Our 4th of July // 2017 // Part 2

After our day of boating and a good nap for Brandon, we gathered with friends on the Sunday before the 4th for backyard fireworks, sparklers and lots of food. I provided a strawberry crumble, Danielle brought M&M bars, and Shane and Emily provide all the meat we could possibly eat! The kids bounced back and forth between the trampoline, the basement, the kids' bedrooms... and we had to drag them home after the last firework was shot off well into the night. We had quite a hard time pulling Brandon away from Glow Ball, too! :)

Monday the 3rd was a day for home. We had an open invitation to head to Lake Ponderosa for the day but opted at the last minute for a day just the four of us and slow and easy plans. Cody decided to take the day off work to stay home with us, and after a relaxing morning, we all cozied up in the movie theater together for an afternoon showing of Despicable Me 3. The boys scored free cotton candy from the theater workers since we were the only ones in the place, and they got to watch them make the cotton candy right there in the lobby area. After giggling our way through the movie, we returned home for trampoline jumping in the sprinklers, an evening visit from James, Cassi and Ivy... and our first sparklers in our new backyard. It was fun to watch the sparklers dance alongside all of our lightning bugs, and I decided that this day was my favorite day of our holiday vacation.

I love a good sparkler picture, and they are some of my favorite things to photograph - sparklers, bodies of water... and Christmas trees. :)

We caught a few lightning bugs in the American Flag mason jar candle holders I had crafted together earlier that day and pushed each other in the swing until it was time to tuck ourselves in under the covers. A big day awaits in the morning...

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"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2017"

Jaden: You wrapped up your baseball season last night with a second place finish in the gold bracket and another medal for your vast collection. It was a season full of ups and downs, but it's always enjoyable for us to watch you play. And now we get to turn the page to football season! Just one month away!

Brandon: I just love this picture of you. My cute and cool, sensitive and smart, funny and full of surprises little boy. It was a rough week for you - and a good week. It started with stitches in your head last Sunday morning when you and Jaden got a little too rough during a brother's wrestling match. You hit your head hard on the side of the couch and ended up in urgent care where you didn't shed a tear as they poked you with numerous numbing needles and put three stitches in your head. The doctor was stunned at how well you handled it, telling you that you were stronger than most adults! You couldn't go to daycare a couple of afternoons this week because you were on doctor's orders to avoid the pool for a week, so your teacher from kindergarten and first grade messaged me and asked if she could take you out for ice cream! You know you're special when your teacher misses you so much during the summer that she asks if she can spend time with you! And then -- you had your first golf tournament and stunned us all again with how well you looked out there on that course. We love you, buddy - and we're so proud of you.

Our 4th of July // 2017

It has become one of my most anticipated holidays - taking second place to Christmas but definitely well above Valentine's Day. :) I think it's because it's really our only summer holiday and summer is to be savored and greatly appreciated for it is so fleeting and sacred. I also think it's because the older I get, the more I value this special land we live in, the values it possesses, and the unique and special way in which we get to celebrate it. With confetti-filled skies, firefly nights and flip-flop suntan lines on our feet. It's a simple holiday - there's no fuss over tree decorating or present wrapping - and as long as the sunshine cooperates and there's gas for the grill, you've pretty much got everything you need to celebrate it to its fullest.

We've had a few solid years in a row of good weather to bless our July 4th weekends, and this year was no exception. Although the days leading up to this year's holiday threatened rain and storms, it all cleared up at the last minute, and we celebrated for a good five days in a row. Cody and I both took extra time off work, the boys had a break from baseball and golf, and we had plenty of free time to spend with friends and family.

We kicked it off the Friday night beforehand with a casual and relaxing night at home - a rare happening so far this summer! Brandon and I played Yahtzee on the back patio, Daddy installed the boys' brand new swing - a house warming gift from Papa Bob and Nana Nancy - up on one of our trees' highest limbs... and we ran around our yard in our pajamas well after dark catching lightning bugs and anticipating all the fun that was to come.

Saturday was spent painting our four season's room and Brandon's bedroom before meeting the Grahams' and the Larimers' for a Saturday night baseball game. There was hot dogs and popcorn, summer shandy's and a Buc's win... and the night ended with Lea Greenwood and fireworks, baseballs and autographs for the kids... and a chance to run around the bases in the dark. It was a good night.

Sunday was a day for boating! We roasted hot dogs on the beach, soaked our toes in the warm sand, jumped in the lake when we started feeling a little too warm... and watched our boys captain Papa Tim's ship for the first time.

A whole lot of pictures of cousins and watermelon slices and big smiles...

Sometimes... you just gotta feel the non-existent music - and rock out. ;)

No two boys have ever looked cuter in a captain's hat. I'm positively sure of it. :)

Jaden took driving this boat very seriously, and we had to fight with Brandon to steer it back to shore when it was time. I think they could have stayed out there all day and night!

I melt. A very loose buck tooth and a hat a few sizes too big. I couldn't get enough of them!

So tuckered out that we actually got a late afternoon nap out of this one! A good thing, too - we were just getting started. Stay tuned!