4th of July

Our long weekend was wonderful and filled with great:

Food,

• Friday night, we went to a new restaurant in town, called DeStihl, to celebrate Darby's birthday. We actually went there for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and liked it so much we had to go back. The food, service, and ambience are all great.
  
• Per Darby's request, I made a lemon-blueberry cake that I had made before. The frosting is very involved; you can read about the first time I made it here. I completely failed on my first attempt at the frosting this time, but I recovered on my second try, and I think it turned out pretty well.
  
• I made these bars for a pool party and really enjoyed them. They're very rich.
  

Friends,

• At the aforementioned pool party, I got to hang out with several of the girls from my program, most of whom I hadn't seen since school got out in May. It was a lot of fun, despite the less-than-ideal water temperature.
  
• Saturday night, we went over to the Oelzes' house to play Pandemic, a new game they just got. Their daughter, Eden, made the cutest birthday card for Darby, and we enjoyed a really good conversation after the game-playing.
  
• On Monday, Darby and Daniel got together to brew some beer and "jam." So, Liz and I had a little girl time. We went shopping and watched the seventh Harry Potter movie in preparation for the final movie coming out next week.
  

and Fireworks!

• Sunday night, we went with Daniel and Liz to see the fireworks in Monticello. It's a small town, but they put on a huge show. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed playing games while waiting for the show to start.
  
• Then, on Monday, we met Mica and Harrison at the fireworks here in Champaign. They weren't quite as impressive as the ones in Monticello, but they were still really good. Mica is in my program, and Harrison is getting his Ph.D. in Physics. They've also been dating since high school, so I think they are like our couple twin. :) It was fun to hang out with them, and not just because they let us eat their french fries.
  

I've always loved the 4th of July, and this one did not disappoint. I love fireworks, so getting to see two shows was incredible. And we're still being treated to random fireworks going off in our neighborhood at midnight. Awesome! ;)