Fourth of July

I could not for the life of me find the Fourth of July decorations this year! I know we were in our new house last summer by then and I swear that I had them up. I had convinced myself that they were somewhere in the house, and not in the attic, because I had already used them. I looked everywhere. Twice. And could not find them. I did eventually find the Fourth of July decorations, but it was after we had already celebrated. Guess where?

The attic.

I'm pretty much positive that I may have this problem next year, too. I have these big plans to put different holiday-themed decor in coordinating boxes in one of the cabinets downstairs that is empty. But until I get those boxes, the decor could be anywhere! Wish me luck...

We had our usual celebrations for Independence Day. This year, the holiday fell in the middle of the week so it didn't seem to linger or anything. We always watch fireworks on the third in our hometown, a tradition that has continued since both Justin and I were kids ourselves, and one that has really evolved as the town grew. There are activities for the kids to do, though we usually just walk around and look at things. We did get some snow cones as it was pretty hot {always is}! By the time we eat and walk the crowds, the sun begins to set and so we head back to our spot to wait for the fireworks.

"Rainbow" Snow Cones

Janie has never been a fan of fireworks. She doesn't like how loud they are, which is ironic because she is by far the loudest thing that lives in our house. We chose an unfortunate spot to sit right next to a loud speaker, but the view was great and Janie just covered her ears the whole time. The fireworks were awesome and well-timed with the music played. The girls were really well behaved and had a fun time with family & friends!

Too loud!

Nora with Pops

The next day, for the actual holiday, we had family over to the house for a grilled meal and swimming. Everyone loved relaxing and celebrating together. It was a great couple of days!

Bomb pops of course!

We hope everyone had a great day celebrating their freedom! I love watching the fireworks and thinking about what it must have been like to hear and see that symbol of victory & independence way back when we didn't get to decide how our country was run and whom we trusted with its leadership. I am grateful for that opportunity & for our great country! Happy Fourth of July!