Happy Independence Day!!
I'm so blessed to be born in this country.  We have such freedoms it's amazing.  I'm especially grateful that I can pray and worship with freedom.  So unlike many other nations. 
We started the day picking up Marilee and Dr. Whitney, and then heading to the parade!

First came the Duncanville marching band (just a part of it)

Then there was the fire department and kids and dogs:

The joy of dressing up a truck and it becomes a float in Texas:

Don't you love the guy coming out of the cake?!

Harleys.  Laura was thrilled.  Now it's a good parade.
 

lots of funky old cars:

And a small brass band to bring up the rear.  What a great parade!

 Today we went for a walk.  Before it got to 103 degrees outside.  In the trees, it was actually quite pleasant!  I love hiking around in woods.  Takes me home and quiets my soul.  It's so nice!

Interesting signs on the way....

I was trying to see if there was something living in this tree.  But seeing that there are many snakes active around here, I didn't think sticking my arm in would be a good idea.

I would have loved to sit down here, except for all the poison ivy around the tree.

Ant lions!!  

a fun little bridge that took Laura forever to cross.

It was a nice way to start the day-- out in the woods!

We haven't had air conditioning this weekend, and it's been rather hot in Dallas.  But this reminds me of sleeping outisde in Ghana.  We'd drag air mattresses out into our courtyard, and even though the concrete floor would be radiating residual heat, there would be a gentle breeze floating by.  So it's the same now-- the house (and therefore mattress) was warm, but under a fan I could pretend that I was back in Ghana.  Except no guinea fowls or chickens wandering through.  And no scorpions under Deborah's mattress in the morning.  (Why did they always go for Deborah's mattress?)

Tomorrow the a/c man comes to fix it.  It will feel great to be back in this country again.

On a more positive note, Deborah brought me the most beautiful bunch of sunflower-like wild flowers.  She knows all the good spots for finding wild flowers.