4th of July - 2000 and 2009

We had our annual Fourth of July bash at Karen and Richard's yesterday. We had a fine time; the weather was great and Richard's burgers were as good as they were ages ago when we started all this. It's inevitable, I suppose, that our numbers have thinned over the years. Gillian was in Georgia, Lisa was in Del Rio on business, Drew was working at Six Flags, and I'm not sure where Michael's family was. Daniel, Ben and Paul were there but managed for the most part to steer clear of my camera.


The picture above, from 2000, is an example of the effort Karen always puts into these celebrations. Her efforts remain the same, but we've scaled back a bit. The daiquiris and margaritas that used to fuel these parties have slowly been replaced over the years by beer, but that's given Richard a reason to buy a third refrigerator and a keg to go in it. There seems to be less chaos involved, but our kids are growing up as these pictures will show. I feel in my bones some of us are just getting older. I've included a few more pictures from 2000 & 2003 and pictures from yesterday for comparison.



Allison - then (2000) and now.

*****

Lauren - then (2003) and now.

*****

Natalie - then (2000) and now.

It should be noted that Natalie spent most of the day in her bathing suit too - but she was participating in a swim meet at the University of Texas. We were glad she came back in time for the sparklers.