Some of our best parties

take place in the rain and it was a rainy Independence Day but the temperature was comfortable and with Mom and Dad's big porch there was room for all. We started gathering around 3:30 and had more food than we could eat as always. Sister Beth decorated both the kitchen and dining room tables with festive tablecloths that then got completely covered with serving dishes.

DH made BBQ pork ribs in the crockpot (he got up at 3 am to put it all together and in the crockpot) and we also took corndogs over as part of our contribution. Other food included deviled eggs, cakes, cookies, peanut butter cake, macaroni salad (DH's favorite made by Pam), sausages for in buns and cocktail sausages cooked in sister Nancy's "secret" sauce, chips of various types, of course, and the popsicles. There was more but I can't remember it all right now except when Jen and her family arrived with the fruit salad.

I got some nice shots of rain covered flowers and tried out some more settings on the Canon after reading the instruction manual again. There is still a lot I don't take advantage of that this camera can do.

The popsicles were a hit of course and made two appearances during the afternoon and evening (as did the kittens since we had groups that came and went at different times). The kittens are two weeks old now and they were introduced to more family members to start the socialization process. The kids were so gentle with these tiny fragile beings it was delightful to watch. Adult hearts melted also. I only got a few not-so-good head shots as the kittens kept moving around in the arms holding them.

It rained off and on, sometimes with purpose and sometimes like an afterthought. We started some fireworks late in the afternoon but the real show did not begin until dark which is also right when the rain decided it really had to come down. Jen and I stood out in the field under a small maple with umbrellas over us and our cameras and took pictures of the city fireworks. The fireworks didn't get quite the height they usually do because of the rain but it was still a nice display and Jen and I got to try out different settings on our cameras. I still had the old Olympus for July 4 last year so this was my first time using the Canon. I decided I like the fireworks setting better than manual but if I had had more fiddling time I may have decided differently. Its hard to change camera settings when you are balancing an umbrella. I will have to do some editing before I am satisfied with the city fireworks pictures but here are a few highlight for now.

The family fireworks display was set off after the city finished and the rain stopped again also.

We had a great and exhausting time again. I actually slept in this morning and did not get up until 8 am when the dogs and cats decided I had slept long enough.