Happy 4th of July!!!

Well, this holiday weekend was filled with stuff to do.

First, we made the drive over to Mankato to celebrate the 4th with Cathy, Bill, and Ben.
We grilled out and played awhile.  Then we did some smoke bombs and sparklers.
Kathy stayed over night to watch Ben on Saturday while Mommy and Daddy worked.
I rode back with Marie and Everleigh.

Then on Saturday, I met the Silver Boys, the Rochester Boys, and some other friends at the annual Dan Ulwelling Memorial bike race in Austin, MN.  There was a stiff wind from the south, so the race was fast out of the gate.  We were hitting over 30 mph until we turned and the crosswind started to break things up.  Carlton, Andy, and myself had to work real hard to bridge up to the lead group after we turned north again.  But we made it in time for the group to turn east and into another crosswind section.  This is where I started to feel it and there was no real place to get out of the wind.  I managed to stay in contact with the lead group as we turned south and into the headwind.  Needless to say, I stayed near the back and just tried to hang on.  As we turned west, the crosswind kicked in and the group surged.  I found myself in "no man's land" and pretty much decided to pedal in on my own, when Matt showed up and as he went by, I got a second (or third) wind and jumped on.  We worked well together all the way to the finish line.  I think I finished close to the top 10 and I got 3rd in my age group (50 to 59), the old guys group.  My parents, my sister, my brother, and my nephew all showed up to see me cross the finish line.  It was a fun race and I think everyone stayed safe (even better).

The start...

...Matt's and my finish.

Then Saturday evening, Kathy and I went to the wedding reception for the daughter of a couple of long-time friends.  We met several others we hadn't seen in a long time.  And Kathy and I got to dance together.  That was the best!!!  A great end to great day.  Congrats to Cindy and Justin!  And I'm sure Dave and Maren are glad it's over too!

For Sunday, we stopped over to see little Everleigh take a swim in her new pool.  She looked so cute in her bathing suit and sun glasses (even if the sunglasses didn't stay on too long).  Then we went over to my parents house for BBQ ribs and to play with Everleigh some more.  We sat around and chatted after a big meal.  And we got to spend some time with Tom and Amy.

So...a busy, but fun, weekend.

Also, we were officially informed that Benjamin will soon be the "Big Brother"!!!  More fun times...

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday, America!