Fireworks and Family

The day after the 4th we invited family over to have a barbecue and firework party. We pulled out the fire pit and roasted marshmallows again. Kyle, Wes' brother, brought a giant box of snaps and Adelle enjoyed the hours of snap fun. It was pretty funny to find unpopped snaps all over the driveway for a few days. Every time we'd drive up the drive you'd hear them going off. When it got dark we pulled the camp chairs to the front lawn, lit the citronella candles, and got out the packages of fireworks. Violet did surprisingly well with all of the loud noises and flashes of light.

Erica and Wes' mom hanging out.

Every year Wes lights the fireworks. Sometimes his brothers join in the fun as well. I'm proud to report that we haven't had a single injury yet. Wes and his brothers like to line up fountains and see if each one will go off.

Everyone in Wes' family made it out this year which was great! Even Devin and Lexie were able to get time away from work. They got married just last summer and we think they are the cutest couple. Adelle latched on to Lexie and enjoyed being silly while the fireworks were going off.

For the first year ever Adelle got to have a sparkler. I know they can be dangerous, but she managed to stay safe. She just beamed from ear to ear with her hazardous new sparkler :)

Erica, super aunt, and wonderful gal! She loves to spoil my girls. The other day Adelle told me that she wouldn't mind having Erica for a mom and me for her aunt.

When it was all said and done we cleaned up and got the girls to bed, much later than usual, but oh the fun we had!

The Fabulous Fouth

We began our 4th of July by heading to the local parade just located down the street. I love our little town! Sure we grew up here and some people think we haven't gone far in life, but it is quiet, quaint, very family friendly and some of the most happy, and generous people in the whole world live here. I have lived many different places including out of state, but there is just something special about where we live.

We missed Lydia who was with her dad for the 4th.

The parade was fun, unfortunately I forgot my camera. Later in the afternoon we decided that we wanted to buy a fire pit. We wanted something we could put on the driveway and roast hot dogs or marshmallows! After searching at several stores we finally found the perfect one for us.

We decided to roast hot dogs and corn and then we had SMORES!

Adelle grew a little impatient with the roasting so I finally helped her out.

Adelle rocking it with her yummy, sweet smore and her barbie jacket.

It was a chillier night than we would have expected for July, but it was fun. After the girls were in bed Wes and I sat on the couch, in the dark, and watched the fireworks show that was taking place at the local park. It was nice to snuggle in and hang out with my sweetheart.

31 and 11

On June 27 we had a combined birthday party for Lydia and I. I was so young when I had my little Lydia. She is becoming quite the beautiful, young lady. Wes' family came out and we enjoyed spending time together.

Lydia received all sorts of presents from beads, Legos (which included girl Lego people), a bead loom, clothes, a music box, and all sorts of other goodies :)

Lydia and I decided to have a super double chocolate cake for our birthday treat.

It doesn't bother me too much that I'm getting older. I did find my first gray hair on Lydia's actual birthday.

Thank heavens for the great outdoors. Our house is very modest so we seem to have the most parties in the summer time :) We just hang out in the driveway, eating good food and chatting.

Good times!

Grateful for Miracles!

Last night the family and I walked to the post office to drop off mail and then we stayed out later than usual at the park enjoying the local Night Out Against Crime. We'd had a really fun time even though it was super hot outside. We got to see some really fascinating things including how police dogs are trained and a police helicopter taking off. We even enjoyed some prizes and free food.

When we got home we needed to get things moving for bed though. It was my turn to give Violet a bath. I laid her down on the changing table and leaned over to her clothes basket to get a onesie for after the bath. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her falling off the table. I don't know how I did it but I reached out and managed to stop her fall by grabbing one of her legs. I pulled her up to me just holding that one leg. I couldn't believe it! She was safe. I thought for sure Violet would protest or cry at the shock of almost falling on her head. I thought maybe she would cry since I grabbed her leg so forcefully. She didn't make a peep and didn't seem phased at all. In fact I couldn't see any injuries except for a small red mark on her leg.

I am so grateful she is safe. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that helps us! I can't imagine what could have happened if I hadn't noticed or been quick enough to save my little girl. I am going to have to be more careful with her from now on. First diaper change this morning the straps on the changing table where out and she was buckled in!

Where Have I been...

I admit it. I'm a month behind on my blog. Even though I posted just a few days ago the post is from events that took place more than a month ago. I still have to blog the 4th and the 24th and a couple of things in between. If you've been worried about me...which honestly you probably haven't been, but just in case...this is what has been going on.

#1 My computer is SPECIAL. Special as in it keeps shutting itself off and claiming that it is dumping all physical memory. Wes is hoping he has mostly fixed the problem by permanently keeping the computer fan running at high speed.

#2 I got a new position at work and things have been very hectic and crazy. It began by spending days in the office, which meant for busier days and evenings. When I did manage to get home again I started to work later and later hours. Our department is behind and I am trying the best I can to help out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the busiest due to "check run" days. Don't ask.

#3 My calling as Cubmaster and Unit Committee Chair has kept me very busy some weeks! I am amazed sometimes the hours that are put into my calling.

#4 I have began reading again, like crazy. Almost every night you will find me reading a book. I hadn't read much in ages and now suddenly I can't put books down. I have often been wary of choosing books from the library unless they were classics or meant for kids books like "Harry Potter". I've had lots of bad experiences getting books which end up with indecent amounts of material. I have mainly been focused on books from the Reader's Choice category. I have been posting my ballots at the library and it has been fun. These have been my votes so far.

Physik Book of Deliverance Dane-Pretty good.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand-I really liked this one.
Jane Bites Back-Didn't like it! This book was about Jane Austen Still being alive as a vampire, trying to get her last book published. I thought "hey, maybe it will be silly but fun". Wrong! Avoid this one. I made it half way through before I put this one down in disgust. I am doubtful if a man can ever write a woman properly. This author seemed to gravitate too much around physical encounters as well.
The State of the Onion-This book is actually a past Reader's Choice Winner. It was a fun one.
Something Missing-This book was one of my favorites by far! It is about a thief with OCD tendencies, but not just any thief. This man will only take something from his long time "client" that they would never notice being gone such as a bar of soap or that extra can of soup on the shelf, but when he decides to help a client with their life things start getting much less organized.

#5 Violet requires entertaining in the evenings. She is at that age where she is tyring to get around and can get into trouble by bumping her head on the computer chair leg, or by grabbing something she shouldn't have. She also gets cranky pretty easy right now. It may have something to do with the prospect of new teeth and the extremely hot weather recently. Also, she really isn't a fan of hanging out in the play pen after she's spent some time in it during the day. Really...who can blame the girl. She loves to be outside though so I am finding myself out there more and more.

I know I need to get caught up with the blog. I am hoping to soon....I think. The new camera is wonderful, but it does have larger picture files so uploading to the blog has become much more time consuming. I just need to buckle down and do it. At least I got the whole big vacation blogged...right?

My Birthday

After all the girls headed home from Lydia's Birthday Party, it was time to celebrate my birthday. We didn't do much at first. We went shopping for the family party we were going to have the next day. Wes surprised me when we got back with a brand new camera. I had no idea I was getting anything. He kept saying he didn't know what to get me. Sneaky guy. He bought me a VERY NICE Fuji Film Camera. It is super nice!!! We then decided to take ourselves and the new camera to Lagoon for a couple of hours.

The camera can capture amazing photos including great moving shots!

The girls and I on the Jumping Dragon.

Wes and the girls on the Scrambler.

My beautiful Violet.

Adelle on the Flying Aces.

Lydia and I decided to go on the Rocket. I love that ride. It felt so freeing to be high above everything!

We didn't stay too long before we headed home for dinner. I decided on McDonald's for the night so I wouldn't have to cook, but it was much cheaper than park food. It was a good day.

Lydia's Friend Party

The Friday after Lydia's birthday she had a party with a few of her friends and her cousin. It was Lydia's first birthday party with friends. We usually have just had parties with family members. She was so excited. All the girls and our family got swimsuits on and headed to the pool by our home. We were lucky enough that it ended up being a free swim day! It was the first time for Violet to go swimming. She seemed afraid of the water at first, but then she warmed up to it.

Lydia acts different around her friends! She is usually pretty quite around most people outside the family. She was quite playful and silly. The girls all had a really fun time swimming. We then headed home for pizza. Then the girls watched the new "Alice in Wonderland" in a tent in the backyard. Carly headed home part way through the movie since she had family plans in the evening. The rest of the girls, except Adelle, started their night sleeping in the tent. Adelle was devastated that she couldn't join in with the girls. It reminded me of when I was little.

The sleepover started well enough, but then Lydia's cousin got scared at 2:00 AM so all of the girls headed downstairs to finish out their night. Wes made the girls a special breakfast in the morning of pancakes, bacon and orange juice.

The party ended about 12:00. Lydia loved spending time with her friends!!