Independence Day Weekend

We had such a relaxing weekend! On Friday, we got to have a fun bbq picnic with my brother Ian and his wife Serena and their cute family. The kids had a blast running around and getting super dirty! I have to admit that I like seeing them all dirty and grungy, because usually it is a sign that they are blissfully happy! (Just don't touch me or my furniture!)

Since we had already done the BBQ thing, on Saturday, we didn't have any plans. Well, we thought about going to see the hot air balloons launch- we even set our alarm for 5:30 am, since we had to be there by 6:00, but when the alarm went off, we decided not to go. Luckily, we hadn't told the kids, so they had no clue what they were missing. But we really wanted to have a nice holiday, so we decided that each person would get to pick an activity they wanted to do. The only qualification was that it had to involve the family and it had to be free. And of course, we could only go and do the activities AFTER we had tidied up the house. (Such a great motivation for my young workers)

We started off with my request- oh how I have changed! I wanted the drain snaked, since my long hair has clogged it- and so Brad snaked the drain, while his helpers looked on and went and grabbed various tools and such for him. He even cleaned the bath mat for me! It's amazing how that act of service just made me so utterly happy! (How priorities change!)

Then we drove down to the river trail as Brad wanted to get a family picture in a beautiful spot. Of course, there was not one picture where all of us look good, but we figured three out of four is not too bad!
(Amalie was holding her baby doll on her shoulders and looks a little funky!) Then Amalie wanted to go the park for her activity, so we packed up a picnic lunch, and parked ourself under a big shady tree and ate lunch. The kids LOVE picnics and they LOVE the park- so it was wonderful for everyone. It made my heart so happy to see Noah pushing Amalie on the swing! So sweet!
Then we headed off to do Noah's activity of choice- which was to go to Toys R Us and play with the toys. This is always a fun activity for us- because the kids KNOW we are not going to buy anything for them, so they rarely ask. They know my standard answer: "No, I will not buy it for you. But if you save your money, you can buy it!" So, we had a good time with them, running around and looking at everything. Here's a pic of my (almost) 30 week belly! I'm getting BIG! Much bigger with this little boy than I got with the other two! I wonder if that means he is bigger, or is it just my belly knowing what to do?

The kids had so much fun sitting on the Power Wheels cars!

Noah had brought two quarters so that he could waste his money on the candy machines. We warned him of course, but ultimately it was up to him. I thought he would learn his lesson, and feel bad about the wasted money, but he is still happy with his purchase. Oh well.

It was a nice day and there was only one melt down! (But it was past Amalie's nap time) We will definitely be doing this again- it was wonderful for each of us to get to choose an activity. We were all happy and satisfied that way!

The rest of the day was pretty kick back and we hadn't even planned on watching fireworks, since they don't start them til dark, and it's not dark til nine thirty or ten. But Noah was reminded by others of fireworks and desperate to watch- luckily our neighbors had bought some and put on an early show, so we could get our kids to bed at a decent hour.

On Sunday, as we sang patriotic hymns at church, my eyes watered. I truly am grateful for our country, despite the direction it seems to be heading in. I realize that even in the state our country is in now, we are still much better off than many other nations. So I will be grateful . . . and think about what I can do to preserve this nation. (Otherwise it's just too scary to think about what could happen!)