Summer... Let it begin!

My first week of summer vacation has been a blast. I've been to the beach, San Diego, the Aquarium of the Pacific, cleaned the garage and played pool, found someone to come and make our pool swimmable at a reasonable price. It has been so much fun spending time, relaxing, and playing with my family. We have been so busy, but not. It's been a leisurely pace. We haven't HAD to be anywhere at any specific times. It's been chill. (If you want to see pics check out Sarah's blog)

Also with Independence Day coming up, I was asked the question, "How does America inspire you?" I thought I'd share my response.

How does America inspire me? America gives me strength. Knowing that our country was founded on the principles of "One Nation Under God" is an anchor. We are a country founded in reverence for our God. It is this knowledge that causes my heart to skip a beat and my eyes well up when I see our great flag and hear the Star Spangled Banner. It is this knowledge that causes me to want to shake every hand and embrace every person I see in uniform for there service to our great land in blessing not only our lives with the blessings of freedom, but in blessing God's children around the world with their God given right to be free. It is with this knowledge that when I salute the flag with the scouts in my troop or say the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning with my students at school that I do so with respect and honor for this country; and ultimately, my God.

That's amazing!

There has been so much lately that has kept me thinking, "That's amazing!"
Kiera, everyday, does something that gets me thinking it. The other day I walked into the room and she looked at me and said, "Hi dad." She is talking pretty consistently now. She has been saying mom, dad, hi, grandma, grampa, bye, more mama, mas (more in Spanish) as well as signing more and waving while saying, "hi.'' In fact just this weekend she said something new. Sarah's cousin was asking her cousin's daughter what Kiera's name is. The daughter didn't answer but Kiera did. She clearly responded, "Kiera." Everyone looked at each other in amazement as if to say, "Did she really just say her name?!?" That's amazing! She loves to talk with other people. I was walking through the foyer at church last week and she was waving and saying "hi" to everyone. It was really cute. Speaking of really cute... My Wife!!! Yesterday we were getting ready for church and I walked into our room and Sarah was looking so beautiful! It was one of those moments where I thought to myself, "Wow! That's my wife! She married me. That's amazing! I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful wife! I love her! And even better... she loves me too!"