We had more thunderstorms and a steady rain all night and it was still raining when we got up this morning. John checked the weather on the computer and found that the rain was going to move out by early afternoon and it would be a nice day for the July 4th parade.

Following breakfast, we headed off to church. This was our new pastor's first Sunday and the service was followed by a potluck dinner to welcome him. Every year we go to Bemidji for their Fourth of July Parade, so as soon as we were finished eating, we took Hanna and Rachel and left for the parade. John and his family were already there (they are camping in Bemidji State Park), so we called them on the cell phone and found out where they were sitting. It didn't take us long to meet up with everyone. We had a few rain showers at the beginning of the parade, but the clouds soon cleared out and we enjoyed nice weather for the rest of it.

Rachel, Julie, Jenni, Hanna, and Josh

After the parade was over, we headed back to our house. Matt, Sara, and Sam soon arrived and after visiting for a bit, John grilled some hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats. Since the weather was so nice, we ate outside on the screened porch. When everyone finally had enough to eat, we spent the rest of the evening playing card games and "Blockus".