Meg doesn't suck.

For the fourth, I got my patriotism on in West Lafayette with Meg and Liz, and their Indiana entourage. I woke up Saturday morning in Michigan to a beautiful sunny day. I hopped in the car, got to about Jackson, and I didn't see the sun again until Sunday morning -- rain rain rain rain! While the rain forced us to postpone some of our fourth of July plans, I was still so excited to reunite with the whole troupe, and a great time was had nonetheless.

Sam enjoyed his first fourth of July, rain or shine!

After catching up, lunching, etc., the rain finally cleared and the boys got to lightin' stuff on fire. Fiyah! A mini fireworks show commenced in the parking lot next to Meg's house. Might I add that we dodged sudden death from the neighbors, who were shooting fireworks basically at us. Crazy kids! Shortly after, the city 'works started, and we enjoyed the show from Liz and Aaron's front yard.

After the fireworks, a few of us headed into Lafayette for a few drinks and some (very) (loud) music. And random hipster spotting. Always fun. Some drunk texting may or may not have ensued.

Sunday morning we awoke to a clear sky... and a delicious brunch! Liz cooked up some goodies and the Nemecs joined us at Meg's for some more goodies (mmm waffles). Those crazy kids sure do know how to treat a guest. :) Next up, a haunted tour of Lafayette. Here's what the Haunted Places of Indiana website has to say about our stops:

Harrison Cemetery - People who visit this place always have the feeling of being followed or being watched. This place is located right behind Harrison High School . It is ok to visit too. The gravestones are very old and been know to move to different locations. Crying and moaning can be heard on some nights. Beware some of the ghost are known to touch and throw objects.

Pythian Home - It is an old Nursing Home where many of the people who lived there died. There are many things that happen in there from lights turning on unexpectedly, to hearing footsteps, and even feeling something brush up against you. One of the stories are, there was a murder in on of the bathrooms. When the body was taken out, three women went in and cleaned it up. One of the women knew the girl that was murdered and she went back to pay her respects. When she walked into the room, she found exactly as it was before they started cleaning. Now around the time of the anniversary of the girl's murder, all the gore returns. There still is no use cleaning it up. It still comes back.

Spooooooky!

Ironic.

I always enjoy a good cemetery, so I wasn't disappointed, even though the ghosts didn't throw any rocks at me. It was a super weird one, too -- literally located RIGHT behind a high school, with a super odd setup of graves going every which way all over the place (including in the woods). The abandoned house was interesting, too, and super frustrating to not be able to get in and poke around (I did wiggle a door handle and moments later the cops showed up and parked in the driveway... Coincidence? Hmm!). I want to see leftover gore!

We also stumbled upon some hilarious graffiti at the high school:

After the ghost hunt, we took a walk with the Nemecs, got some DQ (metallic burn!), had a little pool party with Sam, and then got down to business -- our delayed fourth of July bbq. While everyone so awesomely got the food together, Sam and I had a little hang out session.

Again, thanks to the whole crew for such an(other) awesome spread! Meg made potato salad, Juan made arepas, Aaron grilled corn, and Liz made fried chicken. Yum yum! And even better enjoyed out in the backyard, picnic style.

And what's a summer bbq without a fire?! And roasting marshmallows?!

Seriously, what a great weekend. And might I take a quick moment here to say, for the 100th time, how jealous I am of Meg and Liz's awesome setup. They live next door to each other! Cutest. Ever. They are so lucky to have each other. :) Love you guys!

To take a peek at the rest of my trip, click beeeeeelow:

Meg&Liz