Another FAB Fourth

Traditions are hard to beat, and being with family for the Fourth of July at Southern Hills is definitely a FAB tradition. We have gone out there with my sister since the kids were babies and haven't missed a year. The Hankins children have become deluded that WE are the members at Southern Hills. LOL, that is not the case. However, we are grateful for generous family members and FABULOUS nights like this one. Celebrating Independence!

Picnik on the 4th of July

This year the fourth was exactly the same as years past, a visit to granny followed by dinner, swimming and fireworks at the club. And it was exactly as much fun as usual! I decided to picnik my pictures this year, following the lead of my 12 year old daughter who is often picniking darling photos of her friends! Yes, I have Photo Shop, but am loving this very user friendly and ultra creative photo editor. There is a free version that has lots of good stuff, but we joined for about $25.00 a year and we get all the cool features. Lotsa fun on this July 4th! Hope yours was every bit as wonderful!

A Few from the Fourth

Love this day too much to skip it. Here are a few images from our Independence Day....

Do I Make You Proud?

Does anyone remember Taylor Hicks? No, not Taylor Swift, the cute blonde who the girls listen to constantly, but Taylor Hicks, the guy with the gray hair and funny dance moves who won American Idol a few seasons ago? Well, I happen to love one song he sings.... actually I think he sang it the night he won the competition. It is called "Do I Make You Proud?" and as I sing it in my head you should be thanking your lucky stars I haven't figured out how to post voice recordings on this blog o' mine. But it's very catchy and powerful and, well, it is kind of the theme of this July 4th blog posting. Ready? Sing along now...
Proud, proud, proud and thankful to live here in America.
Who could not be proud of a granny like this? It cracks me up when my kids tell others about her. It's like they're bragging.... I've got a grandma I... she's 97 years old!!!! (emphasis on 97). And Blake sure is proud to be sleeping under that quilt tonight.
We were all very proud of Lauren as she jumped off the diving board tonight!!!
We are proud to have a new coach on staff and Luke is way proud of Coach K's daughter, Khloe. (if you know what I mean).

We are proud to have such an awesome family. The whole family is proud of our newest member, Jace. And look at Grandpa Rex's face. Ain't he proud.
Luke is a lego king right now. He is very proud of building a lego helicopter "all by myself" at Granny's house today. Lauren was his personal assistant.

And folks, I am proud of myself today. I for the first time in my life (why am i such a slooooooow learner?) captured some decent nighttime shots. I've taken years of fireworks pictures that look like a wimpy sparkler went off in the sky. But with 5 minutes left in the firework show, it came to me like I'd been struck by lightning or hit by an exploding firework. I (kind of) figured it out. And this picture of the moon? I can't believe I got it. I am proud. I'd like to end this post with something about how mostly proud of everyone else I am, but tonight, my friends, I'm going to go to bed feeling proud of one special lady. Me. :)

Fun on the Fourth

How much fun can we pack into one day? Let's see: 1. Grandma I's house for pizza and the quilt raffle. (Congratulations, Melanie for winning!) 2. Hanging out with cousins at Granny's house.
3. Swimming with friends at the neighborhood pool.
4. Competing in games such as the water balloon toss and a watermelon eating race.
5. Playing endlessly on the slip and side.
6. Eating dinner at the club.
7. Watching Kami practice her new trick off of the diving board.
8. Playing on the lawn, waiting for dark to fall.
9. Watching an awesome fireworks display.
10. Yawn - that was a mighty day!
Happy Birthday America!