the 4th

Okay so the fourth (unfortunately) was not quite so full of pizzazz and sparkle as usual. There was a Hepner get together at the ski lake and we planned to watch the local fireworks from there. Sadly, Jeremy woke up with allergy attack of the century. By the time we got there (early afternoon) his nose was raw and he was miserable. He visited for two hours and took Blake with him to lay down at the hotel. Four hours later he returned to get trinity and I. The four of us schlepped to the hotel at about 8 and trinity and blake got to "watch" the fireworks from the window. It was only a few local mortars, not the actual show. Still they exclaimed how pretty and all that so maybe not so terrible. The entire time at the lake was horribly windy and brushfire smoke lingered for a few hours in the middle of the day adding to the difficulty of the wind. Some family toughed it out and we all managed to have a good time regardless of the not so perfect weather. Except Jeremy of course who barely got to see his family. There's always Christmas I guess. I got some great shots of trinity and morgyn playing at the lake with a neighboring farms US flag in the background. It doesn't get more patriotic/americana than that! so in this post you will find those pics and pics of Jeremy's family. in the next post you will find the few fireworks/sparklers that joshua helped me with for the kids at nee nee's after the kids and I returned there monday afternoon to stay for a few more days.

Trinity was the only one that flew the "star wars" kite and boy did she run! no wonder she slept so good that night. On a funny star wars note the kids have been obsessed with with Toy Story lately (mom took them to #3) and in Toy Story 2 as we all know there is the part where Zurg and Buzz Lightyear reenact the  "You killed my father" , "I am your father". "NO!!!. . . ." scene from the origional star wars trilogy. The movie just happened to be playing on cable in a star wars marathon at the hotel and Trinity totally got a kick out of seeing where the lines came from. ha ha. Long Live star wars!

These are some pictures of the girls in the water. Notice Morgyn's "I'm getting blown away!" shot. Yeah, she wasn't kidding! They were finding some disgusting water bugs and collecting them. Gross.

Pictures of the family (what's a reunion without admiring guns, tattoos, and new babies?)

and finally the promised shot

BLAKE TURNS THREE!!!!

Here are some pics from blake's third birthday. He had friends and family over for bubbles and sub sandwiches. It was simple, crowded, and fun! I can't believe how big he is. He is a smart and goofy kid. Thank you all who came to the party! He still talks about "from my birthday. . "two weeks later.

Upon reflection

In looking over my posts of the past two years I see a person very happy with their life but perhaps a bit too idealistic. Should any of my posts have offended anyone I do say "we all have our flaws". I have recognized this tendency in me and hope to bring some reality in to bear on it. I can still have my dreams but I think a little less opinion and a little more understanding might help the balance of my generally self-centered personality. and for the rest of you who are totally confused by this post, I can't help you. lol. it's after 11 and I'm rambling.