Heat Wave*

This past weekend, I left the house. I KNOW. Big steps. Actually, I'm going to be leaving the house a fair amount in the next month, so be prepared for a lot of these fun updates.  

The youngest child of one of my best friend's from high school graduated from high school himself and I trundled myself off to Michigan to go to his open house. Some of you might not be aware, but it's been HOT here in many parts of the United States, including where I live and where I was going. 

After a harrowing drive in peak construction season (at one point I texted my husband that I had gone four miles in 45 minutes), I was told to arrive at the house where the open house would take place the next day, which was my friend's parents' house. No one was there despite the dozen cars in the driveway. I started to imagine I was in the middle of a horror movie and was slowly making my way to the barn where I (obviously) assumed I was going to find a massacre when my friend texted that they were doing family pictures and would be there soon and I should make myself at home. 

My friend's parents, who I will call Mike and Judy because those are their names, are a delightful couple. And Judy immediately put me to work in the kitchen chopping fruit for a fruit salad and I WROTE DOWN THE RECIPE. You're welcome.

1 watermelon
4 cantaloupes
2 honeydew melons
3 big giant containers of strawberries
Red and green grapes (I didn't get exact measurements, but roughly 2-3 pounds of each)
2 pints blueberries
Those big bulk cans (you know the ones? you buy them at restaurant supply places?) of pineapple, pears, and mandarin oranges

Anyway, I did some kitchen stuff and then we went to my friend's house where I slept on the couch like I am twenty-two.

The next morning, it was NINETY DEGREES BEFORE I ATE BREAKFAST. I thought I was going to help do things like chop more fruit and put up photographs, but instead I helped put up a tent and decorate tables and did I mention that it was like a gazillion degrees?

One of only four photos I took all day. 

By the time the party started, I was a bedraggled mess and while my friends could go home for a quick shower and change, I did not have the wardrobe for that options. Anyway, the graduate was celebrated, food was eaten, and no one passed out from heatstroke. 

BUT IT WASN'T OVER because Saturday was also Mike and Judy's 50th wedding anniversary! So later that night a whole new group came over to the house, the grandkids all did funny and/or cringeworthy performances, and more cake was cut. 

I went back to my friend's house, took the coldest shower I've ever taken in my life, ate pizza, and slept on their couch again. 

The next morning, I stopped at South Haven in Michigan to enjoy an hour on the beach. Unfortunately, it was still eleventy billion degrees out, so my brilliant "go to the beach" idea was not unique to me.

Lake Michigan is amazing. White sand beaches, shells, and all the trappings of an ocean without the annoying salt water. 

I took three times as many photos in that one hour than I did the entire day before. Then I drove home. 

Monday was actually Hannah's sixth Gotcha Day, but I missed it, so I made Dr. BB take my photo with her yesterday morning. This was the best we got.

Do you want to see some outtakes?

The tongue!

Ears flat, cringing away from me - this looks like I abuse her. 

Then I came home from work to find she is once again in GI distress. Please send good thoughts to me while my husband is at a conference and won't be home again until Friday night. Let me make it through. 

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*Look, if you're not singing this song, I don't know what's going on in your life. 

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When's the last time you were at a beach? Do you have travel plans this summer?