Hunger Games 2.0

I'm going for aunt-of-the-year-award and folks, I think I'm a strong contender. There have been baptisms and sports banquets and 8th grade graduations. There have been yummy meals and boring speakers to sit through and wet eyes over the development of minds and changing of hearts. 

I don't have photos from all of those activities yet. I'm waiting on other people to download and upload and edit and email. You see, I struggle with the photo taking. I love photos and albums and being able to remember by looking at a moment captured in time. But, I also love being in that moment and not behind a camera or phone screen as I feel so cut off from the moment when that happens. I want to see the water dripping off of Ryan as he comes out of the pool with the fireworks going off in the sky above him. I want to see Mike's goofy grin as he accepts his 8th grade diploma. I want to to experience the moments fully. Basically, I want someone else to take the dang pictures so I can enjoy. 

However, I do take some pictures. I took the one below, although if I'm being honest, it was simply because I couldn't get my hands on my own dangum bow! Yes, Jared and I bought compound bows and look straight up like hunger games out in the front yard. Jared's bow is set at 70 pounds of force and mine at 30, so the nephews and cousins can pull back my bow, but not Jared's so there is a lot of sharing going on in my world. I'm really okay with that though and it leads to great pictures of men and boys pulling back compound bows and looking cool (see below). 

Because Jared's arrows fly with twice as much force as mine, they go deeper into the target and are quite difficult to get out. Of course, we also like a little dramatic acting in my family, so Ryan could be pulling either arrow out of the target in the following picture. 

In other news, we went to Birmingham this weekend. There's nothing like a good Saturday on the screened in porch with Grandma and Pop. Grandma feeds peanut butter crackers to Scout while I pretend not to notice, Pop makes sure I have a cold diet coke, Jared talks up a storm, and I feel free to be real. It is an environment that I hope to create for my children and grandchildren.