You can find a 4th of July cousin picture here!  They are all the cousins on Papa Bear's side.  Raise your hand if you can pick out my five.  Hint: I have the oldest and the youngest in the group.  Aren't my kids blessed to have so many cousins to play with?!

This is like true confessions, but you should all know that the "Bachelorette" has been a guilty pleasure of mine this season (O.K. and "Bachelor" last season).  I am fundamentally opposed to the concept of the show, on so many levels, yet I am tremendously entertained by it.  I am currently all aglow, because she picked the shaggy-haired snow boarder dude, over all those perfect, GQ types.   Jesse has been my favorite from the beginning.  There, now the world knows.  I assured Papa Bear that he has nothing to worry about.  Jesse's too short for me. . .that and he's engaged to the Bachelorette now.  And of course, I'm heart-broken for the sweet, single dad, Jason.  I liked him from the beginning too.  They brought him on the torturous "After the Finale" show, where they sit and have an interview in front of hundreds of people, who just saw him get rejected on bended knee (ouch).  It must be in their contract, that they can't say the obvious thing.  I've seen it time and time again.  Chris-what's-his-name-interviewer-guy says, "So what went wrong?" . . .And they look totally stunned and confounded.  No one ever says, "DUDE, she was dating OTHER PEOPLE!  That's what happened!"  Anyway, maybe someone will say it some day, and I won't have to shout at the abc.com, computer screen. :)

My hand is really doing better. . .Still sore, and I still have moments of, "Man, I really need full use of both hands back now!" like today when I was unlocking the gate to the pool, while holding two large pizzas and a 2-liter.  BUT I tentatively swam some laps today, and it didn't hurt.  So that feels like a major victory. 

Thanks for any prayers for a sane off-day with Papa Bear.  We even snuck away for a quick dinner here on the East side, while the kids watched a movie.  I'm heading to bed now.  Y'all have a good night.  E :)