4th of july!

Our 4th of July weekend, in pictures :) I love the 4th, it makes me feel all Americana and Ralph Laureny-- whom I am obsessed with even more since his Oprah interview. I want to wear navy knit sweaters with Amercian flags embroidered on the front, and snuggle up with red, white & blue throws, or sleep in teepee houses (you saw the teepee's right??)

Ellie proving once again to Chris that I do NOT waste money on oodles of clothes.. sporting last years 4th dress, just a tad too short.. but nothing a pair of great rain boots can't fix!

 John sporting his brand new JMA hat.. Thanks Kelly!

 boots.

Giving John's toes some love! Right after she polished off 3 popsicles before 9 am. I know I know. I wonder when the whole "she's teething" defense will stop.

Ellie is laughing at Chris and I for all the hard work and energy we put into our yard for the big party! "It's going to rain, guys!!"
My mom and I about died of heat stroke.

 Sticky bandits. Covered in popsicle residue...

No pictures of any backyard decor :( Next year. The boxes are already packed up and ready to roll for next year

New additions as of Saturday.. my favorite-- Boxwoods bushes. Now, if I could get them to grow into the shape of a wreath for my front door I would be a happy lady :) Also love my flag bunting. I just need a huge white front porch with a lot of ferns and ceiling fans to complete the look.

Chris' new obsession that I whipped up.. Sonic's Cherry Limeaid drink. I have never even had Sonic's version, but Chris assured me it tasted the exact same. I was pretty proud of the results. I love a good cute drink.

It looked cute, tasted good and had vodka in it. What else is there?????? I may have to try and think of a way for bartenders to whip this up for me while out..

 Tim and Cheryl are always the first to arrive every year.. this year they brought massive black thunder clouds and buckets of rain. Tim holding his "best friend" :)

 Hi John!!

 USA! Our MVP's Molly & Eric brought us the greatest present ever! A USA pretzel from Pretzel Boys. This was seriously gone in 10 minutes. So good!

Grandma and John watching the rain.. My mom is always such a help at Parties. John was a tad over stimulated for a minute, but calmed down once he was held and smooched a bit. That lover loves a good smooch :)

 Lisa having a great hairday and Jack looking like his younger buddy, John boy! They are 3 months apart! (Ps. can you see what is on TV?)

Lils and Katie. I think Lilly ate the entire pretzel! And Katie is due with #3 in December. Girl or Boy?? Katie you need a poll!!!

 Kate and my mom with baby John boy!

 Amy and Ryan.. Am and her husband came in from Chicago for the soiree!

MVPs! Molly and Eric. They are seriously such good and fun party guests! They come early, stay late, have lots of fun and bring massive USA pretzels! I wish I had a trophy for them :)

 Amy with Jack, Mary and Connor and Lisa and Brendan!

 Newlywed Kel and soon to be newlywed Court.

With rain comes thunder and lightening.. and firetrucks! The kids watched about 4 of them head into the neighborhood and were super excited about it!

Slipping into our suits once the rain slowed down. Ellie and Ryan in matchers and Gretch sporting her new fave, Ariel!

I am going to spare you all the late night pics. I just can't bring myself to do it :) BUT, I do love this one. Jim going in for the kill with Nate.

And our friendly neighborhood patrolman making a pit stop after someone complained of people shooting off fireworks. I seriously thought we were cool enough for at least a noise violation, negative! They thanked us for being responsible and went on their way. Can we be any more nerdy?

 After a wild & late night in our garage, we decided to lay low and take it easy with the kids on the actual 4th. Mommy was a bit sick and laid in bed all morning (24 hr bug). We hit up the Webster Carnival but quickly realized that we were standing in a foot of water from the rain storm, so we made a swift exit. I decided carnivals + carnys are not my thing. Maybe next year, if it's dry. Instead we grabbed carryouts and headed back into K-Wood, where we car camped and waited for the fireworks. Ellie loved sitting in the trunk of the car, having a picnic, and running around with kids in the parking lot.

 after days of rain, humidity, no baths, pools, and sunscreen.. this is what your hair can look like too!

 daddy and ellie waiting for the show to start!

 John out of harms way in the trunk of the car! that sounds horrible..

One final smooch before the show begins. John fell fast asleep in my arms, Ellie screamed and then watched the remainder of the "pink" fireworks from the front seat of the car.. Happy 4th ya'll.. I'm off to pin an Americana board on Pinterest!