HAPPY 4th OF JULY

We have a tradition of spending the 4th of July at my husband's family lake house in Graham, TX with all the extended family.  We have been going now since before Brett and I were married and it is such a great time with family!  We do fireworks off the dock and my husband always puts on a great show.  :)

They had fun tubing.

Buying fireworks with Daddy!

A small fountain firework that Lily loved.

My 2 little American cuties!

This year, since the 4th landed on a Monday, we spent the weekend there and came back Monday morning so we got to enjoy some of our hometown activities.  McKinney has a parade in the morning and an afternoon/evening of family fun events ending with a fireworks show.  This being our first year we didn't really know what to expect but we packed up some snacks and our picnic blanket and headed out.

The event was at a big soccer complex and they had lots of vendors to choose from for dinner.  We chose a brick oven pizza place that was amazing!  We set up our blanket and enjoyed our dinner together.

Then the kids did some wrestling and Lily wanted to show me a move she learned in dance class.  haha

I LOVE the time we get to spend with our extended families but sometimes it is nice to have time just the 4 of us.  We talked and laughed and enjoyed putting our phones down to enjoy our kids.

We bought glow sticks and the kids could not have been more excited!

Brett and I even got in on the fun.  :)

Then the fireworks show started and this girl squealed with so much JOY!

The show was amazing and lasted about 20 mins.  The kids had fun telling us what they looked like and how beautiful they were in the sky.  It sure is a joy to watch the world through the eyes of your children.  Their little imaginations are just amazing!

On our way out we decided to get some Dippin' Dots for the kids to enjoy as we waited in the crazy long line to get out of the parking lot.

Then when we got home they begged to do a sparkler!  It was about 11:00 pm but how often do you get to stay up late and play with sparklers?!

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  It does not escape me what this day means to Americans.  My grandfathers fought for this country and instilled in me a respect for it and I still get teary eyed when I listen to our National Anthem.  I am thankful for the freedoms that I have and for the men and women who defend that freedom!

Tomorrow I am going to start our vacation recap!  We spent 10 days in the BVI and I can't wait to share all the beauty we experienced with y'all!

Easter

Growing up my parents wanted to keep the Easter Bunny separate from the resurrection of Christ so we did our Easter baskets Saturday mornings.  We do the same thing with our kids.

Easter weekend was super busy.  The kids woke up Saturday morning to find their baskets and hidden eggs in the yard.  Brett and I got up at 7 to hide the eggs.  :)  They had fun looking through their baskets and then heading out for their egg hunt.

We don't give them too much in their baskets but like to give them a few things to start off Spring like chalk and some books along with a little candy.

This girl loves these little Beanie Boo's that have big eyes.  She got a little bunny with a tutu.  :)

A chocolate bunny is a must

Books and a journal

Then they went hunting

Luke needed a little assistance getting his egg.  haha

We divide the eggs by color for the search so they get an even amount.  This year Luke had yellow and blue eggs and Lily had purple and pink eggs.  I think it makes them search a little more because they have to find certain colors and not just any egg.

Later that afternoon our church had their annual Eggstravaganza.  They have bounce houses, petting zoos, and a big egg hunt.  This year they added an Easter Journey area where they walked you through the life of Christ.  It was amazing!

Sunday morning we went to church and came home for lunch at our house with my in-laws.  I love to make holidays special so the kids helped me make some special desserts.  We made bunny cupcakes and brownie nests and I made bunny ice cubes.

Grammy and Poppa brought the kids confetti eggs and after lunch the kids could not wait to go outside and crack them inch other.

Then they moved on to Daddy and Poppa

It was a great weekend with lots of family time!

Spring Break Wrap-up

Last year we went skiing during Spring Break but it just made the break almost non existent between the travel and busy days skiing so we decided to stay home this year.  Unfortunately it rained all week.  :(  We tried to make the best of the bummer weather and do something special every day.

Monday: Day 1

We went grocery shopping, in the rain, and picked out some new fruit to try.  The kids chose kiwi and the they loved it!

Tuesday: Day 2

We found fun Avengers and Frozen waffle makers at Walmart for $4 so they got to make their own waffles.  They were so excited to get to scoop it by themselves and they loved their "special" waffles.

Wednesday: Day 3

I took the kids to see Zootopia.

They were taking a selfie with the cheetah.  :)

Thursday: Day 4

We woke up early and headed down to Seabrook to see our besties!  A trip to Seabrook is not complete without a stop at Buc-ees.

When we go through Houston, we always try to stop and see my friend Elizabeth.  I have known this amazing woman since 6th grade.  Luke drew a picture of us and Lily took the picture.  :)

Kitty and I have been friends since we pledged Kappa Delta in 2003.  We were in each others weddings and we were pregnant with both our kids together.  Here we are Halloween 2007, Kitty had Zachary about 2 weeks later and Luke was born 3 months later.

This was March 2011 when we were pregnant with Andrew and Lily.  They are only 3 weeks apart.

I hate that we live about 5 hours away from each other now.  These boys were so excited to be reunited!

And we were excited to have some girl time with Kitty.  Lily could not wait to introduce her to the new Cinderella!  We got snuggled up on the couch, while the boys played video games, for some girl time.

Friday morning Kitty and I had some good therapy/coffee time and then took the kids to NASA.

We asked them to give us their best astronaut pose.

I think Lily's favorite part of the trip was snuggling with Kitty's dogs.

We ate dinner on the water, one of the perks of living in Seabrook.

These boys have developed the best little friendship.  I can't believe they are 8 years old!  The trip was way too short but we have already planned a much longer summer trip.  :)

The sign of a good visit.  These boys were wiped out!

We headed home Saturday morning because Lily's best friend Emma's birthday party was Saturday afternoon.  They have the silliest little friendship.  I am so glad she has some great girlfriends!

So Spring Break started out slow but ended with a lot of crazy.  :)  Only 11 more weeks until summer break and we can't wait!