Friends, Fun, and Fireworks

The last week has been bursting with friends.  Last Friday, we drove up to Ft. Worth for the wedding of our friends Dawn and Jim.  Dawn had her dress custom made and it is so perfectly her.  The reception was held at a really nice RV park (sounds crazy, actually crazy-awesome) which boosted the retro-kitsch vibe that was also very much in the bride and groom's style.

Our friend Maria befriended a local chicken and Dawn brought out her friend Abe (long story).  Geoff was the last person to go get cake, so they gave him a half-pound piece (he had about three bites, then pushed it aside and I ate it - I have a major cake weakness).  These giraffes were our place cards and now hang out on our bookshelf.

Quite a few of our Pennsylvania friends flew in for the wedding (although only a few still live in PA) and it was great opportunity to catch up in person instead of on Facebook.  We only had a few days with most of them, but our Frank came back to San Antonio with us for a four-day visit.

I had to work most of the week, but Frank and Geoff rented some bikes and toured the town.  Of course, they went to the Alamo (they failed to find the basement), but they also looped around the McNay, and tried on some fancy new hats.

On the Fourth, we had a cookout over at the Holtz' and entertained the kids with bubbles (left over from the wedding) and runs through the sprinkler while the adults relaxed and ate way too much 7-layer dip. Man that stuff is good.  It's a good thing I only have it every five years or so.

Mike's niece and nephew are visiting for a few weeks and Veronica got them matching flag shirts and made them pose for a series of increasingly ridiculous portraits.  I call this one "bored at Six Flags."

After last year's drought, we were excited to shoot off fireworks.  I think the adults were nearly as excited as the kinds and they graciously shared their sparklers.

Obviously, I had to make some things for the party, because that is just how I roll.  I had my favorite tart crust from 101 Cookbooks in the freezer so I baked that up and filled it with peach butter and berries.  Never one to stop at just one desert, I made red velvet graham crackers which were combined with Veronica's homemade marshmallows into insanely decadent s'mores.  To channel the kids' sugar highs, I helped them make pinwheels that work like gangbusters: