Just great here in July

Alright, stop watcha doin
Cuz I'm about to ruin
The image and style that ya used to


If you don't know that song, I'll sing it for you sometime.


We had a pretty low key July. Which is just how we like it 'round here.

A little of this:



A little of that:

The marketing research team at New Belgium may wonder what the hell happened in Iowa in early July. The answer is simple. Tom and Rachel Luick were in town. Since we did little travelling over the 4th, they stopped by on their way through. Good times with old friends. Gotta love a couple who travels with their own margarita blender. The kids played together and had a great time.

For the 4th itself we did make a little trip up to Charles City to see the parade with Stacey's gramma Alice. Alice is a great lady. She's on my speed dial. If you want a straight answer about anything, ask Alice.

Stacey and her Gramma:

Us at the parade. We ate homemade church lady pie and other goodies while we waited:

We've been at the pool quite a bit this year too. Mara and Ellen always seem to know people there, so it's a lot of fun. The kids are old enough now too that we don't have to keep an eye on them every second, so it's kinda relaxing for us too. I'm still a little disappointed at the scenery there though. It's as if the hot moms are sick of getting oggled by guys like me so that don't take their kids there anymore.

Ellen in her floatie:

Mara kickin' back:

Stacey turned 38 this month. We had a little party at home with some cake. We want out to eat at Villa Patio here in Marion in celebration for here and had a little cake and creamed ice for the girls.

Stacey and the girls:

The next weekend we went to Clear Lake for the weekend. As always the girls were excited to get up there. We spend some time on the boat on Friday and then at the beach at PM park. Unfortunately, Friday wiped Ellen out so much that she never really recovered on Saturday. She had a rough day, but all things considered it was a good day. They both had a great time on Grandpa and Grandma's boat and rode on the raft. We also went back to the beach on Saturday. PM park is a great spot. A beach with a Tiki Bar? Here in Iowa? Fabulous.

Stacey stayed shoreside to do some work. This is me and the girls on the raft with Grandpa driving and Gramma spotting:

Jack and Carrie and Kim joined us for the festivities Saturday as well. Jack went golfing with me and Dad and helped us fix Dad's dock. When we went out on the boat, we picked up Kim and Carrie.

Carrie with the girls on Saturday: