Family Time!!!!

I am back in Laramie after spending two weeks with my family. I suck however! I did not get a single picture but I did have a great time. My family and I did a lot of things together. My mom and I went on a run and took our dogs with us. I suck at running but it is a good work out and it was fun running with my mom. We also had slumber parties in the camper, went for motorcycle rides, planted some flowers, worked on my mom's garden, went to a bbq, had our own bbq, enjoyed time together on the 4th of July, and most importantly Eric learned how to do a real BACK FLIP. This may not be a huge accomplishment to some but for Eric it was. When Eric would do a back flip it was scary. He would bounce really high on the tramp and then totally kill his bounce when he decided to flip. This caused him to basically scalp himself. To add to this horrifying stunt he would also flip sideways. The only way I can describe this in a way that makes sense is to say that he would basically do a backwards cartwheel with no hands. It was SCARY! Seriously. But I decided that this summer would be the summer he learned how to do a proper back flip. Brandon (my brother) and I spotted Eric on the tramp. After a few spots Eric was able to do a back flip all by himself. It was a good back flip too. I was impressed with how fast he was able to learn how to do a proper back flip! Needless to say I was super proud of him and even more relieved that he would no longer be putting his life in danger every time he decided to do a back flip! My hubby is pretty much awesome!

This year while spending the 4th of July with my family it really hit me how lucky we are to be Americans. I always knew the 4th of July was an important holiday but this year it meant so much more to me. At the parade the only float that got loud cheers from the crowd was the one that had the soldiers on it. that brought tears to my eyes! Later that night my mom, my sister, my brother, and I went to the fireworks at the camplex. I was feeling pretty bad for myself because Eric had to leave earlier in the day to go back to work. I then felt so guilty for feeling bad for myself. At least my husband is alive and healthy. I thought of all the families who were celebrating the 4th of July without a loved one because they had been killed in a war or because they were currently fighting a war. These people have been killed fighting for me and the rest of our country. I thought a lot about my friend Jake Ross. He was killed just a few months ago on his last mission in Iraq. Because of him, six other people are still alive today. I thought about his wife and family as well as the families of the men he saved that day. The 4th of July is important to me but I can't imagine what it means to families who have loved ones or who have had loved ones serving in the armed forces. I am so thankful for the soldiers who fight for our freedoms. We are a very lucky nation and it bothers me that some people can't see that!

Well July is going to be a very busy month for us. We are going to Yellowstone next week, then I have girls camp, and then my cousins baby is getting blessed at the end of the month, and then my cousins homecoming is the last Sunday in July!!! I can't wait to see him! This month is going to be a fun one :) I will try harder to take more pictures!!!!!