Post 250!

This is my 250th post!

And it is about the the 4th of July and celebrating the birth of this great nation!

And wonderful friends! We lived in IN for 5 years and met some of the most amazing people while there. Families that we loved to spend time with, could call for a favor, would call you in return. Families that we tried to emulate and families that we want to keep as friends forever!

The Robinsons are one of those families. And they came to visit us for the weekend! We were so happy to have them come. After a horrendous trip through Chicago (they might not ever visit again after that drive!) they finally made it to our house Friday evening.

We got them settled in and we all went to bed.

Saturday, dawned and with no real plans we discussed our options. At Andy's suggestion, it was decided that the men would work on fixing the gate.

This has been on Chris' "To Do" list since we moved in. Since being called as bishop, that list has been renamed the "Maybe Someday, Eventually, If There is Ever Time, (Yeah, Right!) To Do List."
This was a huge help and necessitated a trip to the hardware store-always fun for handy men like Chris and Andy-as well as cutting, painting, drilling and some new wheels to help support the weight of the gates.

Michelle and I, with occasional helping hands from the dads, kept watch over the kids. We spent a lot of time outside playing in the pool, on the slip 'n slide and with the water table. It was a hot one!


BFFs! So cute in their swimwear!

Sage had one incident of falling out of the pool on her head. The second time I caught her but cut her on her chin with my nail.




It was dark when it was all done, but it was DONE!! YAY!

Sunday we had more opportunities for darling pictures.

Bathtime!

See they love to play and share together already!
My usual caretaker for Sage was gone this week so I drafted Andy and Michelle. At one point Michelle was carrying Alice and Sage down the hall and some one, for a moment, thought they were twins. Must be the darling gene they both have and being born just a couple of weeks apart.
Monday was the 4th and the Robinsons decided to stay until Tuesday! Hooray!

I think I enjoyed this 4th more than I have in years thanks to the company and participating in the festivities.

In the morning was the parade. My friend Carrie went out early to put out blankets to save a spot. We drove over to their house to park and then walked down. When she put down the blankets they were in the shade, by the time we arrived, it was quite, quite sunny. And hot. Like really hot. We were at the end of the parade route so we had to wait a bit. Snacks helped.
And trying to stay in the shade.
But finally the parade got to us. This was the beginning and maybe my favorite part. I can't imagine walking miles on those stilts!
I loved seeing the kids waving and cheering for the parade participants. It helped that they threw candy!
Gotta include the photo of the mini with the painted toes!

Sage was pretty hot and we worried about her burning so Chris took a back seat to keep her in the shade. What a dad!
We made it home for lunch and naps and then headed over to a bbq at the Ziegler's. It was great. Don't know why I didn't remember my camera...

We capped off the day with a quick trip to see the Greendale Fireworks show. It was the first time the boys have seen fireworks. It was a total hit. Seriously just about the best time I have ever had with a fireworks show. We showed up about 5 minutes before it started, snagged a primo parking spot, unloaded and settled in about twenty feet from the van. They started on time, were pretty good, and then when it was over we raced back to the van, put our stuff in and were away and home just a few minutes later.
"Best fireworks ever!"

And really just about the best weekend ever, or in a long time. Great holiday, great blessings, great food, and great friends.