We spent the fourth enjoying new traditions with our family after calling T.O.D. last year on our old parade routine which involved sweaty bodies, tired kids, sweaty bodies, loud noises, and–um–sweaty bodies.  I’m all for toughing it out for family memories, but the parade thing started turning into pressure to keep a tradition which completely defeats the purpose.  Instead, we flew our holiday flag both literally and figuratively.  Red,white and blue, baby.  And some low-sweat summer loving favorites.

Love me some holiday spirit. 

Pictures of our Fourth:

Happy weekend. 

God Bless America.  And wherever you are.

Seven years ago today, Brett and I got married.  An epic party of love, celebration and family followed, and to this day, I don’t know that I have any sweeter memories of dancing.  I do know that I have a much better idea of what marriage is.  It’s a journey, one that starts out simply and grows exponentially into all sorts of complicated and meaningful areas.  It’s funny looking back at that first year.  A lot of my friends were getting married around the same time we were, and that first year, we sat around and talked about what we thought were marriage issues.  He wants one kid, I want two.  We went to his parents for Christmas last year, shouldn’t it be mine this year?  He leaves his coffee cups everywhere.  Oh, silly, silly us. 

Seven years in is still young, but it’s enough to know that marriage is hard and good and challenging and rewarding and only gets more challenging and rewarding as time goes on.  Our conversations are very different today. When my friends and I talk about marriage, we talk less about coffee cups and more about the way we change and challenge each other–how we listen, how we inspire, how we grow together as we deal with new things–children, responsibilities, heartache, dreams, etc. 

I am grateful to share my journey with someone who respects and values the same things I do and accepts this road of change and challenges.  I am thankful he’s alive and doing well after a few months of uncertainty and hardship.  We grew and are growing through that, and I love the promise of growth and good change. 

Tonight, we will celebrate all of it–the last seven years, but mostly the ones to come. 

June and July are concentrated with celebration in our family, and this week we also celebrated Brett’s birthday, marked by the annual tradition of taking Lainey to Dollar Tree to pick out ten gifts.

The giant fly swatter was a big hit this year.  So was the CD case and the dish scrubber and that beautiful ceramic dolphin.

Other highlights this weekend:

Beach with friends on a night with clear skies.

Beach with family on a night with cloudy skies (just as beautiful).

Sunday morning pajama breakfast in an empty soccer field.

And lazy afternoons at home, the real playing field.

I have a hot date tonight and two closet assistants who are waiting to pick out my clothes for me.

Happy Monday!

We went out tonight for Brett’s birthday–the whole family, all dressed up–to a restaurant other than Chili’s.  Being that this hasn’t happened in a while and it was my husband’s birthday, I decided it was a special enough occasion to wear the Bump It.  Bump It as in that As-Seen-on-TV hair accessory that pushes your hair up all sexy-like.  You know, higher to heaven, closer to God.  Okay, so maybe close to God doesn’t really go with sexy-like.  Whatever.  Anyway, I managed to position the plastic bridge underneath the top layer of my hair after four tries, clip it in place with a tight barrette and straighten it out enough in the mirror for some pretty good satisfaction.  I thought it looked awesome. That is until I walked out to tell Brett I was ready.

He was laughing before I even made eye contact.

“What?” I asked.  “It’s the hair, isn’t it?”

“Oh my God, you look like you have a speed bump on your head.”

“It’s not a speed bump.  It’s a Bump It,” I offendedly snapped back, as if he was supposed to know what a Bump It was. 

He smiled and said, “Cute.”  And by “cute,” I know he meant “not cute.” 

But I wore it anyway.   I pretended my head didn’t itch all night and totally played off both times my sky hair caught the door frame of the car as I was climbing in, shifting my Bump It off-center so that it looked like a hairy fascinator.  When I took Lainey to the bathroom mid-dinner, my reflection actually startled me. 

Will I wear the Bump It again?  Probably.  Because, out of fifteen weird speed bump angles, there’s still this one straight-on one that looks so cool.  Plus, I’m a hair gimmick girl.  I mean, I still own a banana clip.

Sorry there aren’t any pictures tonight.  I’m a picture girl–always will be.  But my camera battery went dead and the charger’s still in my backpack–unpacked since Michigan.

We’re a little behind.  But catching up this week.

*****

Okay, Popina swimsuit winners and their summer bucket lists:

Comment #1208, Lisa Marie:
Bucket list:
– climb a mountain here in Salt Lake City (I recently acquired a very fit and muscley boyfriend who has agreed to sling me across his shoulders and lug me up the steeper stretches. We call this love.)
– write at least one short story that I am not embarrassed by and could potentially send to friends for editing/input/revisions.
– finish a Sizeable Chunk of my PhD research.
– find a secluded hot spring and go skinny dipping at midnight.
– make crowns out of flowers for the kids I baby sit (a Swedish midsummer tradition- my country of origin!)
– write a few postcards to friends I haven’t seen in a while.
– get a deep deep tan that lasts through August.
– attend a Shakespeare theatre summer festival.
– bake something I’ve never baked before.
– compose messages for strangers with rocks on the salt flats.
– go on a road trip with windows down and terrible wonderful music blaring.
– pray more, and more often, because summer is for divine habits and upward

Comment #634, Beth Bruce:
Bucket List:
1. Backyard Camping
2. Pick tomatoes fresh off the plants and pop directly into mouth.
3. Run through the sprinklers.
4. Roast marshmallows over the grill.
5. Drink beers on the patio with my husband after the babies are in bed.

and

Comment #195, The Book Sylph
Bucket List:
1.) strawberry picking
2.) baking strawberry crisps
3.) some cottage time
4.) backyard sprinkler fun for my 2 year old
5.) fireworks
6.) cuddling with a toddler who smells like sunscreen
7.) prepping for baby #2 who will greet us when the Fall arrives

Congratulations, winners!  To claim your suit, please e-mail kellehamptonblog@comcast.net your contact info with the subject line POPINA GIVEAWAY WINNER.  Thank you!

And for those of you who didn’t win who still would love a Popina swimsuit, our friends at Popina were so kind to set up a discount code for you.  Receive a generous 20% off your Popina order using the code “summerbucketlist.”

You know what Popina suits look good with?  Bump It hair.  Just sayin’. 

*****

Finally, if you haven’t heard of the wonderful organization called Sevenly, please check them out this week.  They bring you cool products and donate a generous portion of their product proceeds ($7 of every purchase!) to different organizations each week.  This week, they are donating to Lettercase, an organization that distributes books and resources to expectant parents with a new Down syndrome diagnosis–books that provide accurate, up to date information and authentic photos of people with Down syndrome in ballet class, at school, at work, etc.  By shopping at Sevenly this week, you’re helping provide a lifeline to moms and dads who need hope. 

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.