Fourth of July Weekend

I can't say I would ever point to the 4th and say it is my FAVORITE holiday.  I don't always get into the hoopla but for whatever reason this holiday weekend was just very fun for me, and i hope for the kids too.  I certainly needed the break from work and it just felt like a perfectly busy, relaxing weekend.

We started with Friday - which I had off from work...woohoo!  This was a swim lesson day, though wasn't entirely warm so we didn't stay long but instead opted to do some other things.  I did get to watch the girls at their swim lessons which was fun.  Sawyer, more than any of the kids, constantly looks to me for ?? approval?? - that doesn't seem like the right word but she knows if I'm watching at all times and probably looked over to for a thumbs up or some recognition about 20 times during a 30 minute lesson.  So I'm glad that I was able to make it to the lesson because work had prevented me from going up till now.

After that, we took off though and went out to lunch for some sandwiches and milkshakes, and then just kind of hung out at home most of the day.  I got out to the mall for a bit while the girls rested which was glorious...going alone, when it's sunny and warm, was just enjoyable.  But I came home and we hung outside.  Which brings me to one of my absolute favorite things that seems to happen every July 4th weekend around here...the streets become absolutely quiet.  Does this happen to anyone else?  For whatever reason there are next to no cars on the roads in our hood and you just get the sense people are either away or having small bbqs around.  So our girls played outside with bikes and tennis racquets on the driveway and in the street because no one was around.

This one likes to roll the ball into the street so her sisters have to run after it...

Sawyer is practicing her skills...Isla prefers the bike...

Which leads me to the 4th.  It still feels like there's a big quiet calm that settles on our town but there's also a lot going on.  First off, we went to the parade, walking a few blocks over to main st to see the veterans, police, firemen, cub scouts, girl scouts, and other groups walk and throw out candy. This is the first year the kids really got into it.  Here's a picture of me and my twinnie dressed the same.

 Watching and waiting for candy to be thrown.

 They got a pretty good haul that they snacked on the whole ride home, and it tided them over because we ended up going right to the pool after this.  Surprising to both Mark and I we stayed at the pool for about 4 hours.  The girls found some friends, we found some friends to talk to, and it was just a very laid back vibe.  There was a bounce house, sno-cones, popcorn, and swimming and we were in no hurry to leave, and neither were the kids.  Doesn't hurt that the weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold.

When we got home, we fed the kids dinner and shortly thereafter Margot went to bed.  Our girl had skipped a nap that day with all the festivities and was tired.  Mark stayed home with her and Sawyer, Isla and I headed out to watch fireworks.  This was our first real attempt and it went awesome.  I thought they'd be tired from the day as well but instead they just played in the grass around me, doing cartwheel and dancing shows, until it got dark.  They played games with their glow bracelets we had brought and were just happy to be staying up late for something so fun.  Here we are waiting for the dark to descend... 

 And the girls hanging with their bracelets...

 It was an awesome show, and we found somewhat of an off-the-beaten path place to watch which may be my go-to going forward.  Needless to say, our girls got home to excitedly tell Mark about all they'd seen and he had them in bed and asleep not 10 min later.

Luckily the whole family slept in, and needed a relaxing day on Sunday to re-coup...this is how we were on Sunday...

 All in all, great holiday weekend...