4th of July fun...

We had such a great 4th! Earlier in the week, Dennis and I were worrying about how we were going to fill up the day with fun for the kids so we wouldn't go crazy waiting for firework time. Just as we were trying to figure something out, my sweet Aunt Lisa invited us to a family cookout at her house. She's so nice letting us all bombard her for every holiday, and the girls have so much fun there! It was a great afternoon, and we loved the opportunity to spend time with the family. For many of them it was the first time they've seen Hayden, so that was lots of fun.

We at a late lunch/early dinner at Lisa's, then the girls played with their cousins and jumped on the trampoline. They were thrilled with the flags that Aunt Lisa gave them and were waving them around all afternoon. Claire didn't let hers go until she went to bed hours later that night.

After a while we moved out to the front yard and did sparklers, poppers, and some fireworks. The girls just loved it! We left Lisa's around the time the girls usually go to bed, and in an effort to pass the time decided to run some quick errands. Once those were done (at least as done as they were going to get with our increasingly tired and cranky kids) we made our way over to Thanksgiving Point to see their big firework show. We got there about an hour before it started, grabbed a great spot, and let our kids gorge themselves on leftover cookies while we tried to entertain them and keep things fun.

During our hour of waiting, I was nursing Hayden in the front seat of the car so she'd hopefully be good during the fireworks display. She proceeded to cover herself, me, her blankie, and the seat in poop. Bright yellow poop. I yelled for Dennis and he pretty much held her under her armpits and turned his head while I essentially gave her a bath with wipies and then tried to clean myself and the car up. Thank goodness I'd packed her some extra pajamas, or she'd have spent the night naked. It was beyond gross, but I guess I'll try to look on the bright side and be glad it didn't happen earlier in the day at my Aunt's house where I would have just had to live in my nasty clothes for hours on end. I have officially learned my lesson about buying the cheaper diapers. EWWW!

They all loved the big fireworks. I was worried that Claire would be scared of the loud booms, but I think she enjoyed it more than anyone! Emmie and Claire were waving their flags (Claire seriously hadn't let hers go since lunch time) and yelling, "Yay, America!" Considering it was a couple of hours past their bedtime, they all did surprisingly well, and I was glad we decided to go.

It was on the way home that the meltdowns began. I think Kaiya especially does not do well missing out on her beauty sleep, and she was crying about the traffic that prevented us from getting home quickly. She'd about had it by then. Soon, all was blessedly quiet as they each fell asleep, one after the other.

We got home at about 11:30, and obviously put the kids straight to bed. I fed Hayden and got her to sleep, and then unfortunately my anxiety kicked into full gear and I decided that I could NOT wake up to my house in the condition it was currently in, so I spent an hour and a half cleaning. Once I started, I couldn't stop and just decided to get it all done. THEN after being covered in poop and household cleaning products, I thought a shower or bath might be in order. Anyway, it was a super-late night for me, but I was happy to wake up to a clean house. In fact, I think midnight might be my new cleaning time because it was much more enjoyable with everyone asleep so I could focus.

All-in-all a great day. Thanks so much to Aunt Lisa for a wonderful afternoon, and Kaiya says, "Thank you for the she-shells!"

Please excuse the millions of pictures I've posted. We just had such a great day that I couldn't decide which were my favorites!

Claire waving her flag on the trampoline...



Cousin Berlin, Emmie and Claire on the trampoline...



Kaiya with her flag...



Hayden taking a nice little nap...



Hayden with Grandma...



Kaiya enjoying her giant sparkler...



Claire with her sparkler...



Emmie with sparkler...



Aunt Shannon holding Hayden while she enjoys her favorite snack...her fist...



Claire playing with Aunt Shannon...



Daddy and Hayden...



Shannon and Kaiya taking a break...



Emmie taking time to smell the flowers...



Great Grandma with Hayden...



Great Grandma with Claire...



Grandpa and Hayden...



Grandma and Claire...



Claire, Kaiya, and Emmie waving their flags...



Me with the girls...



Fireworks!...