the stars and the stripes...

and the red, white and blue!

We had such a fun 4th of July! It is amazing what you can do when it is not 115 degrees outside. :) We started the day off early as the whole family went to watch BJ run a 5K.





We had so much fun cheering him on! We saw him halfway through the race where he gave the girls "high 5's" and then cheered again as he crossed the finish line.







After the race, each runner got a popsicle. BJ told the kids they could share his popsicle. The Bub was in charge of holding it, which worked pretty well...







...until he decided that he didn't want to share anymore. When Daddy took it away from him to give each of the girls a bite, he was not happy!



But, then the Foof gave him the popsicle and brushed away his tear. All better!



Next, we watched a parade with one of BJ's co-workers and his family. The girls had never been to a parade before, but they were pretty excited that people kept throwing candy to them!







Exhasuted, we came home and our whole family took nice, long afternoon naps before heading down to spend the evening with family and watch fireworks. We went down to my grandparents house for a BBQ.







After dinner, we played frisbee, horseshoes and just had an all around great time. We had so much fun playing with Becca and Brandon. We are trying to live it up while they still live here for another six months before moving down to Texas!















Clarissa made rings for the girls out of the flowers growing in the yard:



Then, BJ brought out the sparklers...





The Foof was afraid of them, until Clarissa showed her that they weren't scary:







The older girls had fun casting spells at each other with their "wands."





Grandpa even joined in on the fun!



And, of course the Bub got to hold a sparkler with a little help from Daddy.



We stayed and chatted and played and popped popcorn together while waiting for the grand fireworks show to start. (Come on, sing along: We all love popcorn! It's our family treat. When it comes to having fun...popcorn's hard to beat!)

The firework show was amazing. It was crazy having to snuggle in a blanket to enjoy the show :) We just had a good, old-fashioned 4th of July! I am so thankful to be American and am thankful for the principles upon which this country was founded!