Happy Birthday America!

What a fantastic weekend! I am writing this on Monday morning (yes, at work - tisk tisk) because we were SO worn out from the weekend's festivities. After mulling over ideas of what we could do for the 4th of July, we decided to make a trip to Sparkle City to visit my family. Olivia and Tim also joined us so that made for a great weekend. Chris has been wanting Mexican food lately, so upon our arrival Friday night we went out to Monterrey's for dinner, followed by a double date at the movies while my parents watched over E.

Saturday was spent doing exactly what we wanted to do - swimming, eating, playing golf (Chris of course), and seeing fireworks. Last time we put E in the pool with us, he was apprehensive at first but then really enjoyed it. Surely I thought he would enjoy it again. Nope - he was not having it! It might be because Friday evening he and my mom got in the pool and he didn't like it. So I got him out at the steps and he made a beeline for the edge and fell in. Luckily I was right there to pull him out but swim time was officially over. I was shaking like a leaf and was so scared of what could have happened, but he was a trooper. He didn't cry at all, but mommy did. So needless to say, on Saturday he would get close to the pool and then shake his head saying no. We tried to lure him in at the steps but he would just fuss. So we decided to give it a break and try again later. After our wonderful 4th of July feast, he trotted over to the water hose and picked it up. I went and turned it on and he was just giggling! I stripped his clothes off and just let him have at it. He just loved sticking his face in the water and pouring it over his feet. You better believe I'll be scrap booking these pictures!

Then my mom suggested hooking the sprinkler up and he continued to have a blast! I guess that felt much safer for him instead of going back in the swimming pool. I certainly don't blame him.

We did attempt to put E back in the swimming pool with just Chris and I, but we put his life jacket on. He seemed to really enjoy it in which I was thrilled. After some swimming, all of us went to the front yard to blow some bubbles. E gets so excited when he sees me pull the bottle out so he was just thrilled when I asked him if he wanted to go see some bubbles.

Like every child, E seemed to like the tube that held the clubs than the clubs themselves. He proceeded to bring it around to everyone so we could make a noise into the tube. It sounds kinda weird, but he loved hearing all the noises we made. My parents, not knowing how loud they can be, made VERY loud noises and it was hilarious! I'm sure the neighbors were peeking out of their blinds by then.

Then it was fireworks time! E was starting to run out of steam, so we decided to go ahead and do a few so he was able to experience them. I'm not so sure he liked the loud noises at first.

Liv and I put on a sparkler show for everyone. We are such dorks - how old are we?!?

Then Olivia challenged me to being able to pick her up and carry her around. When we were little, she was a strong little tyke and she used to claim to always beat me up. Whatever. I just let her win.

The weather was so nice we just enjoyed sitting on the front porch for what seemed like hours and hours. It was so nice to spend time with my family and relax. After we put E to bed, we continued to watch the fireworks going on with the neighbors and across the street at the elementary school. We didn't have to go to New York or Boston - we had great ones right from the comfort of our front porch. We were so pooped from a long day, we all came inside and attempted to watch the fireworks show from NYC and fell asleep. I was supposed to make it to a friend's party, but just couldn't. I'm sorry Amber! Here's a few additional pictures from the glorious day.

Ok - let me explain this one. My hair was so gross from the chlorine so I was able to literally sculpt it. It was quite hilarious.