Happy 4th!

We love the 4th of July in our house. It usually signifies great BBQ food, homemade fresh picked berry pies, buying tons of fireworks and time spent with family and friends. This year Kian had become completely and utterly obsessed with buying as many fireworks as he could get ANYBODY to buy him (mainly daddy and grandpa Den.) He makes quite a sales pitch, talking your ear off, then you cave; just so he'll zip his lip! When he is into something he is INTO it, no commitment issue there. Once July 5th came he was over it, on to the next holiday I guess.

In awe of one of the greatest fireworks display in the country, downtown Pittsburgh

When it comes to our 2 boys, my husband Mike is much better at entertaining: he will play and do projects with them for, literally, hours. Weekends are usually filled with bike riding, roller blading, hiking, all sports, and doing experiments. If it involves playing, Mike is game on! He's the fun one. If I'm not involved in the activity (it's about a 50/50 chance) I'm often found in the house, creating, reading or tending to the more domestic duties such as laundry, meal preparations, and organizing.

But when it’s time to talk, I’m the go to gal. Every night we spend time reflecting on our day, together, as we discuss our “highs and lows”. This is what I call the "window of opportunity time." They are so eager to share their most intimate thoughts and so receptive to hear your words of wisdom. In the afternoons when I'd pick them up from school, we'd spend some time discussing current events. Subjects can be lighthearted, like what happened that day or why it’s tough to decide which is a better sport, hockey, football, or baseball. But sometimes we talk about much deeper subjects, like how parents will sacrifice things and relationships to protect their kids or why the Golden Rule is so important. I guess Mike and I just love them in our own special way. Thank goodness.

On occasion I have been known to be the chosen “fun” one. I can display a side of silliness that resonates with each of my kiddos. Here is a picture Mike took on our way to the fireworks that captures the lighter side of our relationship.

disclaimer-The shutter speed was really slow due to the low light setting. That's what gives it that moving blurr effect, I thought it was kind of cool, Mike was a little more self critical.