Going With the Flow... and Happy 4th

You may recall my last post when I talked about our July 4th plans. Well, things changed around here and we've just been going with the flow.

The 100 mph winds that blew in through our area on Sunday afternoon also blew out the power at our friends house and my work. The town where I work was stated to be a natural disaster area, with the July 4th celebrations cancelled. It was crazy.

Our friends stayed with us from Monday morning until 6 this evening. It was just way too hot and uncomfortable in their house with the power off - plus it ended up being a good excuse for us to spend some 'forced' time together. ;) I worked off and on from home a bit on Mon & Tues, but mostly helped with the care and entertainment of Parker (almost 3) and Nolan (almost 6 months), and enjoyed precious time with my dear friend Monica.

It was an unusual but extraordinary time - great memories, conversations, laughs, food, and wonderful snuggles, giggles, and sweetness with those two adorable boys! Today was even more special when we got to hang with the guys as well since of course, both Brian & Tim had the day off for the holiday.

Parker was pretty stoked this morning to learn buddy Tim didn't have to go to work!

My fav pic from today of Parker & Tim snuggling. Love. :)

So now that they have power again and are back home, and our offices have power again, tomorrow (Thursday) will be my first time back in the office in two weeks. Wow! I can't remember the last time that happened outside of Christmas time!!

I've needed this time of relaxation, rest, fun with friends, special time with little ones, and getting house projects done. So despite the frustrations the power outage caused, and the disorientation Nolan seemed to feel (and thereby lack of sleep he & Monica both had while here), I'm grateful for this sweet time together. It'll go down in my books as some of my very favorite memories.

Tonight we ended it all with a BBQ dinner together, and then after scurrying around to do some clean-up before my mom & stepdad arrive on Friday, Tim & I watched the Chicago's Navy Pier fireworks from the comfort of our own home & a/c (so thankful for them airing those on TV!!).

Today Chicagoland hit record-breaking temps (like much of the rest of the country) at 102 degrees. This tied the record back in 1911 for this day. It was sooo hot, humid, and oppressive. Blech. So watching the fireworks from our home was the only option for me!

Hope you all had a great 4th!