The 4th of July 2009

To celebrate our countries birthday I got a little crazy with the girls hair. I suppose once a year, that ain't bad. They actually sat really well for me and watched a movie while I did my work. I did Aly's hair and Kennedy asked me to do her hair the same way. I was flattered, usually she is pretty indifferent. 

We went to Bonnie and Norm's (Nathan's parents) for a pool party and BBQ with about 60 other people, it was a giant par-tay. Get this, my SIL Tara bought a real deal snow cone maker, like the big ol machines that businesses use. If you know Tara this will not surprise you at all, she is quite the woman. So she sits down at these get togethers and starts whipping out the snow cones for both kids and adults. It is the hit of the summer for sure- I think Aly had 4 this night alone.  

The swimming went on for at least 4-5 hours, our children would have been totally exhausted had we left it at that but it was the 4th after all so the party continued as I inwardly cringed thinking about the next day and my melting down children... but that's another post. 

We all migrated to Taylor and Kysa's house and went out in their circle and broke out the fireworks. As per usual things started off with sparklers (I always have anxiety until they are done with those. Like- here little 3 year old, have a big stick on fire throwing sparks and go run around!!!)  Right off the bat Kennedy wasn't a huge fan of all of the smoke in the air and noise in the streets.  She didn't like the smell and it was all a bit too loud for her. She held a sparkler kind of like how you would a dirty diaper and held it out as far as she could, nervous she would get hurt (I swear not because of my nervousness!) So when someone else's wayward spark landed on her foot Kennedy was pretty much done and headed inside to crash in front of a movie. 

Kohen on the other hand was into everything and shadowing Nathan's every move, often more closely than makes a mom comfortable. Not surprisingly he loved every minute of the fireworks, snaps, sparklers, smoke bombs, and the bigger stuff too. He wasn't picky.

Aly was a little more difficult to keep a handle on. She was all over running back and forth excitedly and I was really grateful for my niece Maddie who kept an eye on Aly and kept her from getting too close to fireworks that were about to go off. At the end of the night as everyone was packing up I told Aly we were getting ready to leave and she sassily tells me, "I want to go to anotha pah-ty! I want to go to Auntie Ashley's!" The girl is always ready for the next party. (which apparently can always be found at Auntie Ashley's lol).

Kohen had asked specifically for the snakes so we had to get some of those for sure. It was pretty funny when grown ups and kids alike gathered all around to watch the snakes! The cheapest little thing was for sure a favorite of the night. Who doesn't love the snakes? They are rad... that's right, I said it.

I love the 4th. I love our country. I am grateful for all those who serve our country, I feel like we forget to appreciate them all too often. And I have a sneaking suspicion I am going to have an even deeper appreciation for our country and freedoms when I leave and I am half a world away from them. God has blessed America. And God does bless America!