4th of July

Just another 4th of July celebration with the Miller family. I think this makes 5 years in a row. We deviated a little by going over to some other friends (just in the next cul-de-sac) and watched as their grown sons "educated" my young sons about fire (I mean fireworks).

Molly kept telling everyone to help her lite another "sprinkler."

4th of July

Cousin Adam and Grandma Kathy came for a 4th of July party (on July 3rd) at Uncle Mark's and Aunt Valerie's.

Molly striking a pose at the pool's 4th of July party. btw, Molly has a "flag" swimsuit but refused to wear it because it made her look "ugly" (her words not mine).

Our swim coach (Scott) is also a children's minister for his church and always goes the extra mile with all the kids on the swim team. He genuinely loves to be with them. Since the weather was cool (68 degrees) and not many people came to the party, he helped Ben and Max with some of the requirements for their Webelo Aquanaut pin. Here Ben is "saving" Max's life while Coach Scott is "saving" both of them.

Just freezing at the pool on a Kentucky 4th of July. I'm taking pictures while wearing a sweatshirt and definitely not getting in the water.

Card playing and making a fort (it started sprinkling) was a better option than swimming.

Monkey see, monkey do (Rusty's not the monkey). Molly needed a "fort" as well.

Since so few people were at the party the DJ gave us many of the awards and prizes. Now we own 6 lays, 4 mini-American Flags, a bunch of red, white and blue windmills, a new beach ball ("Yet one more inflatable that takes up space in the third bay of our garage." Rusty's words, not mine), and many more little trinkets that will end up in the garbage before next Tuesday garbage day.

Oh, and "flag glasses." Rusty spent about 10 minutes explaining his "Elton John" reference to our kids.

Sparklers in the rain. Is this a safety issue?

Molly discovered "Pop-its" this year and was extremely meticulous about "popping" them one by one.

4th of July gear. . .

We celebrated both July 3rd and July 4th. July 3rd we went to Aunt Valerie's and Uncle Mark's annual party where we ate, visited with old ward members and played games. On the 4th after the pool party, we went to the Miller's house and had a cook out and fireworks.

July 4th Weekend

As with other posts this summer, this is better late than never.

Our family was divided this year for the 4th of July. Rusty and Sam went to Utah for an O'Brien family reunion. The rest of us stayed back and made sure we too had a blast. The weekend began on Thursday night, July 3, 2008. We met Rusty downtown and ate at a Mexican restaurant. After dropping Sam and Rusty off at the airport Ben, Meg, Molly and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby to pick out a few crafts to do over the weekend. (If I ever ask Ben what he wants to do in his spare time it's always "make a craft." Hence, the log cabin we made out of Popsicle sticks, the many molding clay people that are adorning his shelves and, my favorite, those darn beads that you make different designs and then iron them together to form an image). I hope that that he will always want to do this and not be embarrassed that I'm saying this. Anyway, we then rented some movies, got snacks and went home. After putting Molly to bed we watched Flicka.

Friday was the Fourth of July and we decided to go to the pool. The weather was overcast and it rained a sprinkle or two, but because of that NO ONE was at the pool. Therefore, all the games the lifeguards put on, my kids won. We won goggles, t-shirts, and other pool stuff. Here are some pictures of the events.

The "littlest splash contest." The kids that you see in this picture were the only ones at the pool that day.

The life guards only let us build "forts" when there aren't very many people at the pool. This is the deluxe model.

Monkey see, Monkey do.

Molly enjoying ice cream in her wing of the fort.

Later that day, we went to the Miller's house for a cook-out and fireworks.

What we "affectionately" call the "Molly Look."

It's sad with Sam gone. We miss him.

Doing "Pop Rocks."

Molly did a lot better with the sparklers than I thought she would.

Meg and Ben had a sleepover with Max and Dominique, and Molly and I went home.

Saturday we went and saw the movie "Wall-E." I drifted off to sleep after eating a tub of popcorn but was quickly awakened when Molly dropped her water bottle on my lap. We then went home and started on our crafts while Molly took a nap.

One of the activities that Ben chose at the first of the summer was make a "Castle" scene for playing with our castle guys "figures," putting on a puppet show or the like. Here is Ben's castle.We had to let Molly paint something, and I was too lazy to go upstairs and get her something else to wear, so I just took off her dress and let her go.

Sunday we wrote in our journals about our great weekend.

Meanwhile, Rusty and Sam went to Utah for an O'Brien Family Reunion. He and Sam went on a ropes course one day with many of the 125 (out of a possible 160) cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

They also participated in a family talent show, Sunday testimony meeting, basketball games, and many "get caught up on your life" sessions.