Flowers, fireworks and 4th of July

It's that time of year when colors abound!  Brilliant flowers are popping everywhere along with the fireworks.

Here's my annual expose' on summer flowers(most of them in my own back yard)...

We love our "Life is Good" t-shirts!

For the first time in many years, Mike and I stayed in town for the 4th of July.  It was a crummy, rainy weekend, but we still had fun. We headed to  Nashville, Indiana for some shopping and lunch at a favorite pizza place.

Next we headed to the outlet mall with thousands of other like-minded people who were looking for an activity they could do in the rain.

Hey, shopping is an American tradition, isn't it!?














Normally we watch our town's fireworks from our front yard, but this year Mike wanted to go to our town park and enjoy the fireworks firsthand.  We gathered up lawn chairs and hiked to the park where we enjoyed "fair food" and a ride on the Ferris wheel.

Enjoying the Ferris wheel with Mike!

View of the midway from the Ferris wheel

As darkness settled in, we set up our lawn chairs in the park and enjoyed the show.  The fireworks were right overhead and absolutely stunning.  Ok, and a bit scary as debris rained down on my head.

Mike, Diane, Elena and Atanas

We enjoyed a lovely evening with friends Elena and Atanas at our local Irish Pub.  Nothing like sitting outside on a cool summer evening and catching up on life.

Mike, Melanie, Diane and Chuck

Last Saturday we spent the afternoon visiting with Chuck and Melanie in Broad ripple.  A couple of pitchers of margaritas was a perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday.












And of course it is an unwritten law that you must enjoy ice cream in the summer! One of our favorite places is the "Frost Bite"!  Last week Mike introduced me to the "Big Berry"in a small town near here.  Gotta love these names!

And as you might expect, we always find weird sights in everyday life...





We drove by the "Eat Mor Chicken" cow today.  One minute he was standing by the side of the road...















And then he was being led away...

Did he violate some company policy?  In trouble with the law?  Or merely couldn't see in his costume?













Like everyone, I've been very troubled by the violence and unrest this past week.  If only we could do what is inscribed over this church doorway...

Take care, and to quote Ellen: "Be kind to one another".
Diane