Happy 4th of July with Honors!

Happy Belated 4th of July! We had a really lovely holiday weekend, jam packed with good food, great friends, fireworks and fun! 

Dave had Friday off and we had a low key family day. On Saturday, Mason cooked at the Napa County Fair early in the day so we just made the trip there and back to get home in time to enjoy our small town 4th of July celebration. Steve and Ro were in town and Mason was set to receive the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award for his work on his school kitchen. The presentation left a little to be desired, but holy cow, the awards he received were stellar! He received a Certificate of Recognition from Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, two Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition signed by Doug LaMalfa (member of Congress) and Tom McClintock, a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Auburn, a Certificate of Recognition from the State Assembly signed by Frank Bigelow and another from the Senate signed by Ted Gaines, and finally a plaque engraved with his name rom the Auburn Chamber of Commerce. I didn't even know what to say when I saw all of this, except, "Good for you Mason!" It made me think I need to start writing his resume now so I don't have to remember all of this when he tires to do it later. I think it will be interesting for his future employers to look at his resume and say, "Really? You started working when you were 8 years old?" The answer will be a resounding, "Yes!" Dave and I are very proud of him, but you all have to know, for all he's accomplished, he is still 11 years old and mostly a huge pain in our butts! Laughing!

It was a great holiday and now it's time to get back to work and school. Mason is still swimming and it looks like he may go back to playing football. We'll see. For now, I'm looking forward to seeing Julie and our high school friend who lives in Italy tomorrow for some fun in the sun with all of our kids. Additionally, Mason and I have two Park Pass and a Picnic episodes to edit and post - stay tuned!

My motivator for today is something I heard a fitness trainer say and it resonated with me, "If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you." Yep, I need to challenge myself physically as I feel a need to improve (change). Happy Monday!