July 4th

This year we stayed home for July 4th, it was a lot easier, but less eventful.  Last year we went to Boston and went to the parade and had a cookout with family.  One thing we didn't get to do last year was fireworks, so this year I was especially excited about watching fireworks with the girls.  Tuesday when we got home they were already talking about fireworks, we kept telling them it wouldn't be until the next night.  That night we got them in bed and around 9:30 they started crying, they could hear some of the booming of fireworks. We went to their room to comfort them and to our surprise the fireworks were right outside their window.  There is a big park behind our neighborhood and we were in the perfect position to see them, they came up right in front of their window.  The girls were a little scared of the noise, but very interested in the fireworks.  They would tell us what color each one was and if it was big or little.  What a wonderful treat to share their first firework experience together and in the comfort of our own home. 

The next morning they woke up already talking about seeing fireworks again, we had to tell them probably 20 times that we couldn't see more until it got dark.  We got everyone dressed in bathing suits and headed over to the YMCA.  They went to the childcare for about 30 minutes so Scott and I could exercise, I swam a little over 1/2 a mile and then we headed over to pick them up so we could all go to the water park.  It was really hot outside, but when you were in the water it wasn't so bad, some sections were pretty cold actually.  Emma kept saying it was cold and sat beside her dad with her feet just hanging in.  She is just like her father when it comes to water, she hates getting her face wet and if it is cold she won't go in.  Luckily the other two take after me so we had a great time and Savannah even practiced going under the water. We stayed until lunch time and then headed home for lunch and naps.

After naps we got everyone dressed (aren't they cute) and headed down to my parents house for a cookout, we had hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, baked beans, and chips.  For desert I had made gooey butter bars and mom had made some brownies.  The kids played outside even though it was hot, after dinner they all got in their swimsuits and played in the little pool, I think we need a bigger pool, you should have seen all 7 of the kids crammed in there.

The kids also blew bubbles and played in the sprinkler, finally when it got dark enough we set off our own little firecrackers in the driveway, courtesy of Stephanie's family.  My mom also gave each kid a glow bracelet, so there was all kind of fun stuff going on.  We then headed over to the school parking lot to watch the fireworks, you can see them through the trees there, but they are still pretty far away.  The girls liked watching them and telling everyone what color they were (poor people around us got a narrative).  It was a good show, we went back to my parents to wait on the crowds to clear and finally left around 10:30 but there was still traffic, we went a back way home and finally made it home a little after 11 with 3 sleeping kids.