Fourth of July fun

Ryan had a four day weekend, and we enjoyed every minute of it. (Okay, maybe not the extra ninety minutes it took us to get to the beach because of traffic we could have avoided, but all the other minutes, anyway!)

The festivities began on Tuesday night, when Ryan (who passed his pyrotechnician test earlier this year) got to help with the big fireworks show at the rodeo. Just picture him in full fireman gear, crawling along the ground in the dark lighting these fuses, with huge balls exploding into the air right in front of his face, and you'll have my husband's idea of an evening of excitement.

He managed to survive the fireworks and his last day of work before the holiday, so he took the girls out in the boat early Thursday morning. Maya and I, along with one of Cami's friends, joined them for an afternoon of picnicking and swimming. We headed back to a barbecue at a friend's house, where Maya got to jump on a trampoline for the first time, plus hang out with some of her nursery buddies. The girls got to go see Ice Age 3 with Grandma and arrived just in time to get soaked with a hose on the trampoline and eat popsicles.


Friday was the beach day I already posted. On the actual day of the Fourth, we took the boat back out for some more, er, fishing. (I'm such a bad influence!) But honestly, the shade from the canopy and the girls occupied with books is the best combination for Ryan getting any real fishing time in.


Since we, along with all of my siblings (besides Mitchell--we missed you!), plus Aunt Jill and Jesselah and their friend, were headed to a fireworks display near my parents', we convened there in the early evening for food and fun. My girls fell in love with Stefanie's new cat, Lulu, and spent well over an hour torturing, I mean, playing with the poor thing. Actually, she really didn't seem to mind, and even chased Cami after she set her down. And they always love seeing their cousin Lucy.





If all that wasn't enough fun, Maya pulled off the grand finale last night by staying up half the night throwing up. Let's just say that by the time I changed her sheets for the last time last night, the first couple sets were waiting for us in the dryer, clean. She's already feeling much better, on my lap singing the ABC's, so we're moving on to new adventures!