Let Freedom Ring!

4th of July is almost as big at our house as Christmas! We have been looking forward to this fun weekend for a long time! We started celebrating on the 3rd by taking our kids to a ballgame and watching fireworks...

On the 4th, I got up early and ran 3 miles, I would have liked to have gone further, but I was excited to get back to our family tradition of 4th of July waffles with red (raspberries), white (bananas and cream), and blue (berries). Our kids favorite way to kick off the day-of-fun!

 We had Braxton, Carissa, Chloe and Parker stay with us this weekend.  Our kids enjoyed having the cousins around, they rarely get to spend much time together! It was great to have them!

After a few hours of swimming, the kids took naps to prep for our huge family BBQ party and late-night fireworks. While they were napping, Brian and I decorated the backyard for our bash. We had balloons hanging from the trees, streamers, flags, stars, and lots of red, white and blue decorations adorning our back patio!

We braided Zoey's hair in a fun patriotic star! We all looked so good in our red, white and blue attire. I wish I had a family picture of us!

  We had tons of people at our house for the BBQ, hosting family and friends and people from out of state coming through. It was so fun. Over 20 kids and 15 adults. It was fun to be had by all. More good food than I could even try and surrounded by the good company of people from near and far...just a perfect way to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy!

 Brian did the grilling...he's the master at entertaining large parties with good food.

 We loved the nostalgic feel of old glass soda bottles kept in a tub of ice. It was a hit for the kids of course.

 All kiddos got a red, white and blue Popsicles for dessert....some got 2 or 3...it's a holiday!

 Grandpa Gray put on a mini firework starter show while we waited to see the big firework display in PG.

 Hanging out and waiting for the show to start was fun in itself. We had glow in the dark sticks, sparklers and cotton candy. It was fun to watch the kids running around without a care in the world and having the time of their lives.

Friends from Texas came to be with us. The firework show was the BEST! Calvin was amazed with them. He laid by my tummy on a blanket and just watched (laughing even once in a while). I enjoyed hearing all the ooh's and ahh's from the other kiddos, pointing out which ones were their favorites! It was such a delightful day. A true party from beginning to end. It couldn't have gone better!

In the words of Jackson...Hooray for the 4th of July!!