4th of July!

We started our 4th of July weekend by going to a BBQ at Aunt Diane's house. The girls had a blast hanging out with their extended cousins, eating and swimming most of the night. I love when all the cousins get together, they are so much fun to be around it's always a guaranteed good time (especially when Krista is there!!) and the kids all get along really well. Uncle Kent cooked up some tasty burgers and hot dogs and then we all sat around and caught up on life. I appreciate Diane having the fiesta at her house on the 4th for a couple of years now and I hope she keeps doing it.
Saturday morning Marianne and I took our girls swimming at Riverton pool. The kids love, love, love swimming and will jump at any chance to go. It was fun and Emmy had a great time playing in the water. Later that day we went back for the carnival. The kids had a blast on the rides and Addie kept saying she wanted to ride the "rolla costa"...a girl after her dad's heart.

It's always an interesting crowd at Carnivals... mulletts and muffin tops galore! Addie is either thinking hmmm, nice "who farted" t-shirt...or someone just told her what's really in that corn dog (but they were sure tasty!).

Ladies man. Can you tell who's the fave in our family? Look at Nat and Addie perfecting the art of people-watching.
Yum. Can't go to a trashy carnival and not eat FUNNEL CAKE! Natalie's probably going to be a crazy driver just like her dad! I think Dave likes to wear a wife-beater when he drives fast too!
The hay dive for the kids was pretty funny. They threw a bunch of candy, prizes, and money into piles of hay and then let the kids loose. It was madness, but pretty funny to watch. Oops, I spy a crack-a-doodle-doo! Nat, don't you know that crack is whack? I love sweet sis pics like this one... And this one...

Sparklers. So lame, but yet so fun at the same time. The girls love sparklers and Addie especially loved the king-size ones we found this year.

"Fire Marshall" Dave tried to get Ashley to light a firework and she wouldn't do it for anything. I don't like lighting them either, I always think they are going to blow up in my face.

Addie thought some of the fireworks were "TOO LOUD DADDY!"

Grandma Janet is so loving and sweet with the girls. They all love her so much and I'm so happy they have all had a chance to spend some great quality time with her. Addie was so silly during fireworks, she kept clapping and saying "yay Daddy!" or "good job Dad!". She is hilarious.
After doing fireworks in the circle Marianne, Grandma, and me and the girls all drove over near Riverton Park to check out how the professionals do it. Riverton did a really nice job...but after about 15 minutes the kids got a little restless and whiney - spoiled! Next time maybe I'll just go and put them all to bed.It was a fun 4th of July weekend and we were so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa were here to celebrate it with us. It has sort of become somewhat of a tradition to have Grandma here in July at least, and hopefully she'll keep coming. Janet I love and appreciate you so much and I'm so lucky to have you as my mom-in-law!