Happy 4th of July 2011

This year, our 4th was a little stranger than normal.  We celebrated with my entire family earlier than usual - one of my brothers and his family (at least his kids that are still living at home) have moved out of state.  And all their packing and such was taking place right around the 4th.  So, we had one last get together at their house early, complete with lots of food and even some fireworks at the end.

And then on the actual day, we had my parents and one brother over for a very small cookout.  Instead of going to see fireworks (our fireworks family - The Halls - moved out of state last year) we stayed home and enjoyed a show put on by Ryan and Doug.  Our state legalized fireworks to be shot at home just this past year, so that is what we did.  And I of course had a great time taking photos of the fireworks.  I love night shooting - and this one was a challenge since I've never really gotten good firework shots.

One of the desserts I made and took over for
the last big family gathering.  The other one
was homemade mint chip ice cream - that
picture did not come out very well.

One of many fireworks Ryan had fun
shooting off for us.

Doug & Ryan with sparklers. 

Aaah . . . Xbox Fun

Ryan and his friend enjoying Xbox

And, apparently it was crazy hat day at our house.  Ryan has gotten into collecting some pretty strange hats.  The one Ryan has on is pretty normal for him.  Just out of the camera view there is another hat, like the large one that Derek is wearing, that Ryan got from the circus.

A Great Combination of Things for Us

In the beginning of June, the Science Museum had a - are you ready for this - Star Wars Lego building competition.  It was open to all ages.  And since we love both Star Wars and Legos, how could we not go?  Well, I was not feeling that well that day and so the boys went without me.  I manned Doug with my camera and off they went.  They had a great day and came home with lots of pictures.

Ryan getting ready to build for the competition

His creation in the beginning

Room full of builders

Building away

Look at all those Legos

Coming along

Ryan's building completed - he made Jabba's Hut

The inside of Jabba's Hut - I like the fish hanging on the wall

New to Lego Land is a Star Wars section.  How cool is that?

Ryan and Darth Vader

Ryan and Max

After building they were able to go through the rest of the
museum and enjoy the exhibits.

Ryan pulling himself up on one of the exhibits -
on the hardest level

Lunch

Ryan enjoying his chicken strips

There's an exhibit there that distorts your face.
It's always a hit with the kids.
This is Ryan's grumpy old man face.

And, I'll leave you with this cutie.

Just Had To Celebrate This One!

When I heard it was international donut day (back in June), I knew that we just had to celebrate!  After our summer Friday activities - summer movies, a science class, and on this particular day lunch with my parents and brother - we headed over to our nearest Krispy Kreme for their Donut Day specials.  We got a dozen donuts and ate one in the store before bringing the rest home.  Such yummy goodness!

Ryan by the Krispy Kreme trailer

Just Go For It - From my photo website

This was originally posted on my photo blog.  If you would like to check that sight out, click here.

Just Go For It

And, finally, the end of the football pics. At least from this season. Sorry it took a bit to get to the last picture, but after enjoying the long holiday weekend for the 4th of July, I decided to take an "extended vacation" for the week. We had a surprise visitor (well sort of surprise, we knew he was coming we just didn't know when for sure). My son's longest friend - since kindergarten - was here to visit for the summer (he moved out of state last summer) and we were able to have him over for most of last week.


Okay, back to football. When I first started sharing these pics I made reference to sharing with you things that I learned through watching this football team. This team was made up of mostly new to tackle football players. They were playing against some teams that have played for four seasons together. Those other teams had the drill down. I mean they would show up with their matching bags slung over their shoulders and chanting as they marched over to weigh in. Even the moms had blinged out shirts with the team name on it. It was crazy to watch how much some of those parents really got into it.

Anyway, our boys were new and really wanted to learn how to play tackle. One of the things I found so amazing, even though we didn't score hardly at all, the boys would leave that field with smiles on their faces. Mostly because the coach made it fun for them. He was super encouraging and always pointing out their improvements every chance he got. It was great to see such positive reinforcement taking place.

So, things that I was inspired by watching these boys - and in lieu of a quote, I will share some of my thoughts:

Everything is always more fun and more productive when you are encouraged.

Sometimes it really is not whether you win or lose, but whether you improved from one game to the next.

Never give up. Always try harder and put in the effort to improve.

Approach obstacles with a smile.

Don't compare yourself to others, you are - or at least should be - your only measure of success.

The photo from tonight is from one of two touchdowns that our team scored all season long. Both of them were in the last game and the boys really loved being able to make those two touchdowns. If they had given up, they would have never known what that felt like.