manistee michigan

the forth of july was spent with my friend markus and his family.  i hadn't seen markus for almost a decade, so it was my first time meeting his wife sharon ruth and kids levi and susanna.

what a great family!  also some of sharon ruth's family where there for the holiday - parents roger and bev and brother paul.  the more the merrier - as markus predicted.  i went to church with them and got to hear markus preaching since he's the pastor.  they are a small church and meet in this building.

we had plenty of pleasant conversation and reminisced the past.  sharon blessed us all with her adventurous nature in the kitchen.  ever have lavender cookies?  well, now i have : )   i made sure not to leave without getting the recipe she used for the chilli.

we went to the beach at lake michigan for a picnic while waiting for fireworks.

i experimented with the camera during the fireworks show.

tossing the camera during the exposure...  i didn't originate the idea.

instead of fighting the traffic, we hung out on the beach for another half hour.   how about slides and swings?   yes please...

later paul showed off a collection of his own fireworks.

impressive!

markus drawing stars

yet another visit that was way too short.  love these guys.  i'm glad it worked out that i got to see them.  guess you never know when the next time might be.