I'm feeling patriotic.

Well, seeing how I completely skipped the month of June on this old blog, this is going to be an extra long post :) Summer has taken us by storm and I have been trying to keep the summer activities flying for Vivian. I actually planned out a calendar to organize all the stuff I want to do, you know to be sure we don't let any summer days pass us by ;) Naw, it wasn't so much of a calendar as a list of all the things to do if we ever felt bored. Two days after I created this list I realized that that's the joy of summer, not having a list to follow. So I tossed it. But let me tell you we have been busy eating popsicles until we get tummy aches, swimming in warm kiddy pool water, playing in the garden dirt, and enjoying the outdoors.

Summer is, and always will be my favorite season. Not only is it just plain awesome, the 4th of July takes place in the summer. Which is, and always has been my favorite holiday. Number one, because there are fireworks. Number two, because that's when Chris popped the question four years ago, which is one of my favorite memories. Well enough of the rambling about how much I (heart) summer, I'm sure ya'll just want to know what we did on this glorious holiday. I'll do a photo review:

We started off the holiday weekend in Des Moines. Chris had some training and we met him up there and got together with our good friends Jake and Christy. Our babies are so close in age and we love catching up right were we left off. My favorite part of the trip was when the babies started getting down in their pj's to Beyonce on GMA :) How cute are they?



After coming home I worked the weekend (thumbs down), but had Monday off, (hooray!). We made our way back to my hometown area for the parade. Are you sick of me saying how much I love stuff in this post? Well here it comes again, I love a good parade. I won't lie, it was a little less then par this year, but great company made up for it!
My bestie Ramona and I got to catch up after what seemed like forever. The boys and baby had fun too.

Tootsie wanted to be next to dada the whole time, mainly because of the constant stream "tandy" she was recieving. But how sweet is this pic? She sure loves her dada.

Small town.


After the parade we were on our way home, when on a whim we decided to stop by this old rope swing we used to play on. Karissa and I would beg our dad to take us on bike rides over to this church to play on the swing. We loved it. Well, lets just say, this old swing has not lost its charm. It was pretty fun (and funny:).
Chris is scared of heights which is evidenced by the look on his face in this photo :)

Vivie had fun too, but lets be serious, this was really for the grown-ups.

Family.

Ramona was obviously a seasoned pro:

I wasn't to bad myself, considering I was wearing a skirt. I've had practice considering I didn't wear pants till I was 12.

Boys will be boys.


Later on in the evening we bbq'd at my parents house. Chris started talking to my uncle about his truck, "old blue". Then they decided to take it out for a spin. Once again, it was pretty funny. This truck doesn't have any breaks, and is strictly for hauling firewood. They took it for a spin around the pond. And wonder of all wonders, one of the tail lights still works, even though the breaks don't... Explain that.

The last few hours of the night consisted of trying to entertain Vivian and keep her up for the fireworks. We played on the swings. Grandpa walked with her around the golf course. But five minutes after the first pop she officially decided she had had enough. We hurried back to the car and she promptly fell asleep in her carseat. Hubby and I watched the rest of the show in the parking lot. It was romantic :)

But honestly, isn't that what the fourth is all about? Creating new traditions, keeping your kid up for three hours past bedtime, only to have them fall right asleep at the best part of the show, sweating so much you think you are going to have a heat stroke, eating so much candy you get a stomach ache, then eating so much rubarb desert that you get another stomach ache two hours later. I think so, and I'll be darned if we don't do it all again next year...