Fourth of July Weekend

....started early this year! We had a surprise visit from the Bartletts on Thursday evening. Brett, Heather, Tatum and Evan used to live in Okanogan but moved away 5 years ago. We have remained friends and have enjoyed seeing each other several times over the last few years.

Dylan and his buddy, Max were eagerly awaiting Evan's arrival as all three are the same age and have very similar interests. They have a good time together.

Lyndsi loves hanging out with the big girls, Tatum and Aidan O'Connor. Aidan lives in Okanogan and she and Tatum have remained friends through the years. The two middle schoolers graciously allow Lyndsi to follow them around.

Brett and Heather are always fun guests to host and we look forward to their visits.

So, why, you may be asking, did I say this was a surprise visit? I was expecting them on Friday! No worries - This family comes prepared! They brought a lovely salmon, caught the day before, and a dinner suggestion and we had a fabulous meal complete with wine. Yum!

Grudge Croquet

You haven't played croquet until you've played by Dennis' rules! Grudge Croquet is an annual Fourth of July tradition at the O'Connor home. Only the most competitive and skilled dare play this game! Dennis is a master at setting traps and a stickler for rule following. Balls are thrown across the yard due to cheating. Nope - I don't play. I tried one year and decided I just don't have the drive necessary to be a grudge croquet player! This year's winner was Jeff Cheeseman - Congratulations to him!

Dennis sits alone - watching for that wayward soul who might think it's profitable to cheat!

In addition to croquet, Dennis and Julia prepare food that we all supplement and we eat to our hearts' content. Before heading home we were also treated with a "safe and sane" fireworks display. The kids love it all!

Again this year, our neighbors, the Baums, lit fireworks after we returned home. The kids and Brett B. watched as Steve and I took care of poor

Coco

Unfortunately, our cute bunny became ill while we were enjoying our evening. We came home to find him lethargic and dehydrated. He was a mess and and had also made a mess on our bedroom floor so while I attended to him, Steve cleaned up the floor.

Bunnies develop problems quickly and Coco passed away sometime between 4 and 7 this morning. I don't know if he ate something he shouldn't have or if the noise of fireworks created stress on his system. Whatever it was took its toll on the little guy. I checked on him throughout the night and even got him to drink water so I was pretty upset to find him this morning. Needless to say, the kids were also upset. Dylan was devestated. He and I shared lots of teary moments today. I'm such a sucker for animals!

This was Coco the day we brought him home.