celebrating independence and being prepared- quite satisfying

when the 4th of july rolled around, i got up early to avoid the craziest of traffic and made my way to the beach before the crowds to get parking and stake out a couple of trees to hammock in! it was a lovely morning, and i stuck around for a few hours-left a little after noon, and i am SO glad that i went early because as i exited the island, the traffic coming in was unbearable and i would have lost my mind!

#favoriteplace

i came home and chilled for a little bit and headed to shea's for a little grill-out with her brother and parents! i'm glad then gang got to visit! caleb shot off some fireworks...not sure if they were duds, or if it was just that the bottle rockets weren't being shot from bottles, but we may or may not have been yelled at from across the pond! i'm sure there are HOA rules, but come on! 

then on friday we made it out on the boat shea had rented, and we played up at egmont key, walked the west side of the beach down to the barrier point. the southern portion of the island is a bird reserve! then we got back on the boat and headed out to the ruins of a fort off the west side of the key, and snorkeled around. that was pretty cool! it was good to see the growth, and reaffirming that the artificial reefs that are being 'planted' and created will do some good as far as building habitat for fish and other sea life! 

then we made our way to one of the sandbars, and i had a headache, so i stayed on the boat while they went to explore. when they returned, they confirmed the rumor (of which i knew nothing): there were nudists among us! not everyone, but there were a few. although, technically if they are wearing floppy hats, are they actually naked? anyhoo....too much exposure, AMI..and then we headed back through the bay to salty dog for lunch, and it was, as always, amazing. 

i didn't get out on sunday because i had a crazy headache, but it was a great week-restful and slow. 

i feel that i am now as prepared as i could be for hurricane season! i invested in a solar-powered generator, and 2 solar panels to recharge it when the power is out. it should power up the mini fridge-should i need it, as well as lights, charge the phones or run computers...but most importantly the coffee pot. not sure about the surge power on the keurig, but i prefer to brew a pot, because i do go through my fair share of coffee! 

compact and portable enough to take camping!

love that part of the proceeds goes to veterans and their families!

the cool thing is that when i ordered it, i received an additional batch of supplies. i probably didn't need the power-saving tips playing cards, although there was some great information on several cards that i didn't realize. i love the life-straw, and had thought about getting one awhile back-great for camping...or if you're just like, "oh, hey, i just want to drink out of this mud puddle here, because i can!" there was also an LED lantern-also solar powered; i'm impressed by how bright it is! a tactical pen-which is for self-defense, and i can't carry it on an airplane-what good is that?! 72-hour food supply (freeze dried), but i went out and got more non-perishable food as well and have it set aside...i purchased a first-aid kit, etc. i've always considered myself a very prepared; i usually carry way too much, but when someone asks for something and i have it, it sure is nice! so yes. peace of mind! 

so handsome!

plus chaco now has a thunder shirt, which seems to help with the rain and during storms...the big claps of thunder still get both of the boys riled up, but the anxiety seems much lower. i suppose i am really looking forward to seeing whether or not it helps when we travel. will let you know!

be prepared! 

julie

mesmerized by fireworks, captivated by the revolutionary war and unbelievably grateful to be free!

ah, revolutionary patriots, thank you. french army and navy, thank you. writers of the Declaration of Independence, thank you. authors of the Constitution of the United States of America, thank you. it's Independence Day, THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT AND CONTINUE TO FIGHT AND STAND FOR OUR FREEDOMS.

last night, as planned, we were able to watch the fireworks from the apartment, representing the battles for our independence (i explained to my students the other day why we have fireworks and the symbolism). i am still amazed by whomever came up with fireworks and improved them to do the things they do. (you know i am about to go do a google search on it)...

sorry, for those of you who were there, you saw it, but i love watching fireworks! i was very disappointed with the music they chose to go along with the show. i am highly preferential to an all-patriotic music selection, that's just the way i am...katy perry's firework seems like it would be a likely tune, but it has nothing to do with Independence Day, now does it? anyhoo. i prefer K2's show. missing kanakuk around this holiday!

i did sit mesmerized though. i love watching almost as much as i love watching flames and embers in a fire. i find fire fascinating. the other day when i lit the grill, i was so taken in to the flame that i thought, if the flames had caught and started burning something on the balcony, i don't know if i would've had the fight/flight/or sit and admire reaction...i think i might have sat like a fool watching the flames bob and weave...fascinating! (but you know i'm joking, i'm not like a pyro or something, i just think it's beautiful-in small quantities).

 as i re-watch the revolution series on the history channel, i think i would like to read more books on benjamin franklin and george washington.

we recorded much of the series, and went out for a walk while it was still in the early 80's. i decided to drive the boys down to the vitruvian park, and after walking that one, we drove down toward beltway and into a little park area there, where there was a mini community parade going on-that's the area with the hidden pond/park.on our way around, there was an older guy in a wheelchair type thing..not a hover around, but anyway, he like the boys, and he was wearing an airforce hat, so i shook his hand and said thank you. i'm glad we got to meet him.

while we were at the vitruvian park, the sprinklers were going and we got past the first set by our parking area, but the boys of course had to play in the puddles! then as we went around, we stopped in every little branch off. it was cool enough to play. then boys loved the wet grass and bruno was rolling around in it (which got him all tangled in his leash. i told him he was going to strangle himself if he didn't stop, he said he didn't care-as he strangled himself, and then choked out, "ok, you're right mama, a little help?").

somebody-bruno, loves playing in wet grass!

this was our hidden pond trail-it always seems to have a great little breeze! and the boys did really well, even with all of the other dogs out there!

so as a reward, i took them to dq and got myself a blizzard. smile.

i've been craving one, and it was small, and it is a special occasion!

today i am also planning on baking (for the first time) paleo bread...we'll see how it turns out! coconut flour and gluten free flour (i couldn't find almond flour at tom thumb-although they are supposed to have a shipment by friday, but i want to make my bread today)... 

it turned out ok...it's not terrible! it was still a little doughy in the middle even after i put it in for an additional 20 min...so i guess i will have to cut slices and microwave them before eating..? working with new flour can be daunting. who cares!

and the boys were willing to sit still for yet one more patriotic photo. good sports!

they just told me they were really happy to be born in the usa, and then started singing some bruce springsteen song...

 what a relaxing day-back to school tomorrow-weird that it will be thursday! but i'm not sad about it!

happy 4th!
julie

the fourth is coming! the fourth is coming!

well, today was a filming and observation day. it went by fairly quickly and as one of my coworkers said, it's like a thursday since we have the 4th off. smile.

i took extra lunch today so that my friend could try something new-the chili is a little spicy...i mean it clears out the sinuses. and don't tell kay, but i didn't even put all of the chilies in that the recipe called for-i substituted in bell peppers for the canned diced jalapenos that were supposed to be in there...then i made her try a fig,date,cherry,pecan,almond bar. once again, there was a hesitation because of the consistency, but once she got around that, she finished it off. (it has a great taste!) all sorts of firsts this summer.

i left her with the chili, and when i came back, it was completely gone. she said she enjoyed it so much she actually drank the rest of the soup from the bottom of the dish...(kay, if you dumped it down the sink because it was too much, my feelings wouldn't be hurt, so be honest!) actually, i believe her because she had just cleared out her sinuses right before i walked in. tomorrow we try something new.

on the way home today, the person in front of me was using hand signals, so i thought maybe their signal lights were bad. but the brake lights were working...then after a few more turns, he starts to use the blinker. boy was he lucky i had learned my hand signals early as a childhood biker! i think it was back in brodhead, and as i recall we had bike issues. sometimes they'd get stolen. we always registered them down in the basement of the police station with officer tulia (i think that was her name-i vaguely recall, but she used to come to our school and do safety stuff, and when we moved to costa rica, we gave her our cat because she lived on a farm and said they would take her).

and remember how i was talking about the bird i thought might be a mocking bird yesterday? there were also a couple of other birds watching him be a jerk (i hope they find the water, although if they don't, i was walking down the stairs this morning hearing the fountain in the pond out back thinking i could put up a bird sign pointing them around to the back of the building...oh, the competition.) not that i would know, but i think the other two birds might have been turtle doves (there were two of them, just like the song says) i mean, i did get a bird-watcher patch in brownies for going on a bird-watching trip...and i had this cool little green book with pictures of all sorts of birds- i loved the oriole for the brilliant color!

when i got home, i let the boys out and then ran to the store and when i got home, they were waiting for me...

are they pathetic or what?!

 so i told them to go get ready for their 4th of july pic, because i found props!

they do so well when there are treats involved...they've got the sit and stay! so photogenic!

bruno said, "i'm thomas jefferson!" and chaco laughed and said, "fine, i'll be john adams...where's the wig and fake teeth?" they love watching the documentaries with me, i'm so proud that they pay attention!

my boys are patriots,
julie

oklahoma weekend with friends

it's the 4th of july!! as i was slipping off to sleep last night, the thought going through my head was that it sounds an awful lot like the 4th of you lie (when some people say it); somehow there is a movie script in there with an evil witch casting a spell on someone as a baby and on the 4th of every month the child/adult cannot help but lie all day long. like i said, that was the thought as i was falling asleep-as you can tell..

i took this weekend to go up to oklahoma to hang out with some great friends i haven't seen in awhile- too long to be exact. i had been debating with myself all last week whether or not i was going to actually go because my back was still not feeling great, and bruno has still not been himself. but i knew that i had to go because if not, i would've regretted the opportunity to play because as of right now, summer is not really going to be much vacationing.

so i packed the boys up and we drove up to edmond, met up with shea and bmayes and then we drove on up to spring valley ranch in spavinaw hills. we had the directions, nonetheless, we weren't sure we were going the right way until we crossed the creek on the small concrete bridge and took the right fork. when we drove up to the lodge, it was huge. so we met up with kb (another friend from kamp who i haven't seen in ages), then went in and cooked up some spaghetti and made some salad-we corralled the boys and reagan, chaco's sister, into the kitchen so they wouldn't sneak out the door into the night and get eaten by owls or bobcats or the huge dogs.

after dinner we chatted and played a fun celebrity game (new to me, but fun), and midnight sneaked  up on us really quickly. not sure why, but i kept getting justin timberlake, and there was only one thing that kept coming to mind to try to get shea to guess (i just don't know enough about him or his music i guess). of course it probably wasn't fair that john adams and samuel adams were thrown in there. it's a little difficult to act them out or think of one word to describe them.

saturday we woke up late and after breakfast, we went riding on the 4wheelers and kb showed us around the property. it is beautiful! and as we were going up hills, down hills, around bends by the lake, scenes from i shouldn't be alive were replaying in my head of rolled atv's. i'm glad it wasn't just me because shea said she kept thinking about what if's too.

two of my awesome friends-kb and shea (kb's parents own the ranch and they have retreats and rent out the lodges and it's such a beautiful area!!

4wheeling is great, but the entire time i was wondering how this would fare on my back-but it really didn't matter-it was good for the soul. it was so warm by the time we finished that we decided to jump into the creek and float for awhile. when we finished, it was time to go.

once we got back to shea's, i was in bed, ready to sleep when i felt a pinch between my toes and it really caught me by surprise, so i reached down and i immediately knew what it was, so i went into the bathroom and sure enough, it was a little tick! gross!! glad i found it right away! that of course caused shea to get out of her bed and check herself as well (it's like the lice thing i mentioned before, when every time your head itches, you feel like you have lice too).

well, the next day we played on paddle boards and kayaks! woo hoo! i'm so glad i got to come up and enjoy the fun!

on the way home, the boys were tuckered out and i think they were just happy to be going home. they were fine the first half of the trip, then chaco decided that this would be a good idea

which i did not encourage. it was ok until he fell down behind my back as i was trying to grab him-which makes me look like a terrible driver. so for the rest of the trip i had to strap him into his seat. the worst part was the: are we almost there yet? from both of them.

and when we finally reached home, fireworks were going off..not so much for our arrival as for celebrating independence. although i really hope there are fireworks tonight as today is actually independence day.  we had brats to celebrate and i watched how the states got their shapes- i thought that was pretty patriotic.

happy 4th of july (4th of you lie?)
julie