4th of July

I have to start this post with a disclaimer.... I'm sort of a holiday scrooge.  I don't really like them.   Now, don't get me wrong.... I love the 4th of July for the holiday that it is.  I'm so thankful to live in a free country, and even more thankful to the men and women who fought for that freedom.  So for that, I'm happy celebrating.  But I. HATE. FIREWORKS.  And because they seem to be such a big part of the 4th, I tend to not like it much.  They are loud, and dangerous.  And obnoxious. And people are stupid with said loud, dangerous explosives! Ok, I'm done.  Just had to get that out there.  So don't be surprised if you ever come to our house on a holiday and it's not decorated, or we don't shoot off fireworks:)  Not my thing.  Like I said, apparently I'm a holiday scrooge:)

Despite my dislike to the 4th (well, really just my strong dislike for the fireworks that come along with it), we had a fabulous day.  We started off with a Fourth of July parade through our family BFF's , the Lowreys, neighborhood.  This is the second year we've joined them in this.  And while I don't think it's all that exciting, the kids like joining in and have fun, so that's all that matters.  Plus, I get some adult time with one of my all-time besties, so it's well worth it.  Eli got to ride his bike and the other kids rode in the strollers as we walked through their neighborhood behind a firetruck.  We ended at the neighborhood pool and they got to pick out prizes and have popsicles.  And they played on the playground.   Good morning in their book:)

 I guess Parker actually got to ride in the bike trailer with Derek.  He was riding with his gf for a while too, but she got out right before I took this picture.  Too bad too, because Violet and Parker are a cute duo:)

 Kamdyn and her bff Grace.  They were having fun at the playground.  And I gotta say, I'm so thankful for her friendship with Grace.....there aren't many girls in our circle of friends (and the few that there are are still under 2), so it's so great for K to finally have a little girlfriend that is her age.

 Proof that mommy and Sawyer were there!!  I love this little slobber bucket:)

 The whole parade crew:)

 After lunch and naps, we headed over to granny and papa's for some swimming and dinner.

 It is safe to say that Parker definitely enjoyed his 4th of July cupcake:)

 And I had Derek take a picture of our perfect family of 6.  We don't have many of these!  It sure is an awful lot of work to get this to happen:)  But I sure am glad when we manage!

 And our beautiful kids.  They sure are a handful, and I have days where I wonder why in my right mind I would want to tackle this many so close together:)  But really, I wouldn't have it any other way! Plus, they are so stinking cute.  So it kind of makes up for all those crappy moments in life.

 PS.  Erin, aren't you proud that my kids actually have on festive clothes this year?!?  This may be a first for our family:)

 And we finished off the evening with a few fireworks.  In the past, the kids haven't really liked them, but I wanted to give it another go and see if they were still scared of them.  They were:)  But that's ok.  I don't much like them anyways....so now I can just not worry about buying them for several more years.  Unless they ask.  Then I suppose I can suck it up:)

 And this is a "morning after" shot.  Lots of people shoot of in our neighborhood.  These people just so happened to catch the field on fire behind our house.  This is actually the second year in a row this has happened, but last year they got the spark out before it was more than a little campfire.  This year they weren't so lucky.  When I came out from feeding Sawyer, it was going pretty good and I didn't think there was any way they could get it under control themselves.   God was watching out for them and gave a slight break in the wind so they were able to get ahead and put the big fire out just seconds before the firetrucks showed up.  They got really lucky....it could have gotten really bad.  The dark parts in the pictures are all the areas that were going up in flame.  Scary stuff.  And that is one of the many reasons I can't stand fireworks:)  Thankfully this all turned out fine!  And hopefully it will put a stop to their big firework show for a while!!