4th of July

Well, I'm finally getting around to doing a post on the 4th of July. We had a really nice, relaxing 4th of July. First thing that morning we got dressed and headed up to breakfast at our church. They had things decorated all cute, and even had arranged for the scouts to do a presentation of the flag where we could recite the pledge of allegiance and sing 'America the Beautiful'. I really appreciated being able to incorporate something patriotic into our Independence Day celebrations. Setting any political qualms or complaints aside...we truly are blessed to live in this country & enjoy all the comforts and freedoms it affords us. I am so grateful to all those who have sacrificed (including our own grandparents) in service to our country - and to the military men & women who diligently serve now as well.

I hope that we can raise our little guys to be grateful for their country, and the opportunities that they enjoy...as well as to think for themselves, recognize when change is needed & feel moved to act on their beliefs. As for now though - we'll work on getting them both sleeping through the night, eating their dinner, and sharing their toys :)

Noah was pretty excited about this "baby tree".
Who needs a fork anyway?

After eating, Noah snatched away one of the centerpieces and took off running. After a couple minutes of chasing him around tables trying to catch him I decided that I may as well snap a picture of how dang cute he was.

Our good friends/neighbors the Donnellys invited us over for a barbecue that evening with them, the Browns, and Rubachs. We all enjoyed relaxing in their backyard & visiting while our kids played. Here's a quick shot of the kids enjoying their corndogs. Yum.

Before watching fireworks the kids did sparklers. Mark kept a good eye on Noah while he did his, and I thought it was pretty funny that Noah insisted on wearing Micheal's knight helmet while doing sparklers. I still don't know if it was one of his random obsessions, or if it made him feel safer. Either way, it was pretty cute. The boys were still tired from being up late the night before watching fireworks, so they were spent by the time the firework show that night was over. Noah did enjoy yelling out "big one!" again periodically during the show though. It was a fun evening - thanks, Donnelly family!
We hope everyone else had a safe and happy 4th of July too!