Friends and Family Celebrate July 4th

My son and grand daughter play poker with the crew in Maui

Poker FaceLooking west from the pool in Maui

Looking 180 degrees the other direction at the girls in Maui.

My friend Carrie and her daughter made a yummy looking patriotic cake! I didn't take any of these pictures as all those pictured were in a different areas than me yesterday. I just had to include them as they are my favorite pictures of the week-end. Thanks to all of you for sharing. I hope everyone had a nice week-end and got to see friends and family. The USA still remains the best country in the world. It's time to gear up for a busy week. Take care. Doug, Over and Out.

July 4th Parade Cont.

We followed the Gilbert fire truck.

Approaching the west end of main and the start of the parade.

Bill and I awaiting the start of the parade. Dave, Marty and Alex in the background.

Some took pictures of us as we took pictures of them!

Do we know this guy? This is the second year that Arcadia Lodge has had an entry in the parade. It is a fun parade and a family event. A great way to start the 4th of July celebration.

Parade Two

These are pictures of the kids of all ages that just love a parade! It was raining during the whole parade and the people just put on a coat and headed out! Most of the kids had about half a plastic grocery sack full of candy. If we trick or treat while it is snowing, I guess watching a parade in the rain makes sense! It's part of the pioneer spirit that makes this a great place to live and raise a family.

July 4th Parade

These are a few pictures of families that dressed for the parade. Looking at my pictures, I noticed just how many different people inhabit my town, work together and raise their families in the same school system. Sometimes, Ames takes its diversity for granted. Maybe, it's a blessing that we, for the most part, DON'T see it in this town.

July 3 Picnic

Dave and Mark cooking sweet corn

The crowd gathers

The line forms and the troops are fed. Dave,Mark, Teresa,Alex and I went fishing late in the afternoon. We caught fish, but they were starting to bite good when we had to grab some fire wood and head back to town. We had a campfire after our picnic. It started to drizzle about 6:30PM , so we sat by the fire and enjoyed the refreshing mist! I didn't get many pictures but you get the idea. I came back to Ames late as we had the parade the next morning.

I Had A Note!

This is just a quick post . I hope to get something on tonight. Six days w/o a computer, one surgery, a short IV cord and no solid food just got me out of the mood! AND, while I was sleeping, some SOB went wild on my stomach with a stapler! I have an appointment to get them removed tomorrow afternoon! Then I can get thru the metal detector again! Doug, Over and Out.

Father"s Day Fishing

Dean has something big!

Is it a Crappie or maybe a walleye?

We see it now!

He snagged a snapper!

Got him by the left leg. I tried to feed it a stick, but it kept biting and letting go. Usually they bite on and won't let go. The line broke shortly after this picture. So, this one is still swimming in the pond. He wasn't gigantic, but his head was about the size of a good fist. We caught a fair amount of fish this afternoon. It was hot and muddy from all the rain. We had to hike into the pond from the bottom of the campground trail. The guys are going to turn cattle into that pasture tomorrow, so we may not fish the pond for a few weeks. Memorial golf tournament next week-end. Twice as many have signed up this year as last so it should be a good time. Last year, it was the golf clubs largest grossing day. If we double this year, they should be happy to see us! Have a good week. Doug, Over and Out.