4th of July (and then some)

[Imagine a fireworks video here... it didn't upload. Look at Facebook for it.]

We went to watch the fireworks yesterday at one of the most historic places in the country. Baltimore Harbor is where the war of 1812 was fought, which prompted Frances Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner." I couldn't help thinking about that last night as we were sitting under bombs bursting and red glare from rockets.

That was my patriotic bit. Other than that, it was just awesome! A couple's parents from our small group sailed their boat up from Florida and were docked in the harbor. Our entire small group was invited to come aboard to watch the fireworks. We were so close that pieces of the burnt fireworks were falling on us. This is the barge that the show was shot from:

It's a little difficult to see, but it's on the left in the picture. That's how close we were. (It was really loud too!)

In other news, we're waiting to hear back from the mortgage company. They should be contacting us today or tomorrow (hopefully today) to tell us whether or not we will be able to buy a house! We're getting excited, but no too excited because we still don't have an affirmative. I'll post the news sometime soon.

I also have started an herb garden (thanks to Pintrest) in mason jars. Apparently oregano doesn't do well in high temperatures. I had all the plants (oregano, basil, lavender, mint, and rosemary) on the patio and even with regular watering the oregano dried up and looked dead. I watered it really well and brought it inside and now it's alive again! I feel a bit like Dr. Frankenstein because I was pretty sure that it was completely dead as the leaves were all shriveled up and brittle. It was a pleasant surprise because I made the following meal with my fresh herbs:

It was kind of chicken caprese, and it was a lot better than it looks in this photo. :( 

We went swimming for the first time yesterday! That was fun, and the water was already really warm. Fortunately it wasn't just warm in spots. Ew. Anyway, Nat and I went to the farmer's market that is in the parking lot of the community center to get fresh peaches and some fresh peppers, and saw that there was almost no one in the pool. So we ran home and changed and walked over to the pool and hopped in. It was a nice, refreshing dip.

It was a fun few days recently, but now it's back to work.