July 2009: Everything AND the kitchen sink.
The theme this month was keep the party going and have fun.
Sarah is all ready to go outside.  She put her own jacket on ... no matter that it is upside down.
The Buffalo Wing Cook-Off was a HIT!  Everyone got in on the action, no matter how young or old.
Dee took the prize and received a set of outdoor cooking utensils for having her "wings" voted BEST.
Local family girls.
Grandpa, nicknamed "Pops" and "Money-Man".  He answers to both.  I'd just run in to get the camera because I caught him riding one of these, but he got off just as I was coming out to get the proof.
We had cake and ice cream to celebrate Christopher's Sixth Birthday.  Can you believe our little baby boy is now six?  I can hardly.  We celebrated during the week because there were too many folks coming on the weekend.
Some folks brought gifts even though we'd asked them not to.  I told him over and over to NOT LOOK DOWN THE BARREL OF ANY GUN.
Huh?  Did you say something?  Yea, he's six all right!
Another gift was this little race car.  Everyone played with it all afternoon.
The following day he played with the stuff Papi got him.  New educational books and learning materials.  Sarah was sooo interested in it.
The family girls brought sparklers for the kids.  Christopher was elated and took to it like a fish to water or flame to wood.
That look in his eye scares me.  I think he's liking this toooooo much.
Sophia was terrified of them at first.
Then she tolerated it so long as Daddy held it FAR away.
Eventually he did the princess dance and she got into the idea.
What independence day would it be without some BBQ?  Sophia simply loved Daddy's mix of spices.
Christopher missed his nap, and we found him sleeping in the tub.  Notice the eyes still open, but he's completely OUT!
Daddy decided to make more BBQ Chicken.  Once he got the fire right, these folks helped him cook and serve for several hours.
But getting the fire "right" was quite a feat!  Daddy, I think you may be on fire.
Here was one of the groups we had in for the weekend.  They had such a good time that they're coming back next year too.
July 22nd, 2009.  We're finally switching over to the new power equipment.  This is a HUGE milestone for us and has taken many months of planning and effort to achieve.  Daddy and Grandpa did a fantastic job at getting the power-house ready.
Our electrician did an excellent job at planning everything so the switch happened without incident ... well, almost.
The electric company sent just enough folks to do the job and keep everyone busy ... until one of the trucks broke down. 
Let's cut the old lines!
Okay, cut the lines!
First of the old cans on the ground.
Here they come.
They don't look so large up on the pole.
Hey Joe, catch this thing.
Look out below.
Compare the size of these OLD cans to the guy standing behind them.  They're huge and the new ones are even larger with double the capacity.
All finished with the line removed.  Now we don't have a high voltage power line crossing over the house.
A shot for Daddy.  See the little bug on this glad?  I wouldn't have known they were gladiolas, but he's talked about them a LOT lately.
They're over near the toddler area.
Just one more shot to show them as they were planted.   You know, there were many more opportunities for photo's this past month, but we were so busy that we simply forgot to take them much of the time. The Wet-n-Wild Hay-Wagon Ride was a tremendous hit.   Everyone got wet and we all used the new water cannons that Daddy ordered in.