4th of July Weekend, etc.

Well it was quite and week and quite a weekend!

Most of the week was spent preparing the grounds of Dad and Mom Rassi's house for the big reunion on Saturday. On Friday night we left their house around 10 - 10:30 to finish our pinatas. By the time they were finished it was around 2:30 AM. Needless to say...we showed up for the reunion at about 8:00. I helped get bacon in the roaster (55 lbs.) and watched as they fried and scrambled about 25 doz. of eggs. The brunch at 10 AM was delicious. After we ate, Darl and Janelle, and Mary & I played a round of mini-golf. Mary was the winner! Then it was on to the serious game of croquet -- a Rassi must. I played three rounds -- and I must say...I think my game improved quite a bit. Someday I may be ready for to play with the big dogs (i.e Greg Rassi's children). From what I hear, they play a pretty intense game of croquet! After the croquet game I caught children coming off the zip line for a while. It was neat to see their eyes change from scared to delighted as they got used to flying through the air. After that, an informal game of softball formed and so I joined that group. Soon after we started, the hog was done roasting and it was time for supper. After the meal we set up the pinatas for the children. Nearly everybody who wanted to take a hit was able to...and when they broke, the children all got enough candy to last at least the rest of the evening. After the pinatas we played a little softball again until the hot air balloon showed up. I got to help set it up which was very interesting, intense, and hot! Try being on the side of a balloon that is nine stories high when the wind is blowing against you and you are trying to hold metal wires out of a 15-20 ft. flame! It was worth it though...those of us who helped set up the balloon were some of the first to go up. I would love to go on an actual ride some evening! At the end of the day we cleaned up for a while and then went home to get some rest. It was a great day and I really felt like I got to know the extended Rassi family much better!

Sunday morning we woke up pretty tired. We had a nice day in church. After church we took a nap which lasted a bit longer than they were supposed to...we were supposed to eat supper with Dad and Mom Rassi and Dad and Mom Beutel at 4:30 but we woke at about 4:50! Oops! Thankfully they saved us some pizza and then we used the batting cage and played mini golf until dark. Then we took a dip in the pool. Another lovely day!

Once again the forecast for this week is - busy. Monday night I am supposed to bale hay with Dad while Mary works. Tuesday night we have potluck at our house with our younger group. Wednesday night is church. Thursday night we have supper at John and Heathers. Friday we are going to a blueberry farm up north and then we are hosting a cook-out for a group of Mary's high school friends. Saturday night we have potluck with our older group and may have Caleb overnight. So.....it will be busy.

Below enjoy photos of the hot air balloon, a mini-golf course hole, the pinatas for the reunion (star and smiley), and the pinata we did for her Spanish class (the pig -- my personal favorite!).