4th of July

We were invited to my friend Lesli's house to watch the fireworks this year. They just moved into a house on a little lake with a great view of the Oswego fireworks show. So around 4 p.m. we headed over to party.

Olivia sported one of her 4th of July outfits. I inherited not 1, not 2, but 3 4th of July outfits for her in 3-6 month size.

I snapped a few pictures of the kids before we headed off.

Love Olivia's startled/confused expression in this one.

At Lesli's house, I snapped a few more pictures before Ben was covered in food and dirt and unwilling to sit still.

Then a few of him and Lesli's daughter, Adelaide. Or we can call her Ben's future wife? Haha. These two are so cute together.

Lesli tried to get a picture of me and Liv, but as usual, it never works out. She was too tired and wouldn't cooperate.

Random: This snake was living in the front yard. Lesli's husband Mark finally caught and killed it, but it floated up to the bank by their house. Yikes!

The kids are ready for a paddle boat ride. But maybe more interested in their popsicles.

Mike got a little fishing in too. He caught two that day. He also did a little kayaking, but I don't have any pictures. I was inside feeding Olivia and getting her to sleep. There were too many mosquitoes to keep her outside. So she stayed inside and slept through the entire fireworks show.

Getting ready for fireworks.

This one kills me. I got the kid glow sticks. Ben is putting his on his ankle, Adelaide is looking through hers, and Oliver is trying to eat his. Pretty spot on with these kids.

Ben hears the first firework!

Happy 4th of July!

3rd of July

This 4th of July holiday is proving to be busy but fun. Our partying started after work on Wednesday the 3rd. We invited over Brad, Denise, Nana, Papa, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Dan for pizzas on the grill and smores on the fire pit.

But first, a picture of the menu chalk board I made last weekend. Totally unrelated to the 4th of July. Rather impressively, I've stuck to it so far. Of course, there are only 3 meals in the line up that I had any part in cooking, but still...

After work/school, Mike and I got to work prepping the food. Olivia and Sophie the Giraffe supervised.

Mike grilled the chicken for the BBQ chicken pizza (my fave) and tomatoes to make his own sauce. The pizzas were delicious but the sauce was a total failure; but A for effort, hon.

I never have any picture of me and the kids, so I asked Mike to snap a few. I should have asked someone else, but hey, better than nothing!

Yep, that's drool all over my shoulder. This one is a drooling machine!

Ben saw me walking around with Liv and asked me to pick him up too. It takes skill and muscle to hoist up a 32 pounder while holding a not quite 4 month old.

A little later, the guests started to arrive. Nana's wrist is all healed from surgery, so she is enjoying being able to cuddle with Olivia now.

It wasn't long before Olivia got comfy and took one of her famous cat naps, right on Nana's shoulder.

The first pizza was ready (sausage), so everyone dug in. Ben was holding court at the table, as usual. And sitting right next to Denise, as usual.

Sue and Dan arrived and Olivia was awake, so they got some cuddles with her too.

Once dinner was done, we moved the party outside. In her jammies, hat, and blankie, Olivia was quite content out there. She LOVES to take it all in.

Mike started up the fire and Nana showed Ben how to roast marshmallows for smores.

Ben settled in to try out his handi-work. No chocolate on his smores. I don't get it either.

The smores-making brought back memories of Nana's days in Girl Scouts.

As usual, Ben was obsessed with Denise. He followed her around all night.

Not sure what caught their eye - a firework, perhaps; or an airplane? Also notice Ben's outfit change. He gave up his beloved tank tops because he told me he wanted to go change into an outfit just like Denise's. No joke. We went upstairs and he settled on a blue t-shirt like hers and these pants. Apparently that was close enough for him.

Once it was dark enough, we brought out the sparklers. I was a little apprehensive, but if you tell Ben the why of things, he is usually very safe. Tonight was no exception; he was very careful with the sparklers and had a great time.

A fun evening all around!