Finer things indeed

This girl came back to town (you may remember her moving away)

 and this guy as well

 and the Finer Things were back together at last.

We met up in Galena, for old time's sake, our summer weekend home, along with some other dear faces:

...and much hilarity ensued.

 

We were so happy to be back, to be in one another's company again, to be here together.

We remembered the old jokes, the old times in Neverwood, the old memories.
And made some new ones.

 The fun increased as daylight faded and the bonfire was lit.

A throwback to the good old days of...last summer: Hammocks. Coffee with Baily's. Reading aloud before falling asleep.

And making up new random games.
Like "who do we hate?"

What else would you do with a bonfire and a phonebook? Hmm?

We maybe got a bit carried away:

Others got into the spirit:

The next day we drove to the cabin on the lake, same place we ended up last 4th of July following our canoe trip down the Missouri.

(Last year's canoe trip)

We only spent a day at the cabin this year, but it was a long day full of good things.

Many games of cribbage, and...sing-a-longs:

And water fun:

Camp chair in a canoe - good idea? We thought so. Also four people in a canoe with a dog on a choppy lake. We gave each other directions for steering the canoe: "Starburst" and "Porter".

 

Naturally there was a BBQ.

And then, as the sun went down, we piled into the canoe and kayaks to watch the sunset, followed by fireworks.

And naturally the night found us all at the bonfire by the lake, firing off our own little fireworks and roasting Starburst.

That night, Sas and Wrigley and I got to sleep in a hippie van, a bonafide Westfalia van.
The perfect end to a perfect 4th of July.

The next morning we piled into our various cars and drove back to the Hills. Sas and her friend Jake ended up staying another night and driving back to Salt Lake in the morning.

We made the most of our last sleep over with some of our favorite things.

Jake had to sleep on the floor with my stuffed duck

and Sas and I got the bed.

It was such an indescribable delight having them home, being together.
Such a great week.
First thing next morning - yesterday - Sassy loaded up her things and drove away.
This morning, Ryan flew out.
The boys went back to camp.

As I drove around this week first with Sas and then with Ryan and they soaked in the beauty and home-ness of the Hills and thought about leaving it again, I thought of what I would be feeling if I were leaving it all. It's a hard thing, leaving the Black Hills, harder still in the fresh greenness of early summer. And I was honestly glad I'm staying, that it wasn't me leaving. For now, anyway. Not this summer.