Proud to be an American

We have come to love the traditions of our great neighborhood. There is no better way to start the 4th of July than with the Annual Breakfast (and party) in the Park. This community tradition has been going for 30+ years and it seems to get bigger and better every year!!

Littlemiss loved playing in the grass and taking in all of the sights and sounds. She loved seeing all of her friends in the park and couldn't seem to get enough of the fun.

Once again, CJ was in charge of the slip and slide and did a bang-up (literally in some cases) job. The Fire Department comes to supply the water add to our patriotism. They were exceptional this year and added to all of the fun!

Even LJ got her first taste of the slip and slide...

I'm not sure she knew what to think!

After her wild ride... she was pretty content to just go back to playing in the grass and watching all the fun!

Once the party in the park was over, we went straight to enjoy a little pool time with the Duncans. The weather wasn't that great so we didn't last long... but per usual LJ loved it!

By the time we left the pool, it was waaayyy past nap time and she was so exhausted. She just couldn't keep her eyes open for the short walk home...

Not even taking her out of the stroller and unloading could rouse her...

So she and Elle went down for a nap... swimsuit and all!

She had a glorious 2+ hour nap, allowing CJ and I some time to finally get our grill put together and fired up. We've been daydreaming about outdoor cooking for a long time and we weren't about to let another day go by without getting it going!

Leah woke up and got some much needed Daddy playtime while mommy worked on our inaugural BBQ...

And it was every.single.bit as delicious as we'd been dreaming about...

And with full bellies, we jammied up, snuggled up and watched the early versions of fireworks on TV and called it a day.

And a pretty good one, if I do say so myself!

All American Sunday...

I'm a sucker for the red, white and blue.

I'm a sucker for the patriotic music.

I'm a sucker for a good old fashioned Sunday afternoon picnic in the park.

And I'm a huge sucker for adorable babies, big brown eyes and chubby little limbs.

You gotta love a day that combines it all!

4th of July Weekend - Balloon Festival

...and plenty of pictures to prove it!

Being that I grew up a Utah County girl (and still am at heart), the Freedom Festival was always a huge part of our 4th of July celebrations. We always got up early and went to the Balloon Festival, the Grand Parade, had BBQs and water fights and finished with the Stadium of Fire fireworks... the whole shabang. After moving away and getting settled up north a bit and especially since Chris and I got married, we've gotten involved in some of the 4th of July traditions within our own neighborhood and community, and it had been a while since I'd been down for the Utah County festivities.

Since Chris was working on Saturday, Leah and I took ourselves down to the UC to spend a couple of days at Grandma's house. It hadn't even occured to me that the Freedom Festival festivities had already began down there. Once we realized it, we immediately made plans to get up early and enjoy a fun holiday tradition.

I don't think she was very excited when I went to wake her up at 5:45am...

We let her stay in her jammies to soften the blow a bit!

Luckily, once we loaded her in Grandma's umbrella stroller and got out with the crowds... she quickly changed her tune! Crowds and people watching is this girl's cup o' tea!

She was fascinated by the flames!!

(man, i love this snuggle-bug)

Lovin' her some G & G time!

She also got plenty of time with her cute cousin Lydia. These girls are getting so fun as they become more and more aware of each other!!

i love the hand-holding.

Cute little Mae was there too in awe of all the balloons.

"wow"

Up, up and away...

So fascinated.

I love a good coke sunrise!

and just like they, they were all up in the air and we were left watching them from the ground!

waving bye-bye to the balloons

I'm not gonna lie....

I kinda can't get enough of this face.

xox

"YAY for the Balloon Fest!"

We had so much fun getting up early and hanging out with some of our favorite people. We only wish that our daddy could have come too!

After the excitement of the event had died down, Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to take us all to breakfast. yum.

Leah's washing down her first little taste of pancakes!

Such a big "almost" 9 month old!

But mostly, she spent her time trying to figure out how to open the box of Trix. She must be her Daddy's girl.

What a great start to one of my favorite holiday weekends of the year!!