4th of July Celebrations

~erica

We had to do our fireworks on July 3 due to Ryan's work schedule. That afternoon Ryan and Tovah went shopping for the good stuff as we still had a box of sparklers and little stuff from last year that we got tired of lighting. I'm not sure how it happened but Rush and Tovah were the primary pyros this year, the other boys did 1-2 but then went and sat back down.

 

 



Colored smoke bombs are a tradition but this year only Jonah ran through the smoke. The other annual photo is Arin and his lightsaber in the smoke. When I have my camera set slow it takes cool, ghostly images of him. I am still working on how to set my camera for fireworks. I print a tutorial while Ryan and the kids get set up. Next year I should read and practice several weeks before but I never think about it. I also want to take some cool sparkler pictures (we still have a huge box to practice with.)

The parade downtown is an annual event. It's very convenient now that we have friends living a block from the parade route (but getting away from their house as the parade let out wasn't much fun, I need to rethink where I park). It's always fun to see friends in the parade and the kids get excited to have candy thrown at them.

 

The chairs were for the adults but they got co-opted by the teens who weren't so excited about tootsie rolls and waving to people they know. After the parade we met Ryan at Burger King for dinner before he went to work and we went home.

Bible in 90 Days- Weeks 2-5

~Erica

Today I am finishing Week 5 of the Bible in 90 Days. I've gotten behind each week but have finished each week on time. It's harder to read when you are jumping through 3 books. I really thought that I would be in the flow of history in the Bible reading it chronologically, but I've found that it's choppy and it's almost like the thread is tangled. Reading straight through, yes, you get different threads going at different times but they come together and the story is stronger for those times that they are plied (I'm not sure my yarn metaphor is working but I'm not sure how to explain the disconnect I'm feeling.)

One thing that stood out to me is that David refused to sacrifice something that cost him nothing but Solomon had no problem building the Temple of the Lord that cost him nothing (it was paid for by David and the offerings of the people). There is a huge lesson in here that I am still pondering about the cost of sacrifice.

Another crazy thought that I had is that next summer, instead of reading the entire Bible I would read just the New Testament, in Spanish. It will either make me totally crazy or I'll spend a lot of time seriously pondering what it actually means...

Instaweek June 23-29

~erica

Finished the 3rd Doctor Who scarf before we left | Spilling Water at Grand Coulee Dam | Looking down the spillway from the top of the dam during the Dam Tour

Sonic in Post Falls, ID makes me happy even if lunch is at 9:30 | When the raft is at the red flag you can drop a quarter in the machine and it will spray the occupants | Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Sunset over Lake Roosevelt | Dawn over Lake Roosevelt | Sunset on our way home Friday

 

We spent the week camping in Eastern Washington then home to a fastpitch tournament. We worked the tournament so I got 3 pictures before the 2nd game and that's it.