'Twas The Day Before Independence Day...

We don't normally think about everything we're able to do as we begin our day. As I look back on today, I'm again amazed at everything we did:

God's Family Play Day

Today we went to church at Bechtold Park in Deer Park. It was a Family Play Day. Out-of-towners were there; not only those in town visiting relatives for the weekend, but also the Dayton church of Christ.

Tom, our evangelist, gave a "sermunion", a combination sermon and communion message. What does God love most about his family? Us. Individually. We were chosen by him (1 Peter 2:9-10), and it's not a choice he made lightly. It cost him the blood of his one and only son, Jesus.

After that time of worship, we ate some lunch. Burgers and hot dogs were available, as were sundry side dishes.

Real Men Play Tug-of-War - Or Is It Hug-of-War?

Shortly thereafter I participated in a tug-of-war contest. I was the first man in front of the anchor man, and I thought it would be a good idea to wrap the rope around my forearm to help me hold it better. When the time for tugging came, I realized that circulation to my arm was getting cut off, so I unravelled it. Our team eventually lost, but it was fun being in the contest nevertheless. Then they had a boys versus girls tug-of-war, and I found a place for Keisha. The girls won.

After this event Keisha and I walked over to observe the three-legged race, which was hilarious. Then we played on the playground equipment momentarily before the softball game was about to begin.

Marrieds Playing Softball

We wound up having a team of marrieds versus a team of singles and campus. We decided to have 11 players, which meant that we had 5 outfielders. I wound up being in centerfield for most of my time there. It brought back memories of my little league days. Except...

... when my turn came up to bat, my teammates advised me that I had a better chance of getting on base if I hit grounders. I had three at-bats, and during one of those, I scored. The second time I grounded to third base where the force out was. The third time, I wound up being left on base.

I didn't know that softball rules don't allow bunting, because I surprised everyone with a bunt. Instead of calling me out, they let me bat again.

Our marrieds team wound up winning the game 9-2, and I've got a big case of sunburn to show for it. It's mostly on my forearms and the back of my neck, although I have some on my face and front of my neck. Jennie has been liberally appyling aloe vera gel to the affected areas.

Air Conditioning Entertainment - Good for Sunburn

After we came home I rested, letting my feet find some relief. I took a short nap. When I woke up later, we decided to go someplace where there was air conditioning. I looked online, and we decided to go to Cincinnati Commons, where the Danbarry Dollar Saver Cinemas were showing Kicking and Screaming, starring Will Ferrell. Before that we ate some food at one of the food court restaurants. Then we went to the movie, thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Aloe Vera Gel - Good for Sunburn, Too!

On the way home we stopped at the 24-hour Walgreen's to get some more Aloe Vera Gel, since the bottle we were using was finally dry. Now we are back home, air conditioning on, fans going full blast. Jennie has liberally applied some more of the aloe vera gel as I type this, and she's getting Keisha ready for bed. My beer can is also helping.

A Little Wordplay Is Fun

During our travels this evening, we started doing wordplay on the word "firecracker". Try it out yourself, switching the consonant sounds, and you'll have lots of fun. Perhaps. You can also try it out with the name of one of the restaurants around here: Fuddrucker's. You can imagine the extra fun we have with that one.

Tomorrow Is Another Day

Last week Keisha and I met one of Jennie's friends from high school. She's invited us to her home tomorrow. In addition, we found out today that Jennie's aunt is having a family reunion tomorrow at her home. Tomorrow night Jennie heads back to work. It sounds like we're in for another fun-filled day.

Update: I just realized that I'm ready for Independence Day:

RED: My neck and forearms are red with sunburn

WHITE: The rest of my skin is white

BLUE: My skin is so white it shows off the blue veins!

How's that for patriotism? LOL!