Fourth of July

Is it Mia and Levi or is it a couple of fish? They were having a blast and improving in their swimming skills all the time. Watch out,Mandy! An expert diver on the loose...

Could we get a swimming pool dad...pleeeasse?

A Game of skill??Splashingly good fun!! Relaxing in the water....

Is it a Merman?...or is it Nolan?

Mia ...the motor boat

Waiting for the show... Killing Time before the fireworks started...

Not sure what was so funny... waiting for the fireworks(J,my Nephew,almost 5)

Good Looking kids... Nolan and M(my niece) are 9 months apart in age and have always been close. I love celebrating Independence Day. It serves as a reminder every year of the freedoms we have in the United States and of the cost to maintain those freedoms. I want to always honor the men and women of our nation that fight and have fought to keep the US free. I want to teach my children about the history of the USA and an appreciation for the country they are blessed to live in. From the time I can remember, our family has always celebrated the 4th with a picnic and watching the city fireworks. Although as the years have gone by these activiites have had to be changed slightly, we still enjoy making trips home to family and celebrating "old" traditions. On our trip to Texas, we made our way to family and enjoyed time with my mom, my brother, my sisters and their families. We were blessed by the hospitality of my sister and her husband. We stayed with them, and the cousins had a blast. They played together almost non-stop. We all enjoyed their swimming pool and spent many hours just splashing and playing. On the 4th, we had a picnic(complete with Nana's cooking... there is nothing like my mom's brisket). We took the opportunity to celebrate the "family" birthdays(my sisters and I all have birthdays in July). Once again, Nana came through with a delicious chocolate cake and (for me) a cherry pizza(YUMMY!). After eating and cleanup, it was off to the city fireworks. We found a terrific spot (we could feel the boom)and enjoyed the beautiful display that the city put on. All of the kids loved it and declared that we should come back next year. It was truly hard leaving this time as we had such a wonderful, fun filled trip; however, as always, this too had to end. We are praying that it won't be to many months before we can see family again. It feels good to be back at our house, and we have lots more plans for our summer. Stay tuned...