Happy 4th of July!!!

What a weekend!!!! I am tired...I should say exhausted after this busy weekend. I was so disappointed, we were suppose to go to the Oregon coast with my sister for the 4th and Josh ended up not being able to get one of the days off that we needed, so instead we stayed home. Which ended up being fun so it was okay.

We went to the parade!!! I love the parade and so do my girls so we never miss it :) We went with my Mom, Dad, brother Nick, sister in law Janell and all the little ones....Jani, Jaden, Alyssa, and Taya. The kids had a blast!! It wasn't too hot, it was a perfect morning for a parade!!

Then after the parade we went over to my brother's house and had a BBQ and let the kids swim. Let's just say the kids had so much fun I didn't think they would ever want to leave.

Grandma, Aunt Donna, and Uncle Darren and Dad in the background!!

We got such a wonderful spot at the fireworks I am pretty sure we will go there every year now. It was great nothing was in our way and we were so close the kids loved it. Kenna was absolutely amazed at those big loud fireworks. We went with my brother Nick and his family and the kids played and had fun together. Their little one Taya covered her eyes through the whole thing she hated the fireworks. We had a wonderful 4th of July. It's too bad it had to end with kids tired and not feeling good and a Mom that has no energy :) That's the way it goes when you play too hard I guess.

Kenna sat her juice on her Daddy's behind in hopes that when she came back for it, it would still be there. Well her Dad didn't know it was there and he didn't move one bit and it was still there when she got back. Kenna does some of the funniest things sometimes.

The Amazing Flags

I went with my Mom to take the girls to see the amazing flags this year, if you haven't been, you better go. It was the neatest thing ever!! I have always driven by and seen them but never gotten out of the car and stood on that peaceful ground so close to the flags. We had a talk about what the flags mean and why we celebrate the 4th of July. There were many many flags with yellow ribbons tied on them with pictures of soldiers from Idaho who had died. As Mom and I walked and read about the soldiers...their name, age, the families they left behind and how they died....it was so heart breaking. This touching me so close to my heart because I have a sweet friend who's husband is away from her and her two children right now while he fights for us. We are so blessed to live in this land. We are so blessed to have soldiers that are so willing to fight for our freedom and give their lives so we can live. The spirit is felt on that land where those flags stand, what a wonderful place to visit. I hope we can all remember those soldiers who have died or who are fighting for us right now on the great day called the 4th of July!!! Say a prayer for our soldiers that they may always be watched over and protected.

Cheerleader Camp

A girl in my ward called me to see if I wanted to put the girls in cheer camp this summer for two days. I have never wanted to encourage my girls to be cheerleaders but I thought it would be fun to get them out of the house and let them play with their friends at cheer camp. It turned out to be a lot of fun for them. Sometimes they need that break from their Mom!! They were a little out of control at the parent performance and I don't think they learned much of the dance that was taught...that's Maddy for you, can you tell by the pom pom on her head...silly girl!!!

Grandma's flower garden

My Mom "Grandma" has the prettiest flower garden every year! Kenna loves flowers so we went over there and had fun picking flowers and putting them in a vase. Kenna would smell every flower and say "o pretty flower" what a fun day we had with grandma.

Swimming at Ross Park

We went to Ross Park for the day with Katie and Rodger and had a blast!! This is the funnest water park for kids because they have a shallow area of water where the kids can play and have fun without me helping them. It has been such a fun summer with so much to do, the girls are having fun fun everyday!!!

Our Big Black Labs

I don't have one single post about the other half of our family...Gibby and Cooper.... so I decided I better make one!! These big black labs have been ours since Josh and I were first married. They were just puppies and now they are huge!! They are such good dogs and the girls love them. We used to have a fenced in yard and they could run and play all day and since we built this house we haven't gotten a fence put up yet (hopefully next summer) but I feel so bad for them in the summer when it is so hot. We have been getting them out more and letting them swim in the ditch and play in the water from the hose.