After my quick bout with the stomach flu, followed by a busy weekend in Nebraska, we started the day Monday convincing Beau to take the day off and spend it with us. He was pretty easy to convince, especially when I came home with donuts and coffee from Starbucks!
We talked him into taking us all to the Falls, our first time as a family this summer. Surprisingly, the pool was quiet and we enjoyed a solid hour or so of the water slides pretty much to ourselves. Mila is a dream at the pool lately, and I enjoyed some time in my beach chair with my baseball hat, Beau's Raybans, and my book. And then Cruz talked Beau into trying one of the pool hot dogs (our favorite) and we were all happy campers. ;)
We spent Monday night at Brian and Angie's, eating smoked ribs, drinking red, white, and blue bomb pops, and congregating around the firepit with s'mores, sparklers, and all the neighbor's fireworks. This was a memorable year for the firework craziness alone as Iowa officially opened up a window for legal firework use, which has proven to be quite controversial depending on who you are talking to. I had gotten so used to hearing fireworks every night leading up to the actual 4th that I must admit, they lost their luster by the time I usually enjoy them! Even so, the kids got to play with fire and had a ball doing so! Even Mila got to be in on the fun this year, and probably gave Angie a near heart attack as she ran the perimeter of their backyard with every freshly lit sparkler. I think we all breathed a little better once the box was gone!
Our night was laid-back Americana. The kids had melted marshmallows stuck to their cheeks and dirt on their feet, there were dance parties with playlists that included a mix of Justin Timberlake and Lee Greenwood, and as soon as the sun settled in the sky, the lightning bugs and fireworks lit it back up again. We celebrated America with friends, food, and fireworks, and went to bed ready to do it all over again the next day!
More pictures from our pre-party!
Cruz wanted to take a picture of Mila and me. I just love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment