Who's Got Better Fireworks?

Of course one cannot properly celebrate the 4th of July without attending a fireworks show. This year it was my privilege to view two separate show and was left wondering which had the better fireworks. We had dinner up at the Lake House on Sunday the 3rd of July and many of the Lake inhabitants put on shows of their own. This year, on about 3 separate docks on the west end of the Lake a virtual professional show was exhibited. We heard later that the elderly father of a family that owns one of the docks died earlier in the year and he loved fireworks on the 4th of July. So the family decided to spend a bunch of their inheritance on fireworks to honor him on the first 4th after his passing. Here is just some of the show from the Lake.

The following day, on July 4th proper, we set up chairs on our unfinished deck at the house in Edmonds to watch the formal Edmonds fireworks show. Jeanne and her family watched the show every year when she was young, so it was exciting to anticipate the upcoming show. We weren't sure where to look, but when the first firework exploded just about directly over our deck, it was clear we would enjoy the show. Here are some pictures from that show. Please vote in the comments which show you think was best!

The view from the deck is pretty remarkable. If you look real close in the distance, you can see that Kingston started their show earlier. We also could see fireworks from Whidby Island and Mukilteo. Then the Edmonds show began.

I hope you all had WONDERFUL 4th of July celebrations!

I Love Small Town Parades

One of the best things about Elizabethtown, PA was that there were about 4 parades a year. Same participants basically in each parade, slightly different theme, but something special that brings a town together, creates a venue where everyone meets and truly senses they are part of a community. Well ... for some reason it never occurred to me that Edmonds, WA might have parades. I don't know, too posh, too snobby, too disconnected, too progressive????? Boy, was I wrong. Edmonds had a great 4th of July parade and it felt just as intimate, just as community oriented and just as patriotic as PA. I might grow to like Edmonds!

Anybody want a flag? There were plenty to go around even though the crowd was large.

How many times did our kids pick up candy from the street during parades in Elizabethtown. It was almost deja vu. Although the candy people in Edmonds were much less agressive than in E-Town, they practically put it in your hands. I recall getting hit pretty hard on a couple of occasions in E-Town by flying hard candy.

There were clowns ...

and horses ...

and even Santa made it to the parade, looking remarkably like the Santa in "Miracle On 34th Street."

There were the "regulars" ...

and the "surprises" ...

but mostly it was just a bunch of people enjoying the weather, the feeling of patriotism and the distinct sense of community.

Maren Has Arrived!

Our newest grandchild has arrived. We could call her #8 but that seems so impersonal. Instead we'll refer to her as Maren Kelly Ditto. (The Kelly part is just to add to gender confusion.) Anyway, she is beautiful, of course. She weighed about 6 1/2 pounds and was 19 1/2" at birth.

The girls (Laynie and Hailey) are ecstatic, of course, to have another sister.
And although Addison was disappointed at first that he would not have a brother, he was overheard tonight saying at bedtime, "I can't go to bed. I can't be without Maren for nine whole hours!" He is now looking forward to and preparing to be her greatest defender!
Welcome to the world Maren!! You've come to a great family. We love you very much.

Tulips II

Had to take Casey, Katalyn and Owen to see the tulips, just had to (oh, and the camera came along coincidentally). While the daffodils had faded the tulips have come into their full glory. It was breathtaking. And, we found a great Thai restaurant in La Conner, which could have been breath taking as well if Katalyn hadn't ordered "2" on the hotness scale. As it was, it was only HOT not BREATHTAKING. Yummmm.

La Conner Tulips

This is a colorful time of year for the Mt. Vernon area of western Washington. It is time for the Tulip Festival. I'm not exactly sure what makes for good tulip growing. Why are most of them grown in Holland? Why are so many grown in La Conner, WA? I don't know, but when they are blooming it is colorful indeed. Many of the fields seemed to get planted in corn over the last few years but it looks like this year may be a bit of a comeback for the tulips. Jeanne and I took Bob and Lucy on Friday. It's not quite "peak" but there were still a couple good picture opportunities. Hope you enjoy and I'll be back next week with more.

Gospel Ring

OK - I know rings have great gospel symbolism, eternal life and all that. But a different thought struck me the other day about my wedding band so here it is (in case you care).

This band is very special to me. Beyond that it symbolizes my eternal companionship with my best (sometimes only) friend, it was purchased in a very special place during a wonderful time. Jeanne, Emily and I all flew to London to pick up Mary from semester abroad (see previous posts) and one day went to Portobello Road. The whole place is like a giant outdoor market and we had a wonderful time. One of the vendors was an artist who worked with silver. He had wedding bands. They were simple, beautiful, reasonable and we were in a romantic place so Jeanne and I both bought new bands. Hence, it is very special to me.

Skip to now. Jeanne and I swim at the YMCA nearly everyday. For some reason I never realized that chlorine tarnishes silver - really bad. So, by exposing my ring to the pool water it gets tarnished. Thankfully we have some silver polish so every now and then I shine it up. After so doing the other day it struck me - this is the whole gospel! Each of us are eternal rings. We get exposed to the things of the world and become tarnished. If we are willing, we can, through the use of polish and a little work, become beautiful and shiny again. Christ is the polish. He can clean anything off of us if we let him and are willing to do a little work. When we shine we reflect light, when we are tarnished we are dark. Simple but true. May we all shine!

Daddy/Daughter to the Gold & Green Ball

"Daddy, why do they call it the Gold and Green Ball?" "Uhmm, I think it was some organization's value colors a long time ago. Call Grandma Pickett, she'll know, she used to run them." "Hello, Grandma, this is Emily. Dad said you'd know why they call it the Gold & Green Ball." "Well, I don't know. Let me find Grandpa and see if he knows." "Floyd, do you know why they call it the Gold and Green Ball?" "No." After the ball, the phone rings. "Rodger, this is your mother. I've called all my old timer friends. We've concluded it's called the Gold and Green Ball because those used to be the MIA colors." "So, was the ball for everyone or just the young folks?" "Oh, it was for everyone, but the MIA put it on." "Thanks mom!"

Now you know - maybe. Anyway, since Jeanne was working through the night at the hospital, Emily was a willing date. We were only there an hour or so when all the young folks decided they wanted to go to the Everett Stake Youth Dance instead. I'm a soft touch and of course said yes. I'm still glad Emily will hang out with me, even if it is only for an hour at a time!