Flower Power

My flowers have once again gone beyond my expectations when it comes to their growth.  The only thing different this year is what types I planted.  I pretty much stuck with Moss Roses, Marigolds and Snapdragons in the front yard.  Even though a few of the plants have died off during the course of the summer heat, the majority have survived and flourished.  In the back on the deck I once again went with Pansies.  They like partial sun and it's the perfect place for them to show off their petite petals.  I also have a mixed basket containing flowers of which I don't know what they are.  But it was so pretty that I had to buy it!  

Pansies

 

More pansies and the mixed basket



Moss Roses in my front yard

Moss Roses, Marigolds and Snapdragons. 

This was a new plant I found and I don't remember what they're called. 



This is the other half of the above photo that I separated into a second basket. 



Gorgeous large blooms!

                                   


I just love having all the color mixed in with all the landscape plants.  It's definitely eye-catching to see the vivid shades of all the blooms. 

Blackhawk Days

The annual event, Black Hawk Days, in Lakeview, IA, is always a blast.  This year was no exception.  I never got an actual head count on how many people were all staying in the yard of Steve's Mom, Mickie.  But I'm sure the number was somewhere in the upper 20's.  Plus there were some staying in her house as well.  So roughly 30-40 people were all camping/partying/eating all in her yard!  Along with the human population that took over her house, there were 6 dogs and 2 cats staying inside as well!  Crazy!!!

Mickie has a gorgeous, spacious yard that she and her sons continue to work on each summer.  There is a dock all set up for the paddle boat, an area for dogs to walk down into the water with ease from the otherwise steep banks, a ladder for swimmers to use to climb out of the water, an enclosed hot tub, a huge all-season porch, an area with the fire pit and benches and beautiful landscape work all around the yard. 

All of my friends were there with me:  Steve, Tammy and two of their kids, Dee, Chris and baby Ian, Trisa, Jamie and Gavin, Tina, Teresa, Lisa, Scott and their 3 kids, Tracey and Garry, Jenine, Mike and their two boys, and other people that I didn't know well but had met before.  

 It was actually a pretty smooth event.  The sharing of the two bathrooms wasn't usually an issue either!  We all had a great time just playing games, swimming, grilling, drinking adult beverages and overall enjoying each other's company.  The weather was very hot and humid.  It cooled down at night with a nice breeze that made sleeping in our tents comfortable.  The first night we were there, a thunderstorm rolled through.  Typical...it wouldn't be our normal "Blackhawk Days weekend" if this didn't happen!  We woke in the middle of the night and went into the garage to wait it out.  Everything survived the wind and rain and back to bed we went. 

In the back corner of Mickie's yard is a nice quaint area with a fire pit and benches to sit on to enjoy the fire itself.  The adults stayed up quite late each night laughing and drinking.  The second night we actually played a game.  I believe it was about 3 AM when we all retired to our tents! 

Prior to the big weekend, we organized what our meals would be.  Each family brought his/her own meat for grilling, a large side dish to share for each meal, their own beverages, snacks, buns/plates/toilet paper, lawn chairs, shower supplies, etc., to use.  It was perfect.  All the coolers that everyone brought were lined up in the garage to keep the hot sun from aiding in the melt down of the ice inside them. 

 The main event for our group was the Mud Volleyball tournament that was held on Sunday morning.  Teams consisting of a minimum of 10 players were entered in the single elimination contest.  Matches of 3 games were played.  We only played our first 3 (losing 2 out of 3) games and were done but it's always fun to get down and dirty.  The way we rinsed off was to walk over to the nearby Black Hawk Lake and get in the water.  It was the best way of getting the mud off of our clothes and out of our shoes.  Showers were taken later on back at Mickie's house.  The massive amount of people in attendance was unbelievable.  It grows more each year. 



Enjoying the shade.

Cooling down.

Tent City...my tent is on the left with the green bottom.  I believe there were 9 tents in all once everyone had arrived. 



Enjoying the paddle boat and a blow up floaty.



A nice shady place to hang out in the back yard.



Mike, Tracey, Chris, Steve and Scott....just trying to stay cool in the heat of the day.



The girls favorite place to hang out.  The bottom of each seat has mesh and allows for the water to keep you cool.



Ian and Mom Dee.  He's so cute!!!



Madison, Me and Sadie, the Chocolate Lab.



Our mud volleyball team enjoying a beer after the mud volleyball games were done.



Doesn't it look fun?  It was a blast!  I'm in the front row, middle spot.

I don't go to BlackHawk days every year but when I do it's always a blast!  Thanks to Mickie for allowing all of us to invade your space!  You're the best!

Tanya's 21st Birthday!

My friend Tammy's oldest daughter, Tanya, turned 21 this past weekend!  It's so hard to believe!  I've known her since she was a young girl.  It's scary how the years have sped by.  Her actual birthday was spent with a group of roughly 20 friends in Lincoln, NE, where she lives and attends college.  They all took her around town where she had 21 shots of liqueur throughout the night!  She did it the smart way though.  She drank lots of water in between the shots.  Each one was a different flavor and they documented each one with pictures!  Her birthday gift from her best friend was a small home made picture book and in it was the description of where they went and what she drank, in numerical order!  Apparently it was very fun and she remembers all of it! 

So this week, her Mom Tammy and the rest of her family decided to have their relatives and friends over to celebrate with her as well.  Tanya made the drive from Lincoln to allow for all of us to see her.  Of course, more alcohol was consumed...I know, shocking. 



Tammy and Tanya



Celebrating together!

Happy 21st birthday Tanya!  Thanks for sharing some time with us!!

Studer Birthday Boys

My friend Lisa and her spouse Scott have three children, two of whom have birthdays over the fourth of July weekend.  Logan, the oldest at 7, celebrates his day on the fourth and Kaden, the youngest at 3, was born on the sixth.  And each year there is a party for both of them coinciding with a party for the fourth itself, at Scott and Lisa's house. 


Kaden and his "class clown" smile!  He's a funny kid!



Kaden on the bottom of the slide and Logan, third from the bottom.  Their sister Madison between them. 


Well this year they still had the big birthday party but decided not to do a big bang party to celebrate the fourth, due to cost and lack of funds to support such an event.  However, all of our closest friends still gathered for the birthdays and cake.  We also each brought a side dish to eat along with the hot dogs and burgers that Scott grilled.  I had made a dip consisting of Mexican Velveeta Cheese melted down and stirred together with browned hamburger and served it with tortilla chips. 
It was unusually cool (the normal humidity levels was low for a brief time!) for the weekend of the fourth of July.  So we were able to be out on the deck without being in misery and watch the kids swim in the above ground pool that sits in the back yard. 
It was a short night for me as I had to work again the next morning bright and early.  But we ate heartily and had a few adult beverages as well.  It's always good to gather with my friends and even get in some girl talk.