Atypical 4th of July

We were out of our typical Fourth of July routine today as we spent the holiday in Syracuse.  For the past six or seven years we have generally traveled during this time period visiting some of our favorite destinations - Bloomington, St. Louis, Washington D.C and even Vermont.  This year, however, we decided several months ago to spend the fourth at home.  One of my friends from Milford was getting married and I wanted to attend the ceremony.  Meg would be working summer camp and couldn't travel with us.  Cal had said that he wanted to invite his friends to our house for the weekend.  Thus, when Brett asked where we were going for the 4th of July festivities, I answered him with home.

Wendy and Rick's wedding was very nice albeit a little hot.  It was held outside at the Lodge and Doug and I enjoyed it very much.  Several of my friends from Milford were able to attend as well and it was fun talking with everyone.  We made it home before Cal and his friends got back.  They had eaten lunch at Chubbie's and hung out at Jeremy's on Camelot Lake for awhile this afternoon.  Meg made it home for her 4:30 to 6:30 break and enjoyed Pizza Hut for dinner.  Doug cooked brats and hamburgers for everyone else including Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes later in the evening.  Cam spent the day with Joey on the lake.  The boat he was on was anchored close to Grandma Jane's, so they swam there several times during the afternoon.  They then spent the evening here and enjoyed laughing at Cal and his friends.  Brett had a busy day in Bloomington.  He walked in the parade supporting a friend of his running for City Council.  He met another friend for drinks at The Tap Room and ended his evening with Sean and Jovie at the Monroe County Fair.

Today was not the our typical fourth of July and I am sure that next year we will go back to traveling for the holiday.  Overall, however, we were all happy with the plans that we had chosen.  Most importantly we were still able to celebrate Doug's 49th birthday with dinner, games and a lot of laughs.  That was all that the founding father of the Heinisch family would ask for on this day.