Happy 4th of July!!

We had our traditional family gathering at my sister in law's parents house for a 4th of july BBQ and swimming.

The boys LOVE this day. Recently, Matthew and Isaiah have both said that 4th of July is their favorite holiday! They truly love spending the day swimming and doing fireworks. I have to agree, it's a very fun and relaxing day.

This year, the weather was cooler than usual. We seem to get one every few years...this was that year. It didn't bother the kids though--they were up for swimming!

Winnie was SUCH a nice Grammie and went swimming with the Bug when no other grown up would. (Dan did for a while but got too cold). Kaitlin would be shivering but if you asked her if she was cold she'd say no, "Warm." She didn't want to get out!

Kaitlin LOVED jumping off of the step into the pool. She is a little fish!

They only had a pink life jacket available the morning of the 4th in Matthew's size...I told him that it was the only one and that it was most important to be safe. He was so cute and at first said that he felt embarrassed, but then said, "Look Mama! It has grey on it! I like grey! And the flower looks like Hawaii! And I like hot pink!" I was proud of him that he didn't throw a fit or be grumpy about it--he found the positive things to focus on.

Going down the slide...

Matthew and Isaiah both had firsts this summer. They both jumped off the diving board and went down the slide without life jackets and swam to the side. My favorite part of the day was when Matthew was nervously standing on the diving board without his life jacket on trying to gather his courage to jump. Isaiah was in the pool and he said, "Matthew, I'm right here if you need me. You can do it!!" It was so sweet and I felt so grateful that these boys are not only cousins but good friends too. What a blessing.

Andrew had a great time in the pool as well...

Isaiah on the slide...

During a swimming break we did our "dress up" photo. I have to admit, while I usually take mostly candid shots this is fully fabricated by me because I think the kids look so cute. I started it on Kaitlin's first 4th of July they are always my favorite photos of the day.

I'm not sure why Andrew was pouting in this photo. He seems to either make a silly face, grumpy face or pout in group photos lately. It's his "thing." He's actually a really happy little boy. You wouldn't think it looking at our family photos. He looks ornery!

My favorite photo of the day....

A 4th of July mug shot of Noah....

I think this picture is funny....

Andrew loving on Kaitlin....

Noah was not in a picture taking mood. But I did manage to capture his dazzling smile when playing a little game of "peek a boo" with him. He popped out from behind his Mama's chair and I got him!

We ended the day with homemade vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit. Even raspberries freshly picked from the back yard which were delicious.

Here's Andrew enjoying (and wearing) his ice cream....

Sadly, it was too windy to set off fireworks. We did let the kids throw Pop its so they had a little fun, but they were quite disappointed. So we went back to Mom's house and snuggled on the sofa and watched them on TV.

It was a very fun 4th of July. A BIG thank you to Dale and Glenda for such a great day!