true boy tales: Red, White and HOT

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Red, White and HOT

Here are some shots from our 4th of July. It was insanely hot, but I don't need to tell you that! Pretty sure it was 100 degrees wherever you were too! We went to the Urbandale parade that morning. These summer parades are fun for the little kids. Big trucks and lots of candy. But I have to say, since neither of us were raised in Iowa, it seems kind of strange to see all the families and older couples there without young kids. It would be a little boring! But what do we know? We don't understand May Baskets or telling jokes on Halloween either :) We found a shady spot to park the chairs, brought lots of water to drink and a spray bottle to mist down to stay cool, so we didn't completely melt.

Later that day we went to Nana and Pop's to hang out with the cousins. We hadn't planned on them playing in the sprinkler (not sure why not, considering the temerature...) but thankfully Nana keeps enough bathing suits there for all of them!! Caleb (who's 7) changed first and put on a 2T. Dawson's wearing a 3T. :) You would never know these kids were related!

It's always strange when there are new babies in the family and these two can't be called the babies anymore:

And there's nothing "baby" at all about these kids anymore! No more chubby cheeks and bellies. Just long limbs:

They had lots of fun with sparklers before Dawson grabbed the wrong end and got a big burnt blister on his hand even though Jon told him several times what part not to touch. Poor thing. (And can I just say, I have no clue how to photograph in low light. The camera wouldn't focus on their glowing faces so I was getting many good shots. I will take a photography class some day! Some day...)

We went home late and watched a great fireworks show from our back deck over Camp Dodge (our neighborhood is across the street from a military base).

We kept the festivities going with a pool day on Friday. Channing took his first dip in the pool. I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy swimming! Man, it felt good to be in the water. I don't know about you, but most of the time I don't actually swim. The water's too cold and I don't really want to get my hair wet because then I look crazy the rest of the day. (I know...the ridiculous things girls think about). But that day it was just too hot to worry about that and it was so fun. We swam for hours.

Bennett's officially a swimmer. Amazing, how just a few weeks ago at my mom's, he'd panic in the deep end but now he's completely confident. I finally got his flip (not quite a full but not bad for a barely 5 yr old!!) on video:

Dawson loves jumping in too and is just as brave as Bennett in the water:

1 comment:

TABJuly 9, 2012 at 5:01 AM
Swimming isn't my favorite thing to do either, especially because of my hair. But in 100+ degree weather it sounds like heaven!
Your camera takes great pics,... Or should I say you take great pics w/ your camera!
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.