4th of July Weekend

My little holiday lover chose her 4th of July outfit and a little surprise for Mattie and found a box to save them til the 4th.  

On the Saturday before the 4th Bryan planned a hike for us.  It was a beautiful day and we all walked the whole 3 miles (not sure if I'm more impressed with Mattie or myself) then Bry and the girls played in the river a bit.  It was a fun way to spend the day.

On Saturday night we decided to divide and conquer- I gave the girls a bath and put them to bed while Bryan ran a few errands.  He came home with these adirondack chairs and had them set up in the backyard with cold drinks and a bag of M&Ms.  It was such a nice night and our yard was full of fireflies, it was so wonderful to just sit out there.

On Sunday we had fun dressing in red, white, and blue for church.  I had the primary kids sing patriotic songs and it was so fun.  I hadn't planned on singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" but the kids asked to sing it and they totally knew the words and did an awesome job.  

After dinner we let the girls stay up to see and catch some fireflies.  We knew it was supposed to rain a lot on the 4th so we found a fireworks show planned for the 3rd.  We got the girls in jammies and loaded up blankets and a few snacks then parked across the street from the show.  They weren't the best fireworks since the trees blocked some of our view, but we still had fun and were able to throw the girls in car seats and zip home before traffic got too crazy.

Monday, the fourth of July, started out with a bang.  Bryan went into work early to get some extra hours before his trip later in the week.  He must have really threatened the girls to not wake me up because I didn't get up til 7:55!  The girls were downstairs watching tv and we were supposed to be at our ward breakfast at 8am.  We rushed around getting ready and left the house by 8:15.  We had fun at the breakfast then stopped at the Towson parade.  We spent a lot of time waiting for the parade to start and saw the beginning but then had to leave.  Bryan came home at 11 and we all left for a bbq with some friends.  A couple of sweet 10-year-old girls played with our girls the whole time so it was quite an enjoyable afternoon.  At 2pm the rain started and since the girls both fell asleep in the car on the way home Bryan and I stopped by Sonic for drinks.    

That night we went to another friend's house for another bbq.  Mattie ate her 3rd and 4th hotdogs of the day- so patriotic of her.  It poured all afternoon and evening but as we were getting ready to leave at 9 it cleared to just a drizzle so we lit a few fireworks in their yard before heading home.  After letting our girls stay up til 10pm two nights in a row we felt like the 4th was very sufficiently celebrated.  We love this wonderful country we live in.