Fireworks BUST

After a failed attempt to see the fireworks in Corbett (not wanting to pay $10 a person to sit on some grass) we headed to Sandy and got to see a great show and visit with our friends the Griffin family (Sandy Ollila and Preston).  The kids had fun and making memories is what matters most.

 The Fire Department was going around and handing out pencils and stickers to the kids.  My kids loved them.

Rowan's just chillin' out

 Playing catch with the football with Daddy

 Enjoying the snacks we brought

 Got to use her glow wand she got for her birthday from her friend

 These pictures makes it look like he was asleep but he actually stayed awake during almost the whole show but the flash made him blink.

Happy New Year...2014!

Last night we celebrated over at our friend's, The Hoeppner's house, like we have in prior years.  This time though the kids went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house it he n the afternoon so we didn't do New York count down with them like we usually do.  (The did the countdown with G&G though and banged pots and pans.  They loved it.  The older two went to bed well but Addie was all hyped up and I guess the kids stayed up talking until midnight and were still up at 7:30 this morning. So glad we were able to sleep in until 10/11 without any kids waking us up.) We had fun at the Hoeppner's with our friends dancing the night away on the Wii.  There was a great turn out and Erin even came!  I was so happy to have her there with us.  Alex and Katie even drove over for the fun too.  Kevin was the dancing, hip moving, sweaty machine.  I just did 3 moves and it hurt my uterus so I didn't dance.  Made me kind of sad but better to be safe than sorry.  I had a hard time avoiding the dairy while there with cookies out.  I finally tried one and after 5-10 minutes regretted it.  Brittany's caramel corn was so good and hard to stay away from.  When we got home my stomach let me know how angry it was.  Thankfully it didn't kill me for too long.

Toasting in the New Year!

I was a little sad about not celebrating with the kids but figured out how we could still celebrate with them... setting off fireworks that I had saved from the fourth. It's still New Year's Day! It was so fun other than Addie having to watch from the window because she hadn't listened about cleaning up while all the other kids did.  It was really sad and broke my heart.  The older kids were super sweet to her running confetti up to her after I pulled some party poppers on them :-)  I invited Erin to bring the kids down to watch and she did.  She had some sparklers left over from the fourth too so all the kids were able to have some fun with those.  Erin even did one for Addie writing her name with the sparkler for her.  The kids favorite was the jack in the box.  I had another one but wanted to save it for another time with Addie could be out there to enjoy them too.  Maybe for Glenn's birthday?  If I remember.

Happy 4th of July

For the 4th we started out the day with waffles, strawberries, and whip cream.  So good!  Then we hurried to walk and make most of the parade in Huntington.  Kaila's flip flop was lost from the stroller and I ran all the way back to the house to get it and then after much indecision finally got the Rebecca's bike to ride back to them after running back a ways and then turning around again to get the bike.  We finally all made it to the parade and got the kids right on the street sitting next too Rebecca's roommate, Amanda.  The kids LOVED the parade.  Glenn and Addie got red, white, and blue stripes painted on their faces (it wore off pretty quickly which saddened Glenn).  They all got flags to wave too.  It was wonderful.  

We headed back to the house and put Addie down for a nap.  I took the kids with Rebecca and Jonathon over to the community center/pool for the BBQ.  We brought fruit to share and it was so much fun.  They had bounce houses for the kids to jump in and one with a huge slide.  Then there was a lady doing face painting too for free.  The kids LOVED it!!!  The food was yummy despite the horrid line to wait for a hot dog or hamburger.

 Blue Lion

Bumble Bee

After resting for a bit we ate dinner, did laundry, and started some packing we headed down to the beach for the fireworks.  It was super crowded but the kids had fun watching all the neighborhood fireworks going off as we walked to the beach.  They didn't like the over the head ones that showered sparks down on us (I didn't either) so I tried to avoid them as best I could.  Addie had a hard time sitting during the fireworks show but enjoyed eating a LOT of the cookies Rebecca brought down to the beach to eat.  Kevin took his camera to get some great shots of the fireworks over the water after taking Glenn to pee (somewhere in the sand). :-)  Ah...to be a boy!  Kevin got some great shots. 

We found out later that San Diego's firework show all exploded at the same time!  It was a crazy video to watch.  They even had to tell some people after awhile that they fireworks were over because they were still waiting for a show.  I'm glad no one was hurt though!

Here We Are Together!

(Cool night sky)

I've had a wonderful weekend with my family. DD gets better in the morning and then coughs all night. Today she's been coughing a lot though. I'm wondering if it's allergies. DD was extremely shy with everyone and had to be attached to DH until finally yesterday. She loved playing with her cousins though and so did LM. Their favorite things from the weekend were playing/digging in the dirt, tractor ride around the property, playing on the swing set, visiting with Aunt Becca, hiking, and watching the fireworks.

4th of July Breakfast at church
(on July 3rd this year)

I went on the hike with the family on Saturday and thankfully didn't have a contraction until I reached the very top of the hike. It's a mile up but the last part was almost straight up. It was a stunning view and was well worth it. I was so happy to be able to make it with the family. Everyone was there except 5 people. The hike down was more challenging and I had 5 contractions. The last one lasted forever but thankfully it did stop. We had our own little adventure on the way to the hike. We followed the directions and ended up on this crazy gravel road with trees hanging over the road and ended with a ton of trees over the road. It was a lot of fun and brought many laughs!

Hike to Bald Mountain

(our rough start)

Crazy off road adventure!

(Starting off and soon finding SNOW)

(The top at last!)

THE VIEW

At the top

Gathering at Nana and Pa's

(bike rides)

Racing


DD on the John Deer tricycle


(Tractor Ride)

Riding the tractor

(Good Food)

(Complete with some Fireworks)

Snake Fun

Happy 4th of July

Sunday my sister came to church with me to help me with the kids since DH had an early meeting. It was nice to spend more time with her. We napped and then went to my parents and had strawberry/whip cream waffles for dinner. We then played and talked until night time and headed to watch the fireworks up in Sandy. The fireworks were wonderful and the kids loved them. This was the first year DD wasn't scared of the sound (other than when she was a 3-weeks old). We didn't get home and the kids in bed till 11pm.

(all dressed up for church sporting red, white, and blue)

(Helping mommy make Whip Cream for Pa's B-day cream roll)

Fun Outside




FIREWORKS

Overly Exhausted Kids = Hard Day for All

Today the kids have been so cranky/fighting/and whining all day! I had one little break today when I went to the store and put DD in the play place. I really needed it too since on the way there for 5 minutes all I heard was "no, I DO want lunch"..."I do"..."I WANT it"...over and over again even with me telling her she would get it after we got home. She wouldn't stop to listen to me. It was SO FRUSTRATING! I told her as we pulled into the parking lot that I was going to drop her off at someones house because I couldn't take it any more. I asked her if LM was throwing a fit and she said no. I told her she shouldn't either since she's even older. What a day. My sister came over and thankfully played hide-and-seek with the kids so I could put all the groceries away. That was the happiest the kids were all day. Then I fed them lunch and put them to bed. It was a wonderful break and my sister and I played canasta while watching a movie. DH came home early and headed up for a nap since the kids were still napping BUT they woke up right after he got home. The crying and fighting continued and DH eventually came down having given up. He was so frustrated and he hadn't even been home with them all day. It never ended till we finally put them to bed. My poor sister who desperately wants to get married and have a family started saying how she likes her job (which she really doesn't) and now doesn't want kids. It was that bad of a day.

I pray tomorrow is better! DD has her first swim class all by herself. I pray she does well and is okay without mommy or daddy in the pool with her.