Swimming her heart out

Albert had her divisional swim meet on Thursday night. She was really excited that she improved her time in every stroke. She didn't qualify to move on so the swim season is officially over. This was our first year being involved with swim team and let me just say that I think swim team is the greatest thing ever. Okay, minus the part where you sit for hours in 110 degree heat waiting for your swimmer to have her turn, it's the greatest thing ever.

Albert learned a lot and most of it was not about swimming. At her third swim meet, she swam the butterfly. She was nervous about it. Butterfly is hard and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to compete. However, I could see that “I’m going to give it a try” attitude in her eyes and I knew she would do it. She was worried that her stroke wouldn’t be legal but she did great and wasn’t disqualified. She came in 5^th place and was so happy. I was happy for her too—happy that I have a daughter who is learning to rise to challenges and not run away from them. Who knows that things in life are fun and can be enjoyed whether you are the best or not. The accomplishment comes in trying, not winning. She is an amazing person and I know that she is going to do great things in her life.

Waiting for her turn to do the butterfly.

Almost ready to dive in.

Whew!! She made it.

A happy little swimmer adds to her ribbon collection!!!

I love the Fourth of July!!

Independence Day is easily one of my favorite holidays. I have celebrated our great nation at the Stadium of Fire in Provo, at Lagoon on a roller coaster with fireworks going off, on a float as Delta City Miss Liberty, on the banks of the Mississippi River and at a Demolition Derby in Logan, Ohio. I love the red, white and blue, the fireworks and the food. But, my favorite place to be on the Fourth is with my family at the ranch, which has been our little family tradition since Albert was little. This year, the weather was perfect and the company was great. We had the best time.

The day started before the sun came up. My sister-in-law Misty and I took some of our kids and left the ranch at 5:00 a.m. to watch crazy small town people blow up an anvil over and over. Actually, our friend Rachelle, who cuts our hair, has told us about this event in Taylor for years. Her husband's family have been the chief anvil blower uppers (I don't know what else to call them) on the Fourth of July for four generations. We totally surprised her by showing up and it was really fun. Here is Misty, who got a chance to actually light the anvil off the ground. I crack up every time I watch this. That is me laughing in the background when the thing went off. They even have a band playing on a float that follows the anvil all over town. Hog loved it so much that we might be adding this as a tradition every year. So funny!! Thanks for being goofy with me, Mist!!

Our friend, Rachelle. Her husband, the anvil blower upper, is next to her in the flag shirt.

Hog, the boy who loves watching things blow up.

We got back to the ranch before anyone else was up so I took the opportunity to go for a run--6.75 miles of hill after hill. I loved every minute of it!

In the past few years, the crowd at the ranch has been small but this year a good part of Tim's family was there and we had a relaxing day riding the quads and Rangers, eating and sleeping. We were a little lazy and missed the parade in Heber, but that was okay.

We have a favorite spot to watch the fireworks in Heber. The crowds were large this year and even though we got there around 5:30 p.m. we had a little trouble parking. It all worked out though and no one got arrested. (There was a police officer with an orange flag who I think wanted to get his cuffs out really bad, but he didn't do it. ha!!) This is my favorite part of our Fourth of July celebration. While we waited for 9:00 to roll around, we ate hot dogs and cookies, watched the kids hike rocks and then yell down at us so they could wave, played a little catch with the softball (one of my favorite pasttimes) and just hung out. It was pure heaven in my book. I wouldn't change this for anything and luckily, Tim agrees.

Our kids were all decked out for the occasion. We made tie dye shirts for the boys and star applique shirts for the girls. See, I love red, white and blue.

In addition to her star shirt, Cupcake also had the cutest shoes, which I made with a pair of red clearance shoes from Old Navy and homemade bows, which matched the bow in her hair. I so wish they would fit her again next year!!!

Hog gets a little taste of pop rocks from his cousin.

We LOVED having Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Don join us. Especially since Aunt Marilyn remembered to bring all the stuff we forgot.

Glow stick fun.

Twin cousins who love to be together.

Bring on the fireworks!!!

I LOVE the fireworks. My sisters-in-law like to make fun of me because I "woohoo" at everything during the display but I can't help it. I love a good fireworks show. I always have and I always will and I will always show my enthusiasm. WOOHOO for the United States of America!!!!

Hog's a Coug (and his father wishes he was)!

Tim likes to take the kids on business trips with him when he can. The last trip was Hog's turn to spend a little one on one time with Dad. They made a quick trip to Utah and spent a little time at BYU.

Tim and I met in Provo in a BYU singles ward and Provo holds great memories for us. It's nostalgia city when we go back. However, Tim has never been much of a BYU lover and has always made fun of my alma mater. His family is steeped in BYU tradition with both of his parents attending. All of his siblings are graduates of BYU and all of the spouses of his siblings graduated from and/or attended BYU. He is the only one who was never a Cougar. I tell him he is just bitter because they wouldn't let him in.

So, imagine my surprise when he e-mailed these pictures to me during his trip.

Here is Hog posing with the famous "Y" in the background. Had I been there, we would have been on the mountain sitting on the "Y" posing for this picture, but the long range shot was just fine for Tim. Look closely and you will see that Hog is proudly wearing his very own BYU hat, purchased by his father a few minutes before in the bookstore. Hog also got a t-shirt to match the hat. WHAT? Is my husband coming over to the blue side after all these years?

They also bowled two games at the Wilk. Apparently, Tim did not spend enough time in this bowling alley during his Provo years because Hog legitimately beat him both games!!!

And no trip to Provo by a member of our family would be complete without a visit to The Brick Oven, which Grandpa likes to refer to as "Heaps of Pizza" or something like that. They even brought home some extra 2 liters of root beer, which is also a small and simple tradition of ours.

They had a lot of fun and Hog is still proudly wearing his hat everyday and the shirt as often as I launder it. I laugh and realize that the tradition will live on. Tim just shakes his head.