Hey. It’s Rick. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had a “Who would you do?” post, so I thought another would be fun. This time, it’s two dudes standing side-by-side in each pic and you get to pick the one you’d do. Honestly, in most cases we’d do them both – but it’s fun to pick one or the other 🙂

From David: We have lots to tell you about our July 4th celebration and the new “hawks nest.” I’ll start this out and let Ben finish it. We apologize if it’s too long, but that’s just how it is. Literally everyone was here for the 4th. All 12 of the guys – all 7 kids – all 6 dogs -the grandparents – Denise and Scott, Jim and Carol – Silas’ parents and sister – Dante’s father – Ms Evelyn – plus Nathan, Diana, Daniel and (little) Nathan. It was exactly the crowd we had in mind when we decided to buy/build the “hawks nest.” As you might expect, Alex has magically transformed the former dentists office/school into the gathering place of our dreams. There’s a beautifully appointed kitchen with just about every gadget and appliance you could imagine. Chad, Cal, Denise, Carol and I put them all to good use preparing various foods for our first get-together in the nest. There’s a large mensroom, a beautiful womens room and a storage room with racks for folding tables and chairs that seat up to 48 for dining. There are beautifully finished chairs for everyone… all with locking wheels for easy movement. There’s a 85″ Sony bravia high def tv, a climbing wall (with safety harnesses), a really long zip-line and 3 corn hole game areas. Alex’ big indoor surprise was a regulation-size pickleball court we can put in use by moving the furniture to the sidelines. We spent most of the day inside enjoying good company, good food and fun and games in air-conditioned comfort. It was perfect.
From Ben: Alex had been messing with us for several weeks… telling us he had a big outdoor surprise but refusing to tell anyone (other than Dub and Bella) what it was. As our 4th celebration inside “the nest” wound down and evening approached, Alex told us it was time to move the party outdoors. None of us had seen the “hawks plaza” out back and it was really cool. There’s a central area finished with concrete and river rock that’s 24′ x 24′ – surrounded with beautiful plantings. There are wooden benches on each side with wood and stainless steel covers to provide shade. Jim, Carol and the kids brought out the ice cream freezers and cakes and we were all talking while we ate dessert. Just then, a bunch of water jets started shooting up in the plaza. I counted 16 of them. They were all spurting water up about 4 or 5 feet high. We all sat watching while Daisy started barking… then went chasing after each jet. She’d jump on one and try to eat it… then move to another. Before long, Buzz the wonder dog joined her and they were barking and chasing the water and we were all laughing. Then, little Daniel waddled in. He’d take a few steps and go “plop” on his bottom and laugh while the dogs barked and chased the water jets. Before long, all the dogs – and all the kids were running around while the water jets sprayed them. Then the jets stopped… and another set of jets started. Long story short, there are 4 sets of 16 jets that Alex controls with his cell phone. Eventually, all of us were running around laughing and getting soaked.
As darkness approached, Alex told us we should sit on the benches because there’d be a show. So we sat and watched as music started and the “dancing waters” began. The first song was “Stars and Stripes forever” and it got us all pumped as the colored waters danced. Next there was “America the beautiful” which we all sang as we watched. Then, everything stopped… and we all just sat there on the benches while the dogs shook and darkness settled. Then, with a slow rhythm, the music started again – and the waters came to life as we heard Freddy Mercury begin belting out “We are the Champions.” Before long, we all stood with our arms locked as we sang “We are the Champions” – and you know what? We meant it! Gosh. It was amazing. And no matter what happens with America and the Supreme Court and the radical right… it doesn’t matter because we really ARE the champions!
We hope all of you are happy and in good health – and that your 4th of July celebration was memorable. xoxo Ben and David