Independence Day

 

 This was the first year that Teresa really lit any fireworks off & Rebecca did WAY more than ever before.  They were lovin' it!

 Ready for the neighborhood parade!

 

 Andrew was celebrating with his cousins for the week in Minnesota & Iowa.  He had a blast!

 They stopped at Adventureland on the way home, too, which was seriously awesome.

We missed our big boy, but he certainly enjoyed himself.

 We had fun just being girly at home. 

 There was time for patriotic pedicures, several tea parties, & lots more.

We ventured over to a neighbor's house who also has a girl in Rebecca's class for the evening celebration.  The slip 'n slide was a big hit & we had a nice time.

Happy 4th of July!

So thankful for the freedom that we enjoy.

God bless America

 We kicked off the celebration of our nation's independence with our annual trip out to Uncle Ron's.  Green Grandpa loves to take us out on a hayrack ride through the preserve.  Sarah & I opted out this time, but the big kids had a blast with Daddy despite their newly mosquito-bit bodies.

 We did lots of snaps, poppers, & other simple fireworks, but Rebecca was most interested in catching fireflies.  These three ran around for over an hour in pursuit of them.

 Nothing says 4th of July like cooking hotdogs over a bonfire, large amounts of glow bracelets,

 & cheesy junk food WAY past your bedtime.

 After a late night, we made it just in time for the neighborhood bike parade the next morning.  It's always a simple, fun time.  We bumped into two of Rebecca's classmates... one who moved in recently down the street & another who's grandparents live nearby.  Such a nice surprise!

Sarah enjoyed her first parade (even though she didn't get a popsicle at the end). 

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July

 For the 4th year in a row, we attended our neighborhood Independence Day parade.  We spent a few hours the day before decorating our bikes & scooter to ride.  Here we go...

 It's such a fun group of neighbors & so low-key that it's right up our alley! 

(not that we have an alley, but you know what I mean)

 Andrew was off like a flash, Teresa was riding FAST but looking everywhere but forward!  I felt like I was human bumper pads & she was the bowling ball all the way down the street.  :P  If there just weren't so many friends, puppies, & decorations to look at...

 Rebecca spent a long time on her bike.  This photo doesn't really do it justice.  It turned out so cool! 

 Neighbor Caleb was seriously decked out (especially with the red, white, & blue popsicle goo covering it all!)

 What do you do when your hands are all sticky from a popsicle?  That's right, PET A DOG.  Mmm.  Then have it lick off your hands.  I actually laughed aloud at myself at this point.  I would have completely flipped out at that identical situation just a few years ago.  No more first-time-mommy-alerts in me!

 The rest of the day we just played at home & enjoyed the "show" around our house.  It was actually a lot of relaxing fun.

 The kids had been begging to camp out (in the basement) so we figured that would be the perfect night.  They were already tired from a late night prior & it's quieter down there than upstairs amid the artillery outside.  They loved it!  Thanks for the idea, Stephanie!

They all wore their glow necklaces to bed.  It was nice to peek in at them & know where they were!

3rd of July

 Happy 3rd of July!

We always get to celebrate a day early, too, with Darren's family.  It's so nice to have a regular time that we all are able to get together!  We had a fun night. 

Lots of snaps

 Hayrack ride through Green Grandpa's farm

 Lots of pretty exploding money  ;)

 & even glowing accessories!

Wrap all that up with cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, & way too many desserts...

you've got quite the party!

Happy Independence Day!

It just doesn't seem like we've celebrated without a 3rd of July party at Uncle Ron's. Darren's uncle (& family) have hosted us for as many years as I've been around & apparently long before. Every year there are a few more kids, a few more fireworks, & a lot more fun. We kicked off this year with a hayrack ride driven by none other than Green Grandpa. ;) Teresa was asserting her own independence on the swingset... think she can handle monkey bars yet?Rebecca (finally) enjoyed the fireworks & even tried out a few sparklers. It was fun to have her really into it & Andrew getting to actually light some real ones. They were both rather giddy. Teresa just keep pointing excitedly saying, "Mommy! Look! Fireworking!"After a beautiful but too late night we started off Independence Day with our annual neighborhood parade. Darren was already out working the KC fireworks stand, so we ventured on our own. It's so simple. The pledge of allegiance, patriotic music, big flag in the front, kind neighbors, dozens of kids on decorated bikes/in strollers/on foot (plus a lot of dogs this year!), & back to the start for sticky bombpops. Perfect.
We continued the celebration with a super-fun party at our friends' home (where I forgot to take any pictures) with good food, great company, & a whole slew of excited kids. It cracks me up how you can get 10 positive responses to an invitation & it ends up being 60 people when we add in our families! Love it.
I'm so thankful that we live in this wonderful country & that we are raised with a respect & responsibility for maintaining that freedom. Thank you for all you fight to protect us in our armed forces & all that work to make the U.S.A. a joyful place to raise our family!

Eagle buddies

Independence

Happy Independence Day!

Andrew with cousin Alaina

Enjoying her 4th of July viddles

Green Grandpa gave us quite the hayrack ride. Teresa was loving it! Andrew & Rebecca had fun, but mostly just enjoyed the bag of chips on board.

This was Andrew's first year doing anything more than snaps on his own, so he was super pumped. This airplane was a pretty cool way to start off his adventure. I tell ya, put a punk in his hand & he feels like a 20 year old!

Rebecca eventually warmed up...to snaps. At first she was afraid to even look when we threw them! She must have some tainted memories from last year. :P

We had a great time at Uncle Ron's on the 3rd. Then we celebrated with some college friends on the 4th & overall had a very enjoyable (injury-free!) weekend.

God bless America!

If you are on a feed-reader, there are a bunch more goofy pics of the kids in my new header to enjoy. It's almost impossible to get them all sitting still, looking the same direction, & smiling these days... but I love a challenge!