July 4, 2010- Just another day this year

I am generally a very festive person on holidays. I LOVE the 4th for all the obvious reasons. This year we fell a little short. Here are some of our reasons
-- 4th is on a Sunday and Austin actually celebrates on Sunday- (note to self: for other holidays that fall on Sunday that involve fun outdoor activities... book flight to Utah!)
--Nice tropical storm that Im actually enjoying has prevented some planning needed for events like going to the lake, canoeing, etc.
-- Jen doesnt feel good. Annoying health issues that will probably resolve as soon as the 4th is over. Maybe its God helping me make sure I keep the Sabbath:)
-- There are some amazing athletic events going on. Wimbeldon was great until my favs were defeated. The World Cup is amazing and I am hooked and plan my day around the game in the morning and then the game in the afternoon. Mia's nap coincides and all. Dont judge me
--Our family is in a stage. Jerry is at a critical point in his schooling. He finished writing his comprehensive paper this weekend! He has just a little bit more feedback to get from a professor on it and if he passes, he can then go into candidacy. Great progress! I am so proud of him. I have never met someone that works as hard as he does. All this hard work takes TIME- the one thing I want from him. It is a constant battle to know how to divide time so everyone is happy. I know that the more he works on his schooling, the faster we will get on with our life, so we let him be for the most part. The other stage we are in is Mia's age. She doesnt know what the 4th is, why lights are going off in they sky, or that we should be at a parade, festival, etc. instead of watching the World Cup. She kind of walks but mostly crawls and is more into the bugs on the ground than any entertainment I could provide. So, the only person that misses have an awesome 4th of July celebration is me, and this year Im taking one for the team, and am okay with that.

We went to the park this morning and Mia climbed around.I grilled some hot dogs in our frying pan for lunch and Jerry and I laughed about how we were having a 4th of July BBQ! This evening I took her swimming. We had a good, relaxing time. There will be plenty of years with activities bursting from the seams and I will probably wish I could have another July 4th 2010, quiet and calm.

Here are some festive pics- just so I dont go down in history as lamest mother of July 2010