INDEPENDENCE

No more excuses! Our gang decided this year that we were going to get together, gosh darnit, kids, dogs, pool, food, let's DO THIS:

We floated in the pool, held infants, dodged toddlers and husbands, talked and talked and talked and decided that all the kids would be in high school together at SOME point, and that thought was, well, vaguely terrifying. Because we, uh, probably shouldn't have been allowed to hang out when we were in high school.

I mean, I blamed a pack of cigarettes on Elise to my dad.

Reasoning?

"He can't ground you, Elise."

Still making those good choices, people:

I forced everyone into a group picture, the boys made fun of our poses, the babies ran amuck and overall, it was the most enjoyable 4th of July I have ever had. Honestly. The comfort of friends is a beautiful thing. It's that safety net that you know if there, when the going gets rough, when you need a hand, when you need to vent about why your child is being sent to the office and he's only in PK-3 I MEAN SERIOUSLY WHAT CAN YOU DO THAT IS SO WRONG?

When the man you love is gone in a foreign country with no cell service and the unique opportunity to contract cholera, well...

We have each other.