"I thank God for my life. And for the stars and stripes. May freedom forever fly, let it ring. Salute the ones who died, and the ones that gave their lives so we don't have to sacrifice all the things we love..."
-Zac Brown Band
We had a pretty busy weekend. Since the 4th was on Sunday, we got to kind of celebrate for a few days. We started off our holiday by going down to Grandma & Papa Kitty's to do their sprinkling system in their front yard. Matt did the whole thing in about 2 days. It was a lot of work, but he did an awesome job, and they're about ready for sod.
(their house)
(Coopie helped too)
(Port-Port couldn't get enough of the tractor)
While they were working on the yard, Mom and I took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo...
...they had SO much fun! They loved the slides, the jumping, the climbing, the hiding...I went down a couple of the BIG slides with Coop, and he loved it! He giggled and squealed the whole time. Coop's favorite thing was this little alligator. He just kept wanting to walk across it over and over again. Portie loved it all! And Chloe got so worn out, she started to get mad that there were SO many things to do in there.
We had a great BBQ when we got back...
(our family, Grandma & Papa, & the Denams)
Grandma bought some fireworks for us to shoot off in the street...
(fireworks in our jammies)
The sprinkling system was a lot of work! Matt just wouldn't quit! He worked from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. We came home on Sunday night. Monday morning was when our town had all their 4th festivities (why not do it Saturday? ugh!). We started out with the Freedom Run (a 5K). I ran it with Amberlee (Matt's sister). We've been running together for a couple of weeks, and it's so fun! It's awesome to have a partner to run with, and way fun to run outside instead of on the treadmill! Anyway, our goal was 30 min or less, and it took us 31 minutes. Close...we'll do better next time :)
(there was a great turnout)
(almost done!)
(headed for the finish line)
We had some of the town breakfast, and headed home. Matt went golfin' with his brothers and dad, and the kids and I went over to Auntie Sarah's to SWIM! It was way fun.
Thanks for havin' us, Sae!!
After our swimming, and a bit of shopping :), we headed for our house for a cookout. We had grilled chicken, hot dogs, and some grilled salmon. My dad gave me a great "recipe" for salmon on the grill, and it was gooood!
To close out the holiday, we met up with a bunch of Matt's fam for some fireworks. There were some games, some snacks, and some talkin' while we waited for it to get dark. One little girl got a little impatient right before they were about to start. It's hard to wait, but the fireworks were so great! We get to sit pretty close too, so that makes it even better!
(Cooper-19 months)
(not a great picture, but I thought it was cute how he's looking up at the fireworks)
I can't say enough about my love for this country and for those who defend(ed) our freedom. It means everything to me, and I'm thankful every day for it. The troops were in my thoughts most of the weekend. I thought about them over seas away from their families, not watching fireworks, no BBQs, not enjoying any of the things we were. I tear up if I think about it enough. My gratitude towards them and those who've done the same in the past can't be properly put into words. I'm just thankful.
Oh! And perhaps the most important part of the weekend...
This little doll received a name and a blessing...
(Billy & Baby Mia-5 months old)
