Fourth of July Weekend

I had a FANTASTIC Fourth of July weekend! It was great to be home with my boys and even better to have a nice, loooong weekend. I was able to get some school work done and had some fun too.

On Friday night we met up for dinner with some of Justin's work buddies. Got to hear lots of funny stories. On Saturday I slept in, which was glorious in and of itself! Then we went for a walk with Lucien, saw ECLIPSE, I did some school work, then we BBQ-ed with friends, chatted with my neighbor, made some delicious brownies, and did more school work till late. On Sunday I slept in again (happy sigh), did school work, rescued my friend's little boy from a pair of handcuffs and got to chit-chat and catch up. :) Then we BBQ-ed with Amie Jo and her awesome family! I love hanging with them - it's like being surrounded by my own crazy family :) Then more hanging out with friends! On Monday morning I actually RAN! It was my first run in a little more than 2 weeks and boy, am I sore! I took Lucien with me and he was dying after half a mile. We went 2.2 miles.

After that we loaded Lucien in the car and went out to Lake Mattoon to hang out with some running buddies - Jaymie and Randy!!! It was soooo great to see them. There was another black lab running around and fetching sticks out of the water. Lucien is really afraid of water - has NEVER liked it at all. After about an hour of coaxing, we finally got him to walk into the lake with us. It was little by little, but after a while he was actually in chest-deep! I was so proud of him. He would have never even wanted to get in if it wasn't for the other lab (Charlie) making it look like so much fun. I had my camera and was taking pictures. Sure enough, as I was trying to hand it off to Justin (to avoid dropping it), I dropped it right into the lake. BOO. So, Jill took these pics with her camera phone. They'll have to do for now. Hopefully my camera will work once it dries out. :)

me, Randy, Justin, and Lucien

After this, Jaymie and Randy took us on a tour of lake in their boat. It was a gorgeous day and I could not think of a better way to spend it than with friends on the lake. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend so much fun!!

A huge hug and kiss to my incredible Justin. Thank you so much for getting the house ready for me and for being so incredibly supportive and encouraging while I'm on this crazy journey. I love you more than you know.