Near Perfect Summer Nights

My father lives in Piqua on this amazing plot of land that is the perfect place for a cookout. You can see the Great Miami River from his front yard. His fenced in back yard is home to chickens, and ducks, and roosters. His home....oh this glorious, big, old brick farmhouse. It's lovely. Every July, the weekend following the 4th, Dad's neighbor sets fof fireworks, and from my Dad's house, the view is spectacular. (Ok, well, this year the trees were a tad taller than last year, but we could still see and hear them.) Dad and his wife Nancy invite us for a cookout every year to watch the show.

For some reason, this year, miracle of all miracles, almost everyone was able to come! We were missing a few, but this night, to me, is what I consider a near perfect summer night. Nothing makes me happier than to see my sisters and their families, all together in one place, laughing and enjoying each other's company. I get more joy from watching "the boys"  running around, playing with the chickens, getting dirty, and making memories. For those who don't know who "the boys" are, they would be the absolutely precious, funny, beautiful, smart, silly and seriously perfect great grandsons. We have 2 three (almost four) year olds, a two year old, a one year old, and a six month old. All boys. And this year, we've been blessed to add a nine year old boy to the mix. A niece's boyfriend's son. He's ours now. :) 

I cannot put into words the joy I get from watching these boys grow. They make me laugh so much. They brighten my days. My heart is full of so much love for these boys. I love their parents like they are my own kids, and to me, being a great aunt is THE best title ever!! As I said before - love is my gift. God has given me a lover's heart. And I'm pretty sure the little ones get it - last night, as I was coming out of the house, some of the older nieces were calling my name, they said one of the three year olds had something for me - I turned around and he was standing there with a bouquet of fresh, hand-picked flowers!! 

When we arrived for the festivities, as we were setting up the tables and prepping the food, we realized that we had 4 side dishes (2 potato salads, a Mac salad, and some cowboy caviar {I will post a recipe for this shortly}) and A TON of desserts. This my friends, is how the Wrights throw a party!! Peach pie. Berry Cobbler. Blueberry Zucchini Bread (Lisa, please post your recipe because it was FABULOUS!). Dirt Pudding, for the boys of course haha. Strawberry Delight. Black Bean Brownies (Jenni - are you a guest post-er yet???)  All made in the kitchens of the Wright girls! 

Seriously, for real, my cup runneth over.  Onto the table. And the floor.