The Fabulous Fourth

I love the 4th of July. The kids have so much fun every year, how could I not? This year was hard for me though. We have many very good friends and we were invited to several BBQs. It's awesome, except when you realize you can't possibly go to all of them and you'll have to make some tough decisions. So, I decided that we'd take me out of the picture and let the husband and kids decide where to go. Denver's new job requires him to be up at 4:00 in the morning, so he wanted to go to the earliest BBQ possible that the kids would still enjoy. And so we did. But well before that, we had some pancakes that Chase made. Red, white and blue of course!

While it was still pretty early, I thought I'd get the pictures out of the way so I didn't have to worry about the kids messing up their outfits. I'm glad I did, because I think it would have been pretty awful if I'd tried to make them stop playing just for some pictures.

Mia was hiding at first.

Of course, then she was dominating.

Say cheese.

She LOVES Karli.

Once Mia got to hold Karli, I could no longer get her to look at me.

He's a stud. A teenage stud.

Another stud. Only this one is 4.

I'd asked him to do a dance for me.

She was done looking at me before we even got to her solo shoot.

Mischevious.

Karli was enthralled with the grass.

Still loving the grass. I gave up trying to get her to look at me while sitting in the grass.

But even up high she was still looking down. Who knew grass was that cool?

This is my favorite one of her.

So when she finally looks up-goofy girl is what you get.

I got below her for this shot.

"Okay Mom, I'll give you one picture."

 After the photos, we went to get a few little fireworks for the kids to do at home that night. I let each of the kids pick out one firework. Corbin was ecstatic about the pack of helicopters he found. After the fireworks stand we returned home and I put the toddlers down for naps and then ran to The Z's to check on Emilio's neck. Everything looked great and after a nice visit we headed back home to get the cookie salad made for the BBQ. Mia was a big help.

 We were trying to hurry to get to the BBQ but we're also planning on camping this weekend so we had a few stops to make on the way. It didn't help that we've never been to The Warren's new house before and got lost, but we did get there. And we had an amazing time. The kids were in heaven and the food was delicious. We were planning on leaving after we ate, but Chase begged and the kids were having so much fun that I didn't have the heart to tear them away so Denver hitched a ride home so he could study and get some sleep before work. I was glad we were able to stay longer, but I did miss Daddy Rabbit. I hate watching fireworks without him. I got over it though, because I had to and because the kids kept me so busy I didn't have time to miss him too much. Karli wasn't sure about the fireworks because of the noise, so I had to hold her the entire time and talk to her after the loud ones otherwise she'd start screaming. Mia started out sitting with Bonnie, but after she fell, she only wanted me. Corbin loved every minute and didn't take his eyes off the sky once they started. He kept telling me how beautiful they were and that the blue and red ones were his favorites. I don't think Chase could have had a better time because he got to light quite a few of them. It was a great show. By the end, however, Mia was begging me to make them stop because they were too loud and she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Karli was asleep in my arms. I'd wanted to take some time and try out the new camera, but with all the children in my lap, it'll have to wait until next year...

Mia getting ready for the fireworks in her stylin' new coat.

Corbin was pointing out the fireworks.

I was trying so hard to get a picture of her startled face. She was jumping every few seconds.

Mia showing off the fireworks.

Sparklers.

I had Chase take this picture and then put the camera away for me since there was no more room in my lap.

Once the show was over we packed up the kids into the truck and they were all asleep before we even reached the main road. Well, except Chase. It was fun. Happy 4th of July!

Hair

I love Mia's hair. I hate it also, but mainly because she doesn't exactly like having it combed. With the new camera, I feel like I'm never going to get enough pictures of it. Or her, because she is so full of life. Every time I turn around she's making me laugh while driving me crazy!



I'm hoping that Karli's hair will continue to do what Mia's has done and that Karli will actually like getting her hair done. The second part is doubtful, but the first is looking promising.

This is Karli's favorite position, tucked up in Daddy's arm-I call it the football hold.

Toenails

Mia loves getting her toenails painted, and I love to do it. I like to paint so much, I asked Denver if I could paint his toenails. My answer was a crusty look and an emphatic "No". However, a sweet two-year-old overheard my question and asked one herself, "Daddy, can I paint your toenails?"  Like he'd ever say no to that!

I had my revenge however. Later, we were all gathered on our bed watching a movie. Denver had his arm around me and the fingernail polish was nearby. Maybe you aren't aware of this, but Denver becomes engrossed in ANY show that is on. Seriously, if I want his attention when Dora or some other inane children's program is on I have to call his name several times in order to get his attention. And that's for kids shows that he's not really interested in. For something that's actually entertaining I have to stand right in front of him and block his view. So, when I painted a stripe of bright pink nail polish on his thumb nail I wasn't overly concerned about getting caught. And I laughed hysterically when he came home from a meeting the next day and asked if I knew how it got there because he just had to explain to the Bishop that he wasn't the one that painted it! Good times.

Karli's Space Ship

I have an amazing boss. Since he's done having babies he offered me his MamaRoo. What's a MamaRoo? Well, when I tried to explain it to Gama it was a train wreck and I gave up. Rather than attempting another verbal explanation, we created this...

I'll bet now you understand why we call it Karli's Space Ship.

Fashionista Extraordinaire

She makes me laugh. She makes me cry. She makes me want to rip off my own head because I can't handle her for another second. She has completely stolen my heart and has me and the entire family wrapped around her devious little finger. She is my firecracker and my sweetheart. And recently, she's decided that she should be the one to pick out her own clothes. And that she should be able to change them whenever she wants. Headstrong? Absolutely!

 Sometimes she dresses for a special dance with her brother...

 and sometimes she doesn't get dressed at all.

 Sometimes she's going for that intellectual look.

 Or dressing for a photo shoot as a brand-new big sister.

 And sometimes, I have no idea why she's dressing the way she is, but this is one of her favorite looks. I had to hide the red shrug so that she wouldn't insist on wearing it to church.

 Sometimes she wears whatever it is we had for dinner. In this case, we had strawberry shortcake kabobs and she's wearing the whipped cream.

Sometimes she puts together an outfit that matches. Like this one. It's just that the capris she's wearing-they're actually Karli's size 3-6 month pants!

Always, though, she's adorable.

I love you Mia, and I wouldn't change a single thing about you. Okay, so maybe I wouldn't have you bite. Last time you bit Corbin you drew blood. But other than that...you are perfect. Thanks for coming to my family.

Balloons

This is what we did with the balloons the day after the party. Kept the kids busy all morning.