4th of July ROADTRIP

We decided at the last minute to road trip it to Grandma's house for the 4th of July weekend!  It ended up being the best weekend - we did so much and had so much fun.  These poor kids were exhausted but the pictures speak to the fun!

 

First a family shot after we arrived, dressed in our 4th of July colors (minus daddy who will always believe TCU purple is the way to go):

 

 

After snuggles and hellos, Daddy and Aunt Liz went to the FIREWORKS stand.  We have NEVER, EVER done our own fireworks with the kids.  The closest they have come to a firecracker was miles away on a lawn chair..

 

Aunt JuJu with her KK and AJ

 

Another family shot - could not get Baby K to look, there was just too many other things to see

So first, while Aunt Liz was napping and we were waiting f.o.r.e.v.e.r. for the sun to set enough for the real fireworks, we did some little poppers. You know, Chinese fireworks... those things that once they hit the ground go POP.  It was a first and the kids LOVED it.

Gotta have moves when you pop them, or else what's the point?

And maybe we had a few "wars" where we tried to scare each other...

Then we opened those champagne bottles - the ones that pop loudly and confetti blows out.  Another first... AJ struggled to pop the corks on his, but as you can see from below, he was still having fun.

Thank God for our Daddy- God gave him the muscles for a reason just like this one

HAPPY 4th of JULY

Aww - even JuJu was loving it :-)

Mommy did not get muscles like Daddy....

 

My favorite picture.. not for me and AJ.  No... do you see JuJu in the background.  I love that in the midst of this crazy, she is standing quietly.  Pondering some deep innermost thought about life... Or just daydreaming.  We got a chuckle out of this one though.  She loves me (deep deep down).

 

The girls discovered that after we ran out of firework stuff, we could still accessorize with the fireworks!

Baby K stayed on the porch with Grandma during the commotion.  No fireworks too close to her.  Aunt Liz did wake up just in time for the FIREWORKS SHOW to begin (well as she was our pyro gal, it wouldn't have started without her).   



We grabbed chairs and blankets and went to the court to light things on FIRE!

Note that it is still rather light in these pictures... dang summer days.  We decided there were enough things to light up that we could start early.

Daddy showing us our first up close fireworks - first off were smoke bombs of course. CLASSIC!

Then came sparklers - KK enjoyed doing a little dance... does that surprise anyone?

Snuggling during the show - lots of red, white and blue going on here!

 

This is pretty much how Baby K watched her first ever fireworks.  In the comfort of her JuJu, just looking around and taking it all in.  Never once did we hear a peep from her, she was very content for almost two hours to just be entertained by us running around while she sat peacefully in someone's lap (mostly her JuJus).  She even had a bottle while she watched everything going off.  Noise and light, none of it scared her.  She is a pretty special little girl :-)

 

 

Now there is one incident NONE of us will forget.  We call it the "Ladybug".  Apparently on the kids table at the fireworks stand where these three cute little ladybugs.  We decided that after a few sparklers and smoke bombs we would try one of these baby fireworks before going to the real thing... little did we know that the ladybug would sparkle for a minute.... before shooting 30 FEET INTO THE AIR and then TAKING OFF OVER THE HOUSE.  We were all screaming (KK more than others) and in complete shock.  Everyone except AJ... see what he did next:

 

 

Just in case you can't tell - he is in his chair shaking his hands and laughing like that was the BEST thing he had EVER seen.  And you know what, we all pretty much followed suit!  We all started laughing and before the night was over we had to try it one more time.  We also chuckled a few times as neighbors from the streets around us would light random fireworks, and sometimes we would see a ladybug shooting off over a tree or house while others screamed.  Seems we weren't the only ones who got a little surprise tonight.

 

So HAPPY 4th of July everyone!  We had a great time, we were outside until at least 10pm with the kids shooting off all kinds of fun things.  This was more fun than going to a professional show.  We were also surprised at how the entire neighborhood seemed to be doing the same thing.  As I tucked two very tired big kids into bed, we listened to everyone around us celebrating.  It was very neat, KK and AJ were giggling about it as they drifted off to sleep.  GO AMERICA!

 

So the next morning we woke up (me and the kids a few hours before others of course) and all went to breakfast together and this wonderful local place - you know the kind you wouldn't know to go to unless you lived in town.  Yummy!  The pancakes, bacon, biscuits and gravy... you name it, it was delicious.

 

To work off such food, we headed to a nearby park.  One thing we love about Grandmas is that there are parks everywhere.  This one had a climbing tower that everyone couldn't resist..

 

 

Liz and KK climbing

AJ prefers the gangsta life on the swing

 

Looking cute Aunt Liz!  Even Daddy and JuJu joined in the action.  We all escaped unharmed, that is the point.  Well and we had fun too!  It sure didn't feel like July outside.

 

That afternoon, Daddy wanted to take us to his old stomping grounds.  He took us swimming to the pool he and JuJu used to swim at every summer when he was a kid. 

 

The water was freezing!  But there was a water slide and diving boards, so fun was to be had.

Here is Daddy showing us his moves

Hiiii!  Did we mention FREEZING?

No surprises here, KK was immediately interested in checking out the diving board.  She hasn't ever been on one before - she was very brave and jumped right in.  And then continued to jump right on in over and over. 

 

She even made me take her picture jumping in while she posed... silly girl!

Now its not a blog post from me unless I find random pictures of JuJu and post them.  Why she is singing with a floaty I will never know.  But I know its funny!  (You love me JuJu)!

AJ did do his extra slow swim across the pool without any help... which means the lifeguards weren't sure if he was swimming or drowning.  Its always fun when you have to yell at the lifeguard not to jump, that that is actually how your child swims for real.

Pretty soon (like ten minutes after we arrived), it got too cold for AJ.  He decided to get dry and stay that way... JuJu caught him on camera.  Handsome little guy.

There is Daddy, about to belly flop it for us all

Daddy and JuJu taught the kids their secrets for warming up fast... laying down on hot concrete.  It worked!

AJ wanted his picture taken by the diving board.  He almost tried the diving board.  He walked up and then walked back to me and said "I'll do it when I'm five".  His answer to many things these days.  Five is when a boy turns into a bigger boy I guess.

Giving daddy hugs

Daddy slashing AJ on purpose for fun.

 

After the pool, we went home to wait for Uncle Steve to arrive so the weekend could begin in full swing.  Next on our list for the day?  Not a nap, noooo!  That would be too easy.  After Steve arrived, we did another first! Putt Putt Golf!

 

These kiddos were so excited to go.  It was already dark when we got here but they didn't care, they were ready for this golfing thing.

KK pondering her next move

AJ really didn't need to wait for anyone.  He just kept asking "my turn again?" and would then proceed to hit the ball without really caring where he was supposed to go. 

My fav shot, all of us together after our game!  We had a lot of fun!!! 

Afterwards the kids got to do a few rounds of air hockey and some sweet people gave them extra tickets to pick out prizes.  AJ picked a whoopee cushion (anyone surprised with that? really?) and KK got a ladies fan.

 

So another very full day, but again so much fun.  Grandma and Baby K got lots of cuddle time together during our outing and we got to do some new things that we hadn't done before.

Baby K and Uncle Steve

 

So next on the list was Despicable Me 2 -- we had been waiting for this movie all summer!  We knew we had to see it with the Aunts and Uncle this weekend.  It's not a visit with a movie!

 

The movie was great!  I sat by AJ who pretty much laughed every time a minon laughed at a butt joke.  Which made me laugh every time too!

 

Before we knew it, it was the end of the trip.  After going to church with Grandma, and visiting Grandpa's grave and bringing him flowers, we got to celebrate sweet Baby K's soon to be 1st birthday.  Grandma had the plates and got a cute cake for the occasion:

The plates are so cute (and so is the birthday girl)

 

After everyone sang Happy Birthday, she was ready to check out that cake...

Wait a minute... she is a little nervous as to why no one is stopping her from touching it.

This is my favorite picture - who doesn't cry over their 1st birthday?  Who knew little miss K was not all about icing and though it was yucky?

They did manage to get her happy enough for another picture :-)

So after cake came a few presents - Uncle Steve went first and nailed it with a cute little touch farm book (that Baby K played with the whole way home in the car) and a monkey ball.

Really the tulle in the gift was more exciting than the gift itself (of course)

Hehe - love my monkey

Before we were ready, it was time for goodbye kisses and hugs.  Never an easy thing.  Especially for KK and AJ who really are starting to understand that goodbye means it will be awhile before we are together again.  KK cried hysterically for the first few miles home. She actually jumped out of the car and refused to leave, but I don't blame her.  Grandmas is a very fun place to be, lots of people to laugh and play with and so much to do.  I know we will be back, but its still no fun.

 

We miss you guys!  And love you so much!

Hope everyone else's 4th of July weekend was great :-)

Sweet dreams y'all!