One more "thank you" and The 4th

I realized right after I made the last post, that I forgot one of the other special parts of our time at the lake.
My sister Chandra made the drive with her kids down from Rexburg for an afternoon at the lake. Unfortunately I have no pictures to document our time together, but it was a special time to be able to spend with her and my nieces and nephews. We are so far apart and the occasions to see each other are never often enough, so it made me so happy that she would drive 6 hours just to be able to see each other for 3. Chandra and I are cut from the same mold and sitting next her on the beach made me feel content.

I know it sounds trite but those nieces and nephews of mine are getting so big and growing so fast. I remember clearly, visiting Chandra and her first born, Brayden now 15, in the hospital the day he was born. Oh how I love you guys!

Thanks for making the trek! I love ya! That's about all I can say-I just love ya!

And now, it's nearly August and I am posting our Fourth of July pictures.

It was just kind of funny how the day turned out. All day Dan and I debated whether to take Ava to the fireworks. They wouldn't even start until 10:30pm and we know what happens when Ava gets tired, but we also knew that Ava would just love the fireworks.

Jared and Ashley were already planning on bringing Olivia and Lucy and so by that evening we decided to join them while Luke slept at home under the watch of Grandma Linda.

We were lucky enough to find a spot to spread out the blanket and we sat down and enjoyed the live music.

Here is Olivia rockin' out,


And Lucy was chillin' too,



Aunt Ashley knows how to start a party and returned from the nearby Target with berries and Goldfish crackers,



necklaces, and glow sticks!



And after a bit the fireworks started!

Here's the other Colton Family, taking them in,




Notice Olivia is not looking too thrilled. This picture was mere minutes before they started getting really loud and poor Olivia got scared to tears and Jared rushed her back to the car.


Lucy on the other hand ,


was snuggled with her Mama and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She talked about the "purple pops" for the remainder of our time there in Utah, and probably still does.

And the ever-unpredictable Ava surprised us again.



Dan and I would say "ooohh!" and "aaahh!" and "Look at that, Ava!" as the fireworks went off above our heads. And her only response each time was, "Can we go home now?"

The time up until the fireworks was fun for all the girls. And while the fireworks, themselves, may not be classified as "successful" for our group, I think Lucy enjoyed the "pops" enough for everyone!