Fourth of July

The 4th of July lasted a whole week around here.  We had multiple celebrations and Jon was off for a four day weekend, so it was a nice, long holiday.

We started the week off with crafting for our elderly friends at the local nursing home.

We went to Mollie's one day and she was brave enough to let the girls play with play-doh!

We met some friends for Family Night at the Rodeo of the Ozarks one night.  I was not very excited about going, but Jon has been wanting to go since we moved here and we always seem to miss it.  However, I'm not sure we'll ever miss again because we really had a great time.  It was a lot more fun than I had imagined.

On the actual 4th, we spent the day washing my car, then that night we did a little swimming at the Williams' then we all went to dinner and a fireworks show afterward.  We had a whole room at the restaurant (probably because we ate Mexican food on our country's holiday), but it worked out perfectly because we had the bright idea of creating a kids' table.  Genius!  The kids loved feeling independent, and the adults got to actually visit.

Now, they didn't sit there and eat the whole time like precious little angels, but it didn't matter since we had a whole room to ourselves.  They played a few games of chase and ring around the rosie.

 Then we walked across the street to the country club and camped out for the show.  Annabel enjoyed this show much better than the one at church.  I guess she decided they were prettier than they were scary.

It was the coolest 4th of July I've ever experienced.  I was wishing for a blanket as I was watching the fireworks!

On the way home from the show, Jon and I decided our girls really needed to experience sparklers so we stopped a got a few.

You might be a redneck if you light your sparklers with a blow torch...

I thought they'd be scared, but they loved it!

On Friday night, my cousin Conley, his wife Amber, and their sweet baby boy Shiloh came to visit for a night.  The girls were in baby heaven and Shiloh loved their entertainment.

Sunday was just a regular church day, then we grilled out with the Lieuxs and the Milbrodts and we had another kids' table (I'm thinking this is the way to go all the time..hah!).

 Also, my hydrangeas are blooming!

And I'll leave you with a couple pictures of my little Miss Independence.  She likes to help herself to glasses of water and never wants my assistance in feeding herself anymore.  She's growing up!

I hope you had a nice, long, relaxing 4th of July like we did!  Thank you to all the brave men and women who make it possible!