I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! Being that the weather held out and, in fact, it turned out to be a gorgeous day, our plans went on without a hitch. We started the morning early by driving out to my parent's home to attend their local parade, in my hometown, Ada. We even met up with some friends that we don't see that often, so that was an added bonus. After the parade we milled around the arts, crafts and rides for children. Then, it was time for lunch. Since my brother and sister-in-law were serving at the In The Image tent, we thought a couple fund-raising brats sounded good.
Back at my parent's house, my dad conjured Joel into helping him with a project that would eventually benefit grandchildren. As I may have mentioned before, I grew up with a dad and two brothers that were always imagining, building and fixing things. So, Joel helped my dad elevate a wood/steel beam nearly 20 feet high, wedged between two trees, so 3 kids swings could hang from it (apparently a simple two-by-four swing set is not good enough?). It goes without saying, nothing my dad does is ever underdone (remember: if a little is good, a lot is better?)...this beam could hold many, many swings of monumental proportions.
Our afternoon ended with a lovely and mostly relaxing boat ride on my parent's new-to-them pontoon, on the Grand River. Of course, my mom organized a delicious dinner feast to go along with our afternoon boat ride. The excitement began when my dad asked Joel if he wanted to go tubing. Joel obliged and all was great, Joel was having fun, Emma loved seeing "daddy" on the water, etc. This time of year the Grand River is low in various spots and we know this as we grew up always, carefully navigating our way up and down the river, ruining a few props here-and-there. No big deal. But, this time, we were going full speed ahead and we ran right into a tree stump. It was a bit of a shock as we all lurched forward, but it ended up being rather humorous since everyone was unscathed. My dad always remains calm and collected in these situations, which always helps alleviate any unnecessary drama. Joel didn't even realize what had happened, since he was in the water. So, we moved the tree stump and we were back at it. I think Joel spent 1/2 the afternoon on the tube.
Back at my parent's house, my dad conjured Joel into helping him with a project that would eventually benefit grandchildren. As I may have mentioned before, I grew up with a dad and two brothers that were always imagining, building and fixing things. So, Joel helped my dad elevate a wood/steel beam nearly 20 feet high, wedged between two trees, so 3 kids swings could hang from it (apparently a simple two-by-four swing set is not good enough?). It goes without saying, nothing my dad does is ever underdone (remember: if a little is good, a lot is better?)...this beam could hold many, many swings of monumental proportions.
Our afternoon ended with a lovely and mostly relaxing boat ride on my parent's new-to-them pontoon, on the Grand River. Of course, my mom organized a delicious dinner feast to go along with our afternoon boat ride. The excitement began when my dad asked Joel if he wanted to go tubing. Joel obliged and all was great, Joel was having fun, Emma loved seeing "daddy" on the water, etc. This time of year the Grand River is low in various spots and we know this as we grew up always, carefully navigating our way up and down the river, ruining a few props here-and-there. No big deal. But, this time, we were going full speed ahead and we ran right into a tree stump. It was a bit of a shock as we all lurched forward, but it ended up being rather humorous since everyone was unscathed. My dad always remains calm and collected in these situations, which always helps alleviate any unnecessary drama. Joel didn't even realize what had happened, since he was in the water. So, we moved the tree stump and we were back at it. I think Joel spent 1/2 the afternoon on the tube.
Emma sitting close by daddy during the parade. She LOVED it!
Papa waving to Emma from the parade route.He pulled their church's VBS float.
Our friends, the Medinas, on the wild and crazy "Berry-Go-Round"
Emma taking a little breather on daddy's shoulder.Eating potato chips is tiring business
Joel and my dad up to no good!
Emma helping papa drive the boat
My feet on vacation
My tubin' hotty
2 thing(s) you said:
is your hotty wearing a bathing suit or did he loose it when you hit the stump...=)
your feet look very rested.
Yay for amazing swings! I can't wait to be back in the MI. Sometime next year... though the trip will be a lot busier and the group I'm touring with will be a good 5 times bigger.
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