Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a Happy Independence Day. We had a lovely weekend. On Friday we saw Up which was very sweet, and had a funny dog angle to it.
Neat sidenote: my talented cousin Josh Thompson is the voice of three of the dogs in Up the video game!

Saturday we didn't really plan out. At the last minute we grabbed a cooler and some chairs and went down to the banks of the Potomac to watch the fireworks. They were quite spectacular. Swiffer came with us and Cheetah stayed home. Swiffer was convinced we were under attack, despite the Rescue Remedy and DAP spray - they did nothing. She was very focused on getting us back to the car once the noises started. I held on tightly to her and her leash, knowing that July 4 is the day with the highest ratings of canine escapees all year. She eventually gave up and just sat next to me while we watched the fireworks. But she was VERY relieved when we got back in the car! She did have fun while we were there before the sun went down. Cheetah seemed unperturbed when we got home. I left her CD on low and a loud fan in the bedroom, in case she needed to find a place to drown out the noise. She wasn't anxious to be more than 2 inches away from me when we went outside, but other than that she was pretty unphased back at the house.

Sunday we did our usual family gathering (all of Mr. Pell-Mel's immediate family lives in the immediate vicinity). So I got to hang out with my niece and nephews, who are RIDICULOUSLY cute, and most of my in-laws, who I enjoy quite a bit, contrary to popular stereotypes. :-)

I would post pictures of the ridiculously cute kids, but I don't think their parents would appreciate that since this is a public/searchable blog, so I refrain from doing so. You'll just have to take my word for it.