Teeth business

Ethan had his first visit to the dentist this weekend and did really well.

Fourth of July

We started the morning of the Fourth off with a parade - same one as last year. The boys got a bucket of celebration, plus a baggie of snacks and we were off.

At the start of the parade, I was thinking we might make it through the whole thing this time. I'm not sure what Aden's deal is about parades, but he's good for about half and then he's done. Once again, it saves us having to deal with traffic. But I enjoy parades, so I leave just a little begrudgingly.

How cute are his little curls? Swoon....

After a quick rest and quiet time with movies...

We drove to the nearby fireworks stand and grabbed some sparklers. I always loved going to firework stands as a child, Adam has great memories of them too and I hope we can pass some of the memories to the boys.

We grabbed a refreshing swim and cookout with Gigi, Papa, Lola and Lindsey...

And then we went home to get our red, white and blue snacks and burn some sparklers!

Ethan was not too sure about holding fire (thank goodness), but with a little assistance, he actually found them to be very fun.

Aden turned into a fire dancing warrior. He had a great time with the sparklers until one dropped the tiniest of a spark on his foot - then he was done.

(This photo below was taken only seconds before the spark-on-foot incident)

Since we have about a gazillion left (thanks to the buy one, get 17 free policy at the stand), we have plenty left for this weekend to try again.

Fireworks

So that we wouldn't be out late on a work night, we went to the fireworks show on July 3rd. We went to the same place we went three years ago, and just like that last time, we shuttled to the event. Ethan loved the bus. Aden was "so over the bus" since he "rides one all the time."

The night was really nice, not too hot and a slight breeze. We found a great place near the band and had ice cream (first things first.) Then enjoyed bounce houses, frisbees, cotton candy and a spectacular fireworks event. God bless America!

Lola and Ethan getting ready for some fireworks

(I can't figure out where Ethan gets his looks)

Also... how beautiful is this child?

Aden has a tooth that is just hanging on by... honestly I don't know how it's hanging on anymore. But he refuses to allow anyone near it. See the gap? And the silliness? I love that kid!

Ethan was living it up on ice cream and cotton candy. Sugar crash in three hours.

Brave

We haven't been to the movies as a family of four for some time. There are finally some movies out that are good enough to see. We met up with Lola this past weekend, and saw the new Disney movie "Brave." A good time was had by all!

Aden turns six!

I feel a little bad about the fact that we had partied so much over the weekend, that by the time Tuesday rolled around, there wasn't much left to do. I did sneak in the night before Aden's birthday and take a "last time he's ever going to be sweet little five" picture. He wasn't happy about the flash.

Aden woke up Tuesday morning feeling pretty grown up. Is that a mustache? No? Oh.

Since his class was planning a field trip to a splash park that day (lucky boy), I didn't mess with a cake or cookies, and decided to take donuts instead. I left early and ran to the local donut shop and got 5 dozen assorted donuts plus several donut holes and ran them to Aden's class. It was so fun! All the kids thought this was the best party ever, and Aden felt special.

When we got home, guess who struck again? Grandma left a pile of birthday love in the mailbox for Aden and he thought this was the best mail day we've ever had.

Happy birthday my babies!

On Sunday, June 24th, the boys and I went to church, shopped, rested and prepared for a birthday party. All the family came over to celebrate with cake and presents. Ethan had requested a Batman birthday, and Aden wanted a Mario Bros birthday. I went outside my usual MO and baked the cakes myself. With a little Batman decorating help from Grandma, they actually turned out pretty well! And the boys were so happy, it was all completely worth it.

Some food preparation toys for my little budding chef...

And at the end of the night, I stepped into the bathroom to check on them and found them like this - with every one of their Star Wars characters lined up. They were having so much fun.

The weekend was amazing, full of family and fun. And the boys felt loved and cherished. And at the end of it, they were worn out.