July 3rd – fireworks round 3

Unfortunately, the rain ended up raining out the pool party we’d planned to attend this afternoon.  But, we made lemonade out of lemons and took Crawford to see Toy Story 3!  We got there with about 10 minutes till show time and got the last 3 seats in the house.  Which meant we were literally on the front row!  Crawford wasn’t leaving so we settled in for an up close and personal show.  It was a tad scary – but he didn’t flinch.  The kid loves the movies.

    

Con stayed home with Babe and Pops and the finalized the party prep.  The pool portion of the party was canceled – but we had a ton of food – so the dinner portion was still on.

We got so lucky because the sky cleared and we had a great evening with great friends, amazing food and spectacular fireworks.  Babe & I made appetizers.  I got there late – so I only got a shot of her fruit plate after most of the fruit was gone.  It was so pretty!

Low point in parenting – this is the kids counting and playing with beer tops.  Don’t judge – I needed anything to keep them busy :)

Sue-Sue with the assist!

Our neighbor who always puts on the show recently underwent surgery – so he only did a “few” fireworks.  This is what a few looked like!

We contributed a few!  Amanda was so nice and brought us all of these from her dad’s stand.  They were some of the best of the evening!

Oh how I love the pics below.  The kids decked in red, white and blue on the front steps.  Growing up, my cousins and I would compete to see who could have the most red, white & blue on.  Have I mentioned I’m crazy about this holiday?

The kids had dessert out front.  By far the most they ate all evening.

  

Conlee scared me a bit because at 7:00 she was cuddled up and rubbing her eyes.  But she was a rock star – was up until 10:00!

All of the houses on my corner decided to shoot ours on the 3rd!  Here’s one of the crowds.

      

Crawford’s favorite – the fire truck Cole gave him.

 

The biggest hit of the night were the blow bracelets I got for $1 at Target!

 

Mom treated the entire crew to homemade ice cream!  We are by far the most popular folks on the block now!!!!

After everyone left (about 10:45) – I sampled the ice cream with praline sauce.  Yum, yum.

I so want to move (to get more room) but a night like tonight makes me LOVE my neighborhood.  I don’t think I could stand the thought of leaving!

Swim Ranch – Graduation!

The Best Sports annual 4th of July sale is a joke between Bo and me.  He insists we go every year – and he NEVER buys a thing.  Well, I’ll never joke again.  He went by himself this year and brought home some new running shorts for me.  I looked so sporty and coordinated in all my Nike gear (now if I was just athletic).  The kids wanted their pic with Daddy too.  Notice Con’s baby doll – adorable.

  

Today was our last lesson at Swim Ranch.  Babe, Pops and Matt came to observe.  It was so sad because right when we got there – it started raining.  But, there was no thunder or lightening – so on with the lesson.  Thank goodness it’s a heated pool!  So glad Matt was there – we got some great action shots.

       

I don’t know if it was because their grandparent’s were there or if it’s because they are just amazing swimmers – but the kids got used as “demos” the entire lesson!

       

They got their certificates and a cookie!  By the end of the lesson – the didn’t act like they realized it was raining.  I will say – it’s kind of expensive – but it’s worth EVERY penny.  They do an amazing job – and I highly recommend the class we were in.  The customized the “level” for each kid (ages 6 mth to 4 years) – so it really was perfect for us.  Can’t believe that Crawford will be a “lane” swimmer next year and in the water by himself!!!

July 2nd – fireworks round 2

Today was all I hoped it would be.  Mom and I cooked this morning; took the kids to the pool this afternoon; ate Pops’s this evening; and shot some fireworks.  Here’s what it looked like…

Con in Pops hat (screaming cheese!).

 

Again with the gear.  He told us he was the Statue of Liberty – I didn’t even think he knew what that was?!?!

Dad, can we have this one???  PLEASE!!!!!

 

We settled on this one :)

Pops hit a home run tonight.  Sausage plate for an app and some amazing ribs.  He kept telling Wrigley how lucky he was not to be at Twist!

Crawford “caddying” for Con.

And after Con went to bed – Crawford asked to pop just a few.  How could we say no?

 

Criss-cross, applesauce!  We bought so many – we got a box of Crawfish for free :)

  

What an amazing day with my mom & dad.  Babe commented on how patient I am with the kids and what a good mother I am!.  Man – that’s the best compliment coming from one of the best mother’s in the world!

July 1st – time for fireworks

After a long, hard day at work – I was so excited to pick up the kids and surprise them with Babe & Pops!  They both ran in and started screaming and clapping.  Crawford had to deck out in all of the 4th gear!

 

Bo golfed – so I took a “give me”  and we hit El Sol for dinner.  The kids LOVE it.  I swear they could eat tacos 5 nights a week.

When we got home, our neighbors called and asked if the kids could stay up late and shoot some fireworks.  Well, that was a big NO for Con – she was rubbing her eyes at dinner.  But Crawford was raring to go.  Cole had given him a box of fireworks from his Pop’s stand – so he was super excited.

Seriously – can you get any better than the pic below?  Again, I love the house all decked out in flags.

Harrison and Susan bought some fun “small” things – and Crawford loved them all.

 

He especially loved the poppers.

 

My favorite were the Crawfish!  For $1 – they are guaranteed to last 2 minutes.  It’s like a sparkler that pops and goes forever.  Loved it.

Crawford got a kick out of the colored smoke bombs.

 

The “finale” of the evening :)

These guys have a huge party on the 4th – this year we are celebrating on the 3rd!  This is one of my favorite holidays (only Christmas tops it).  The weather here has been amazing – 80!  Let’s pray that continues.  Tomorrow we’ll hit the grocery and start cooking our “dishes” to contribute to the party.  Bo always says that my favorite part is the prep not the party.  He’s so right.  Cooking in the kitchen with my mom – I’m so looking forward to it.