4th of July

I love 4th of July....growing up it was always a huge holiday for our family. It would always start off with the IF Parade (during high school I was always in it...and it was ALWAYS HOT!) Then it was off to a picnic with all my family, then down to the river to get the best fireworks spot and we would sit and talk and eat good food and people watch...then finally, the BEST fireworks EVER. Seriously, the Idaho Falls fireworks are the best I have ever seen! Since Drew and I have been married and had the kiddos...we have been lucky to make it back to IF quite a few times to enjoy the festivities, visit with family and enjoy the 4th of July celebrations. This year we didn't make it over...but decided to kinda do a last minute trip down to UT to visit with my parents. We still had a great 4th....good food, lots of fun and of course, fireworks!! We started the day by going to breakfast...yum! Then we headed over to play a round of miniature golf...it was not too hot, and ended up being super fun!!

Kaden thought he was pretty cool...holding the ball and club, hanging out with dad...until I put him on lockdown in the stroller!! HA!! :)
My cute Boo girl...love this girl!

LOVE this picture...the four people that mean the most to me in this world! One AMAZING husband and the 3 best kiddos around!

WOW! An actual decent family picture!! :)

While we were waiting to mini-golf, Kylee wanted to go hit in the batting cages, so Drew got her ready and in she went...she LOVED it! She did great at it too...even hit some without dad's help!! She loved it so much she did it again after we were finished golfing.

Kaden was not so happy with me when I locked him up in his stroller...but holding that dang Dora sippy cup seemed to help. I am SO over Dora! UGH!

My turn golfing....I was AMAZING. Ok...not really....I was HORRIBLE! I was totally off! Drew's turn....love the concentration, AND the Toy Story sippy cup in his cargo shorts! HA!Go Kylee!!!

Brooklyn's turn...I think she even beat me...yeah, that is how awesome I was that day!

Dad's turn in the batting cages!

Kylee's 2nd turn in the cages...I think we have a future baseball player! :) After golfing, we came home and barbecued and then got ready to do some fireworks out in the street. My brother's girlfriend was able to get us some awesome fireworks from WY and it was so fun! It was no IF fireworks...but fun nonetheless, and we didn't have to fight all the people!! :) My mom's neighbors have 3 kids that my girls play with all the time when we come visit. They all have so much fun together! We attempted some pictures...at first with all the kiddos, then just mine....talk about crazy!

Crazy boy Kaden is at such a BUSY age...holy smokes he is nuts! He is ALL boy and into everything. He does not sit in one spot for very long, so I was actually pretty happy with the few pictures we got.

Isn't he just a wild boy?!?

My girls on the other hand are PRO picture takers. ;) My little brother brought his long board over and Kylee wanted to ride on it with him...they went pretty far, it looked pretty fun! Then she wanted to try it herself...go figure! She did GREAT! My mom will hate me for posting this, but it was too funny not too! She thought she was being pretty smart doing it on the grass!!! Uncle Steve and Kylee were making sure all the fireworks were set up and ready! This little girl was a little pyro....Brooklyn was LOVIN' the sparklers and kept going back for more...always had to have 2...and then kept asking for more and more and when are we doing the big ones?!? All the other kids were playing on the grass...and my little pyro girl was sitting on the curb, watching some of the fireworks!

I thought this picture was kinda cool...the kids all lined up (on their own!) tallest to shortest, and it worked out pretty good with their cute 4th of July outfits!!

All the kiddos (except for Kaden...I was a mean mom and put him to bed!) watching the fireworks.Kylee and her sparklers!

I am so grateful for this country that we live in, for the freedom we have, and for all of those who fight for us to have that freedom. Happy 4th of July!!!