Hope Everyone Had a Fun Fourth!

Bojo looking hungrily for the next plastic toy he can eat.

Yay, Eli's first ride in Marmalade!

The view of the fireworks from our back door

Nature put on a show too, with lightning and
beautiful clouds to match any fireworks.

Eli's giant smile after his big brother smeared
dirt onto his head.

Can't believe another fourth of July has come and gone! We hung out at home to watch the fireworks this year since we have a great view from our back door. I love July 4th, think its my favorite holiday, along with New Year's I guess. Mostly its the noise, I love the big booms of the fireworks. But, I guess really even more than that its the nation-wide "block party" feel of the whole thing. Most people in America celebrate the fourth, and its so fun to see everyone come out of hiding and celebrate together. I love that, and I have had soooo many fun fourths over the years, whether I was way out in the woods or riding a bicycle around town through shooting firecrackers. I admit my love for the fourth of July has little to do with patriotism, its all about the party and the noise. :)
We are still busily trying to decide what to do with ourselves right now. Trav is still working, largely I think because his boss really doesn't want to lose him and so is making up odd jobs for him to do while waiting for new building jobs to start. I'm scrambling trying to find anything that doesn't require childcare, and trying to increase sales of my diapers. I'm getting excited to try a new community bazaar that has started up this month here in town, I'm planning to reserve a booth and see if I can get some sales out of it. We just have to see what happens from one day to the next. Many who know me know that that's how I normally live anyways, but its a bit stressful when there is a house involved. Its a challenge when you feel like you've really worked hard to invest in something that might be your only chance at financial stability in the future, only to face so many challenges to hang on to it. I've always been financially poor more or less (but rich in happiness), but now I really have a much greater understanding of what people experienced during the Depression and how that shaped their thinking about finances. Anyhow, enough about all that and onto something that always makes me smile!
We decided that it made a lot more sense for Travis to drive our 40 mpg car to and from work instead of his 17mpg pickup, so I got to drive good ole Marmie around today on my errands. For those of you who don't know, that's my first true love, my old orange VW bus, and few things make me happier than a cruise in the old gal. Plus, it was Eli's first drive in her! Of course, true to form, (she always lets me know that she's been feeling a bit neglected) we got done shopping at the grocery store and the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. This has happened before, and we had to replace the whole ignition. So, I called Trav who was at work an hour away, and he said he'd pack up and head our direction. Then, thinking like the old school VW driver that I am, I decided to firmly press my foot on the steering column at the floor (I know what you all are thinking, and no, it wasn't a kick!) and lo and behold, the key turned smooth as silk. Ah Marmie, always keeping me on my toes. I just can't hear the sound of that rumbling (purring?) VW engine without grinning from ear to ear.