When we were at the Cintron's Friday night, the Grube's asked us if we would want to go with them to see fireworks. I hadn't even thought about the 4th of July holiday, so we said sure. We always enjoy our time spent with them.
Saturday morning we woke up bright & early and started our yard work. It had become a jungle, almost literally. Daddy started trimming back bushes with the power equipment while I took the boys to the playground out back. Then when we came back, I started picking up all the trimmings while the boys played. Soon we gave them lunch and put them to bed since it was SO HOT!!! Right about that time my sister Becky called to see if I'd like to go swimming at the Skyline Pool in Manheim Township. After checking with Shawn, I said sure since my ankle was feeling extremely swollen with all the work I had already done, weeding back the side of our house and the backyard and cleaning up trimmings from all the bushes, etc.
Skyline Pool was actually a LOT nicer than I thought it would be. There were two areas less than two-feet deep that had a mini-slide, water features that sprayed down and around, and didn't dump into deeper waters, etc. They were PERFECT for little kids. There were several other areas including a lap pool, a 'playing' area, a diving area and these cool water slides. I took these pictures off the township website because I hadn't taken my camera. It was pricey to get into, but the pool was really nice and not crowded at all. I would definitely take the kids by myself sometime and not worry so much about their safety with these smaller pool areas.
While we were at the pool, the boys napped and Shawn mowed and did some more yard work. Becky & I left around 4ish and she came back to our house to give Caleb his birthday presents, which included a Cars sticker book and a movie from Focus on the Family about cars and good life lessons. He's enjoying them both. She went home to get changed for a family gathering with her in-laws, and I got a shower and ready for our evening with friends, including changing the boys into their shirts and asking Daddy if he'd be willing to dress like me, which he called 'gay' but said he'd be willing to do. :) :) :) I said that it was the opposite of gay - it showed that he loved his wife. ;-)
We arrived at our friends house and saw that they had similar outfits as us. Isabella was in red & white stripes and Lisa was wearing a navy t-shirt. She made Chris go change into navy blue as well. Then we ordered takeout and enjoyed our sandwiches on their deck, listening to music from their new umbrella. The kids had a great time playing with one another. They played in their sandbox and chased the dog around, etc.
After we stayed there awhile chatting, the darkness began to fall and Lisa suggested sparklers. We were nervous as our kids had never done them before, and we feared they may get burned. But, they all did really well with them! In the picture above, Chris is lighting them up!
Joshua made his letters in the sky with his sparkler, and Isabella made big circles. I forgot my camera, so Shawn took these with his phone. I'll have to get some better ones from Lisa who took a bunch with her camera.
Daddy helped Caleb with his first sparkler, and Caleb said he was 'all done!' But after watching his big brother and 'Bella' do more, he decided to give it another try and his last one he did by himself. All the kids (and the parents) thought they were really neat.
We also saw lightning bugs, which Isabella calls 'Ray' from the movie the Princess & the Frog. Some night we'll have to go out and catch them like we did when I was little.
After the sparklers were done, we cleaned up and headed to Marietta to watch the fireworks. Chris pulled into the perfect parking spot, and they had lawn chairs and blankets ready. We hadn't brought anything, but they were prepared for all of us. :) They even brought snacks for the kids. We feared Joshua might be terrified of them like he was last year, but instead he really seemed to enjoy them. I think it helped that his friend liked them, too.
The fireworks started at 10 pm and were done by 11. It took us a little over half an hour to get home, and by the time we got the kids in PJs and put to bed it was after midnight. They were still up bright and early the next morning, though, so we made it to church on time and sat with our friends, the Cintron's and the Spencer's (the Grube's didn't make it after all). We had a great night watching the fireworks - which I think get cooler every year. And Lisa & I even did a sparkler with the kids. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday!
The next day we took a Sabbath day of rest. I've been feeling more convicted about it, so we did no yard work, no house work, no nothing. We did get pizza for dinner that night and watched a movie but it was a day to relax (or as much as you can with kids). They swam in the pirate pool that Daddy had patched and we just enjoyed being home together. Thus ended our Sunday, the real 4th of July. We didn't do sparklers last night because the kids got tired and we put them to bed in the middle of our movie. But, that was okay. We can all say that we're "proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me and I'll gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today cause there ain't no doubt I love this land... God bless the USA!"
No comments:
Post a Comment