Summer Twilight (I Can't Believe It's Almost Through)

Hello, Hello!
It's been a busy summer so far. My husband went back to school to become a GIS technician, and he started working at the Gateway to Science Center as the Gallery Supervisor. So he has been VERY busy.
My sister had foot surgery at the beginning of the summer so it was fun to have her around and spend time with her once she could be up and about. We made a few meals together, so a couple movies, and just hung out. All of which we don't get to do very often since we've not lived in the same place for so long. It was a fun time. :-)
We also spent a weekend at the lake cabin of a friend, on a bay of Lake Sakakawea. The water was chilly, but the squirt fight with the kiddos was fun, so it made it worth the while. We also got to play some games with our friends, which is always a blast. Thanks for hosting us, Schuey!
We did the usual 4th of July shenanigans, including sending dangerous chemical concoctions into the sky to explode (my favorite part of the 4th of July) in honor of our country's founding.(We did have one flip and shoot towards the house and the neighbor's horse pasture. Thankfully both are alright, and no animals were harmed as the horses were in the stable. Note so self, wear sneakers next time I light off fireworks, much easier to run in than flip-flops when something goes awry...)
What else have we been up to....

Oh, the dam!
My in-laws have a ranch outside of town. There used to be a little trickle of crick on their property...Now there is more of a pond, followed by a larger crick, as we helped build a dam for it. My husband and his friend ran the heavy machinery, I got to use the chainsaw (sorry, no pictures; I know, they really dropped the ball on that), and my Father in Law was the work foreman. We used some old telephone poles to build the dam then filled it in with mud to help stop it up. It was great fun! Maybe I'm in the wrong field...

We had a family get together, as my sister in law took a job in AK (good excuse to plan a trip, right?) and we wanted to spend time together before she moved. We thought we should take a couple family photos before she left. (The dogs are their french griffons.)

 Other than that I've been doing the usual to keep busy. I wove a few hats on my loom. I made a birthday banner for my nephew (I did not expect the delight I received from an excited 7 year old just to have his own birthday banner). And I picked Juneberries and Nan King Cherries with my Mother in Law. So far I've made Juneberry pie (I big hit with my family) and Juneberry preserves (good on pancakes or in a sandwich).
The cherries are in the freezer until the chokecherries are ripe, as my dad and I plan to process them at the same time since they will be similar in processing techniques. Why make two messes when we can make one big one, right?
Well, that's all for now. Enjoy summer, don't get eaten alive by the mosquito population, and stay hydrated!

P.S. Just an update an Alice, our friends' cat: She still likes to play in the huge tree in their yard and generally enjoys driving them crazy (in a good way, they assure me). They just put her out in her tree when she's got too much energy to be in the house and she wiles away the time climbing up and down; In case you were all as enamored with her antics as I am.