3rd of July

Dave had to work on the 3rd of July (surprise right?), but we still had fun celebrating with all our friends. One of our friends from church throws a big Independence Day bash each year and it all starts off with a little parade of bikes, trikes, and strollers. Anna did a great job decorating her tricycle and was so excited about it, as you can see.


A little serious while she's contemplating the parade that's about to start. She was thrilled to ride next to her friend Ella Ward. She's 6, but when they get together they are BFFs and you'd never know the age difference.
The parade is about to begin! I guess the parade route was too much for Anna. She made it about 2 houses and decided she'd rather walk. No Tour de France in her future.

After the parade, it was already super hot, so the water games were perfect to let these kiddos cool down.

Anna with her other pals, Jonah and Will Ward.


Water Balloons!

We decided to head out after the water games and our friends the Wards came back to our house to have some lunch.

Activity one complete.

A few hours later, we went to the beautiful home of our friends the Scott's for swimming and a yummy yummy BBQ. No pics from there. It gets a little tricky holding a baby and making sure your 3 year old doesn't drown while scarfing down a plate of food. Wish I had pics though, it was a blast. We only stayed for awhile though, despite Anna's efforts to stay.

Activity two complete.

Next we headed out to a big BBQ where everyone from the other ward was celebrating. This party was amazing. I had never met the hosts before, but they were so nice. Giving Popsicles, drinks, and sparklers to all the kids. Anna had a blast. I barely saw here the whole night. I did happen to notice though that her bottom was wet. She was having so much fun she wouldn't stop to take a potty break. And she didn't even care. I tried to ask her if she wanted to change, but she barely stopped long enough to tell me no. Whatever. In the spirit of Independence I just let her be. This group had a haul of illegal...I mean legal, fireworks and put on an amazing show at the end of the night. It was a blast! (sorry no pics again)

Activity three complete.

Both kiddos fell asleep in the car and our marathon of parties for the day was over unfortunately.

But the best part of having the 4th of July on a Sunday is that there's still the actual real holiday to celebrate! And this time Daddy would be home. We woke him up to head out to the park to meet our friends. Hung out for a few hours and then headed home before the fireworks started. Party poopers we are, but Dave had to wake up at 4 something the next morning and we didn't want to get stuck in a traffic jam.

Anna and Sierra sharing Skittles and M&Ms. Funny girls.

I truly love Independence Day! I am so grateful for this country and for all the freedoms that were fought so hard for.