Hello Monday~ July 6, 2026/Independence Day weekend

 Good morning friends!  I hope you had a good weekend.  Here is a recap of what has been happening in my neck of the woods.

I mentioned last week a sleepover was happening here.  Thursday after work, 4 of my great nieces ages 9, 6, 5 and 4 came over to spend the night with us.  They were so excited and we were too. Shortly after they arrived, we went to the pool.  There were some other guests there too and they were adorable....

This momma and her babies were in the water when we arrived. After the pool, we came back and the girls had their hair and make-up done and got into costume to perform a Wizard of Oz play for us.  They are darling.

After the play, we did a dance lesson online and then popped popcorn and watched some tv before bed. I love my new popcorn popper! This is under $10!  All you do is add kernels and put this in the microwave. This requires no oil, so it is a healthy snack.  They did request some salt on the popcorn though :).

Friday, we had waffles, grapes, and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Afterwards, we took a quick 15 minute walk to get some outside movement.  Brook and I are on either end of the girls.

Brook did an art lesson with the girls.  We baked some cookies, had some lunch and they were all picked up by 1:30pm.  

After they left Friday, I did some cleaning and meal prepping because I had 3 friends coming over for dinner Friday night.  Other than hosting my parents the first week of living here, this was my first time to have multiple people here to eat.  I didn't get a finished picture of the main dish, but this was it in prep stage.  I made salmon with pesto and tomatoes in a foil packet with asparagus, seasoned with my bourbon salt and pepper. It was delicious!  One of my guests eats Keto, so  I tried to keep most things Keto approved.

I served this with broccoli salad and had this board of snacks to eat before/with our meal.

I made a cheesecake fluff for dessert with strawberries and blueberries.

Everyone liked the food and we watched the World Cup games.  Colombia won again! 

Saturday morning, I made breakfast for Brook and I.  I wanted to make something special for her, so I bought these Sister Schubert Cinnamon rolls.  We use to have these all the time when she was younger, so it was a blast from the past for her to have one of her old favorites.

Unfortunately, the father of one of my best friends passed away early in the morning.  I went to the grocery store and bought some breakfast food and lunch food for her.  I stayed at her house for a little bit to listen and cry with her. My heart breaks for her and her kids.  She became a widow herseslf in her mid-30's with 3 young kids.  Her father was such a huge part of her life and her kids.  She is remarried now, but the loss of her dad and their grandfather hits hard.  I spent some time praying for her and for the families of last year's Texas flood victims' families.  May we grieve with hope and long even more for heaven.  Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be!  

I went to my sister's house for a few hours later in the afternoon on the 4th, but was home way before dark & took a walk.  Brook spent the day on her own.  I was thankful to give her a hug that morning before we went about our day.  

Sunday morning, I walked to church and then had lunch at home by myself.  I saw Brook briefly Saturday morning and then we did cross paths Sunday afternoon, when I took her to go see the rose garden I mentioned week before last. Shortly afterwards, she was out again, so I had a fairly quiet day at home. I ate chicken meatballs, broccoli salad and some slices of cheese for lunch.

How was your weekend?  Enjoy your Monday!