Happy Independence Day~2012!

We had such a wonderful Independence Day! We didn't have anything big planned, just spent the day together as a little family.  It was great to be able to just relax and have a good time.

We spent the morning drawing and painting with sidewalk chalk/paint and playing in the water hose.  After lunch and a nap, we all went outside for some splashing in our little pool.  Then Corey fired up the grill and cooked hot dogs.  The girls wanted to eat outside and that sounded like a great idea!  I made a strawberry/blueberry shortcake for dessert.

After our meal, we did a few "fireworks".  The girls are not fans of loud, big fireworks so we opted for the sparklers and party poppers.

Audrey was finally old enough and brave enough to hold the sparkler on her own (with much supervision).  She had a blast.  So much so, that Corey had to go back and get more sparklers for her to use.  This was the first year she truly enjoyed the sparkler/fireworks.

Audrey also tried her hand at the party poppers.  The strings were a bit hard for her to pull so I had to help.

Addison was not a big fan of either.  But she did love the streamers that came from the party poppers.  The poppers were too loud and the sparklers too "scaredy fire" (as Addison said).  So after a few minutes of enduring that entertainment, she chose to go inside and watch her "sing-a-long" video.

It was such a fun, perfect day for us.  And while we were having fun, we were also remembering and thankful for the men and women who have fought to provide us with that freedom and independence.

The 4th of July

For the July 4th weekend, Audrey and I went down to spend a little time with my family. We had fun swimming with our cousins Jeanetta and Bela (or Baywa- as Audrey calls her) and Grammy and Grandaddy. Audrey and Bela spent a lot of time playing together. Audrey really adores her and Bela is so sweet to AK.

Bela, Audrey and Keeley had fun playing in the sandbox.

My dad cooked a delicious meal. The entire family (minus my brother) had a picnic near the pool. (and in the photo below Granddaddy is feeding Audrey chocolate cake and ice cream...can we say spoiled rotten?)

Later that evening, we took Audrey over to Jeanetta & Bela (and Glenn)'s house to watch the fireworks with them and Aunt Carolyn. Audrey thought they were really facinating until the end when they set off the really loud ones.

We had a delightful time.