4th of July 2010 Highlights

This year we went to the parade with Aunt Jenn, Uncle Curtis, and cousins.

Just look at these cute faces.

The boys liked this float a lot. Hubba hubba!

Okay, maybe they liked this one a lot, too.

Wow, what do you think of this? I think the gray one's tail is askew.

When Onion Ring saw this monkey (Curious George?) he said, "Eew, what's wrong with it's mouth? It's mouth is deformed! Gross!"

Cousin Grant was in the parade this year.

Go Grant! He did us proud.

I think this is one of the boys' favorite parts, too, at the very end of the parade.



We also had some backyard fun.

We had a great 4th of July, and hope that you did, too.

The Bike Ride

We finally went on our first bike ride of the season. It was a dreamy evening on the river trail and we stopped at all of our favorite spots.

The first item of business was to throw rocks in the river.

Next, we stopped at Duck Pond Park (that's what we call it) to play on the toys...

...and wade in the stream.

Then we went to the enormous tree to climb on it a bit...

...and swing on the lengthy swing that hangs from it's branches.

We had a few minutes left for the skate park.



Maybe we will make it to the lake next time.

What a fun ride.

Some Things About Onion Ring

Last week Onion Ring had his (I can hardly say it!) twelfth birthday. My stars. I dare not think about the next twelve to come.

Instead, let's take a look back upon his sweet life. Here he is, on his Birth Day. What an amazing day!

Awww, isn't he adorable with his first birthday cake?

This is one of my favorite pictures of Onion Ring. He had fallen asleep on the way to his birthday party when he turned four and he was soooo crabby when he woke up.

Fortunately, he cheered up after a while.

This was his first day of Kindergarten. He was very excited to go, but when we got close to his classroom I could see terror welling in his face. When I asked him to smile so I could take a picture, he stood and forced this smile in spite of his fear. Then he turned and walked into his classroom without a peep or a backward glance. I hadn't known he had such fortitude.

When he was seven, they must have talked up this mile long run at school because Onion Ring brought home a note about it and announced that he wanted to do it. So we took him, and he did it. He had never run a mile before (to my knowledge) and I don't think he fully understood how far it would be, but he did it. Again, I was witness to his fortitude. And he got to run with Cosmo, lucky kid.

I love this sign that Onion Ring made around this same time. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Here he is with one of his best friends. Napoleon was Onion Ring's eighth birthday present.

We aren't into fishing that much, but Onion Ring loves it. Thanks to Uncle Randy, here he is with his first fish.

Onion Ring likes to write his own comics. If you like potty humor, you will love his comics. He wrote this one just for this post, sans potty humor, and still funny. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

This year for his party he invited a few friends to a movie, then cake, ice cream, presents, and pinata.

AWESOME pinata! (Yes, made by me, why do you ask?)

Wooooweeee! These twelve years seem to have flown by.

I am sure the next twelve will, too, with the many exciting things to come. (I guess I should think about it just a little bit.)