2 questions for the 4th of July

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It has been quite a while since I participated in Thursday 2 questions at Self Sagacity. My independence day activities have given me few questions to ask.

Question 1: When is the last time you marched/walked in a parade? If you have never marched in one, when is the last time you went to a parade?

I marched in a local parade today and actually had 3 separate invitations to participate. 2 political candidates (one a homeschooling father, who I will be featuring in a future post) needed marchers but I ended up marching with Spider Droid and his robotics team.

This cyclist was in the group behind us. Right before the parade started his horn sprung a leak. Some of the robotics kids gave him a few I love robotics stickers and he patched up his horn easily. That was honking cool.

I asked myself question 1 on my way to the parade. As far as I could recall, before today the last time I walked in a parade was in a 4th of July parade in 1990 in Macomb, Illinois during my time at university there. What was unique about that experience was that a Christian group that was marching in the parade needed someone to carry a full size cross in the parade route. I remember this having a powerful spiritual impact on me, as I was able to reflect on how Jesus carried the cross in preparation for paying for my sins through his death and resurrection.

Question 2: What is your favorite part of the 4th of July holiday?

For me it is going to see the fireworks. It's not exactly the fireworks themselves, which were fantastic this year. It is actually tossing a ball or a Frisbee with Amy or the kids prior to the fireworks. Just a simple act of familial affection in a sea of patriotism and excess make me realize how much I "depend" on my family.

For more questions click here.

Next Time: Friday Fragments

You're Only Old Once!

Today was my folks' 50th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a big picnic at a nearby forest preserve. It was really nice to see all the extended family and friends who came out to celebrate! My parents renewed their wedding vows, and even had their best man and maid of honor standing up with them. My brother also gave a nice speech. The "show" aspect of the picnic ended up with 10 of their 11 grandchildren doing a dramatic reading of Dr Suess's book, "You're Only Old Once." The book is hilarious! It was enjoyed by everyone. It was nice to see the older cousins helping out the younger cousins with reading their parts. It's a blessing to have a heritage of marital longevity to remind us to keep the course. Amy's parents celebrated their 48th Anniversary last week, so I'm glad to see it runs in the family.

Our Summer So Far (In Fragments)

We have been up to a lot already this summer.  Today I thought I would express it in fragments.  Videos and photos of the first few weeks of the summer.

Fragment V1  - Spider Droid Shoots and Jumps

Fragment P1 -  Bunny and Dad Bike

Fragment V2 - Kite Flying Fun

Fragment P2 A Hike in the Woods

Fragments P3 & V3  - Puppies and Dolphins Unite

Fragment P4 - Volunteering at an Outdoor Food Pantry

Fragments P5 & V4 - More Fun at the Pool

That is all the photos and footage I have for now.  Hope your summers are fun also.  For More Friday Fragments stop over at Half Past Kissing Time.  

Homeschoolers Song

OPV

Other People's Videos

As much as I'd like, this can't all be all about me.  Every once in a while I like to post other people's videos, (OPV), such as this one from Rhett and Link:

Take A Hike

Yesterday we went on a hike. Besides swimming and biking we are trying to take a hike once a week. Yesterday we went to Raceway Woods, which was a speedway in my town in the 50's and 60's and the remains of the racetrack now make a number of great trails.

I made Bunny Girl write a post about the hike. Her blog at homeschoolblogger wasn't coming up so I had her write at old blog. I decided to lead by example. and post about the hike as well.

This picture was posed. I actually had everybody turn around and hike back to me. It was either that, a picture of their backsides, or me running up to catch them.

The view from the top of a broken bridge