Fourth of July

We had a fun-filled Fourth of July weekend this year. Here's a brief recap of some of the things we did.

We knew the day of the Fourth was going to be a busy one and our boys probably wouldn't last late into the night for fireworks, so we went to watch one of the local firework shows that are put on the few days prior to the fourth. It worked out perfectly!

Here is our attempt at a family picture.

...and a few of the out-takes.

I love this picture of Ty and John with their matching outfits and haircuts...so cute!

(I should mention here that Tyler was really excited to have matching hair with dad)

We also decorated bikes for the bike parade and breakfast that our church holds every year on the morning of the fourth.

Here are the boys enjoying their breakfast. It was scorching hot, but we still had a good time. Spending the morning with good friends made me appreciate the ward family that we have and the strong friendships that we've made here.

The boys participated in the bike parade (or bike pa-race as I like to call it because you can't put 40 kids on bikes in an open parking lot and expect them not to race)

After the parade we went to the theater to watch Cars 2 with our cousins. John's brother recently moved here, and we're so glad to have them close by. They had plans to head to Dallas for a work party that evening, but we were glad we got to spend a little bit of time together.

After a quick lunch and naps, we headed over to have pizza and to swim in our neighbor's pool. They were out of town and asked Tyler to feed their fish, water the plants, get the mail, and swim in their pool. We were very dutiful in fulfilling all our responsibilities.

The boys had a great time splashing, swimming, and playing. And John and I loved relaxing on a blanket in the shade. We really enjoyed having a pool all to ourselves. It was a perfect way to unwind, relax and just be together as a family. After spending the rest of the evening in the pool, the boys were exhausted and ready for bed.

This was one of those days that made me grateful- grateful to live in a country that allows me so many opportunities and freedoms, grateful for good friends, grateful for finally having family close by to celebrate holidays with, and grateful for my little family that brings me so much joy.