4th of July 2012

Alyssa is our early bird.  She always wakes up by 6:30 or 7:00 at the latest.  Granted she goes to bed by 7:00 as well, so she does get her full 12 hours.  This year she was up at 6:30 on the 4th of July.  Usually I will wake Jeff up because I like to go running in the morning.  I thought I would give him a break and let him sleep in on the 4th.  The fire station by us does an annual 4th of July Breakfast.  I decided since Alyssa and I were the only ones up we could go together.  We got there about 7:15 and were home by 8:30.  Everyone was still asleep they didn't even know we had left!

 At the breakfast this little car drove up to Alyssa and the bear started talking to her.  She did not like it very much (can't blame her since the bear was as big as her).  I tried to get her to turn around for a picture and stand a little closer, but it didn't happen.

 Also, while we were eating this helicopter landed right in the fire station parking lot.  That is the closest I have ever been to a helicopter as it landed.  It was loud and the everything was blowing away, but it was awesome to see it come down and land in such a small space with people all around.

 After we got home and everyone woke up we decided to do another family bike ride since the kids did so well last time.  This time we went downtown to a park that has a long bike path off of it.  Brea really wanted to ride so we brought her bike and let her ride around the parking lot - she did great.  Then we made her ride in the stroller with Alyssa for the long bike ride.

 It was so beautiful riding downtown.

 We got to cross over the freeway which was really quite awesome.  Jeff wanted us to stop in the middle and wave to cars.  I talked them out of it, I didn't want to see a wreck and be the cause...I know mean Mom.

 We were planning on stopping at a park for our picnic lunch, but we got their a lot sooner than we thought and the kids wanted to keep going.  We ended up stopping in this grassy area.  It was nice a quite, not one single person came the whole time we were there.

 Dallin wanted to ride again, he really enjoys riding his bike.  Even after our bike ride we let the kids play at the park we stared at, but he kept riding around the park.

 The battle wound...no not from the bike.  It was from climbing a tree and falling down, he had a big scrape on his stomach and a scrape on his foot.  It made riding a bit more challenging, but Dallin didn't want to stop.

 This picture is hilarious.  Jeff and Brea were looking down at the camera while Jeff pushed the button. Right when it took Alyssa came over and looked down to see what they were looking at.  It amazingly got all three of them in the shot and Alyssa's mouth just happened to be opened wide like Jeffs.

 The kids were hungry when we got home so I dished them out some ice cream.  I am doing this contest of eating no sugar for a month - so I enjoyed my banana.

Jackie and I have been planning on making these strawberries for a long time.  We found a picture for them in a magazine and have been saving it until the 4th of July.  The picture looked a lot better then ours turned out...but they still taste delicious and the kids thought they were very pretty.
Our wonderful state of Colorado is so hot and dry right now.  Thus, NO FIREWORKS.  The kids actually didn't even ask.  We did a family movie night - National Treasure (a good choice for the 4th) .  By the time the movie was over the kids were exhausted, they all went to sleep fast.  I love this country and the beauty and freedom I enjoy every day.

Dads goods

Jeff has to travel a little bit for work right now.  We all miss him terribly while he is gone.  He is a great Dad and Husband and we realize it when we have to go a few days without him.  He is always good about bringing something small for the kids (I think he purchases them at a truck stop right before coming home :))

 Lovely nails.  They were fun and looked gorgeous for the 10 minutes they lasted :)

 Dallin got a spinning top that propelled itself, you could also use it to shoot of these little helicopter discs.

 He is concentrating hard...it was difficult to keep them on (notice the tongue)

Brea's pretty nails and a happy Daddy that is HOME!

Summer Fun

What is summertime without a WATER BALLOON FIGHT!

 Even Alyssa got into it - she doesn't mind getting wet at all.

Watch out kiddos, here comes Alyssa armed and dangerous.  She never was able to splash the kids, but it was just as fun to watch it hit the ground and splatter.

 Brea enjoys looking pretty and staying dry.  She had fun filling them up and then hid until it was over.

 Jackie and Dallin really got into it.  They set up "hideouts"  - in the end they both got good and wet, which is what it is all about.

 I don't know why Jackie agreed to this....but she was a good pitcher to Dallin.

I'm WET!

 And I'm LOVING IT!

 It has been so nice to have all the kids home all day.  The kids play really well together, when they want to.  Alyssa and Dallin have a very special brother/sister relationship.  He is really sweet with her and she can handle a little boy wrestling with him (a little).

 The kids have had fun with friends as well.  Friends as people and pets.  They found this cat in our yard and thought they could keep it.  They gave it milk and food (spaghetti with cheese) and played with it for about four days.  We finally had to tell them not to feed it anymore so that it could go home.  We are now looking into getting a dog.  We gave the kids each assignments to do before we would "consider" it.  They have accomplished their work and we are now on a hunt for a good family dog.  We found a couple but they were gone before we could get them.

 Bubble Fun!  Thanks to pinterest we made HUGE bubbles out of plastic cups and a paper towel tube.  Jackie and Dallin blew theirs together to make an even bigger HUGE bubble.  They were so amazed...especially that their Mom came up with this great idea!

We have enjoyed having Dad around a lot more this summer as well. His work schedule is a lot more flexible now.  Most every morning I am able to get up and go running while he gets up with the kids and gets breakfast going.  It is Wonderful!  Alyssa loves her Daddy and she even got him to read to her one morning, she loves books right now.  

 Not to worry...Jeff gets his exercise in the morning too.  He just uses the kids as weights!

We are enjoying the lazy days of summer, but they are going to fast.  We go swimming about once a week and the kids are all signed up and mostly completed the summer reading program.  Lots of ice cream and sun tan lotion - it has been a hot one.