Family 4th of July

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July. I spent it hanging out with the boyfriend's family doing the bbq, horseshoe tournament (no, I did not play, I suck), poker (nope, didn't do that either, I suck even worse than horseshoes), watching the kids running through the sprinkler thing (yes...this I did do lol). It was fun and relaxing.

The fourth of July used to be one of my favorite holidays. I would get all dolled up in red, white, and blue...go to the parade, the park, bbq with friends, then wait for the fireworks. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or the changes in my life, but now I just look forward to having a day off. I still like to bbq and see the fireworks...but the parade and all the crazy that goes along with going into town I'm not all about anymore. I enjoy the holiday still...but I think I as I am getting older I rather spend it relaxing with family and close friends. The people who really mean the most in my life.

I love watching other families interact. I find myself thinking about the people in my boyfriend's (his name is Jeremy or JB - which I'll start using rather than 'my boyfriend' because they are shorter) family and who they connect with in my family tree. There's the fun aunt and uncle, all the cousins, the neighbors that have turned into Aunt / Uncle something! As the family started to arrive at the grandmother's house (aka: Gram) and settle in, like it was home sweet home. I loved it. I thought about my "fun aunt" and my "fun uncle" -- along with all the kids that are filling the family tree up now that weren't around 10 or 5 years ago and the friends that have become family because they've been around through all the up's and down's with everyone. It's amazing to watch a family grow. It's even more amazing to be part of those families.

While we all have a "black sheep" or "family drama" -- but at the end of the day, family is the only thing that matters. More than money...more than material things...even more than food (yes, I said it). I hope you all got to spend your 4th of July with great family and friends like I did.

Being a holiday, I did not make it to the gym...I did, however, play with the kids and take a walk. And I'm pretty sure I probably sweated more than I normally do at the gym. Did anyone else notice it was like 100 degrees with a humidity index of like 250%! Wow.

~ Melissa
7/5/13 - 178lbs (oh yea...I lost 2lbs this week)
Goal - 157