Friday afternoon Steve, Amy, Annie, and their puppy Kevin arrived. Kevin was happy to see Sirius get here shortly thereafter and he shadowed him in the yard all day long. The most hysterical thing happened seconds after they met. Kevin followed Sirius out to the yard and Sirius - who had just gotten to the house - did his usual marking of the territory. Little did he know that Kevin was right underneath him and he peed all over Kevin's back. Neither dog was fazed, but we people thought it was pretty funny. The next morning, Steve and Amy said it was the longest Kevin had slept since they got him - he was till sleeping when they had to wake him up and drag him out of his kennel. Allie wasn't taken by Kevin (yes I know, shocker) and she was happy to have Sirius do her duties of entertaining him.

This is Allie's perch, watching the two youngsters have fun together while she hangs out with the grown-ups.

Getting up our deck stairs was a big challenge for Kevin. It took him many tries but eventually he did get up the stairs!

We had eleven people for dinner on Friday. Our friends Susan and Steve - and Steve's mom - joined us too. It had been many years since Steve Poss had seen Susan - going all the way back to Fort Worth. It was fun to catch up!

 The next day, the Posses and Harrisons went to the Webster Groves Fourth of July parade.

Among the parade's floats was the annual Battle of the Bulge entry. We clapped and thought of Uncle Kelly, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Young parade goers get great swag at this parade. Annie and Mary aren't all that young, but when they saw icees being handed out, they decided to take advantage of their youthful looks and get a cold treat! Annie worked very hard to get two icees handed to her, and she was quite gracious to give her other one to Mary.

Sirius was decked out for the holiday - and he was happy to have some time to relax in the shade while we watched the parade.

After the parade we walked home to have lunch, and then Steve, Amy, Annie, and Kevin headed home.

The next day, Brad, Mary, and I enjoyed brunch at the Boathouse restaurant in Forest Park. Afterwards we went to an exhibit about the 1904 World's Fair. Today Mary flew to Jackson, Wyoming to visit one of her good friends from Stanford. She returns on Friday, and then on Saturday Peter and Jessa arrive. We're looking forward to having all the kids and both of the boys' girlfriends in town!!