What a wonderful holiday

My sister Kathy and her family hosted the 4th of July celebration this year. It was a small group, together with them were my parents, my brother Mike and I. We enjoyed some tasty cookout food and had a small "fireworks" display on the driveway. Even though it was very low keyed pyrotechnics compared to what I had in my youth, the kids enjoyed the poppers, smoking devices and the sparklers. We had a small water balloon toss and enjoyed the delicious watermelon that Mike brought.

Friends of Kathy's family stopped by for a visit and latter that night we went to a nearby park where we enjoyed Lombard's fireworks. Nephew J wanted no part of it, and buried his head under a blanket and fell asleep. At the end he was "rolled up like a burrito" (described by niece E) and placed in the wagon for the journey home. What a wonderful day!

The watermelon was a big hit.



A very nice, relaxing day.





Our low-tech "fireworks"




Enjoying the sparklers




J the Burrito!


GOOD NIGHT!

One Minute (give or take a few seconds) Movie Reviews

Guess I'm a little behind on posting about the summer movies I've seen, so here's some mini reviews, working my way backwards.

HANCOCK

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Will Smith was compelling as usual. Story had fresh take on the popular superhero craze. Very entertaining for me. Great!

WALL*E

Pixar's newest hit. Endearing, lovable robots. Some slow parts, fairly entertaining. Not as good as the hype. So-so!

KITT KITTEREDGE



Nice G rated family film. Cute story, good acting, simple plot stuff for the kiddies. Harmless!

WANTED



Not for the squeamish, but if you like "out there" type of action, this is for you. A cross between "Shoot um Up" and the "Matrix". Wild!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull



It did my heart good to see the old characters back, along with a new one. Not as good as the original, but was faced paced and entertaining. Fun!

SPEED RACER



Kind of a crazy, fun take on the classic cartoon. Heavy on action, light on substance. Cool!


IRON MAN



What a great movie! I really enjoyed this one. It was smart, funny and had "sequel" written all over it. Excellent!

So far, this summer's movies have yet to disappoint me. Looking forward to The Dark Knight and Mama Mia. Stay tuned!

Back to the Regular Schedule..Here Is Another Riddle

Weight in my belly,
Trees on my back,
Nails in my ribs,
Feet I do lack.

Ok, Ok, Here Is A Riddle

It is said among my people that some things are improved by death.

What stinks while living, but in death, smells good?

Tale of Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside of all people. He said, 'My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.'

The grandson thought for a minute and then asked his grandfather: 'Which wolf wins?'

The old Cherokee replied, 'The one you feed.'

JULY 4TH

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

A Couple of Birthday Boys

My nephews "A" and "D" recently had their birthday parties. Here are some pictures of the celebrations:

The birthday boy turns 6

Getting ready to make a wish

While reading his cards, A tosses out some pretty funny one liners

D helping out his big brother.

D hosted his party at the All Aboard Diner. Here is his cousins wating for the train to deliver the food.

Going for the "smartie" win.

Conductor A checking out the prizes

The Birthday Boy turns 4!

Hulk Hands were quite the hit

A little challenging blowing out the candles