Our Independence Day

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. I always get sooo excited and just try so hard to make it such a special and memorable day. I figure it's the least I can do for our forefathers and all they did for us. It's my way of honoring them, our past and present soldiers, and God. This 4th of July was an interesting one for myself. I got up bright and early and turned on patriotic music. I made a good breakfast and the kids and I sat down and ate breakfast and talked about what the 4th of July was really about. Well, we didn't get too far into the conversation before one of the children (I'm not mentioning names) got mad at me because I wouldn't give her chocolate milk and she threw her cup of regular milk at me. I tried to keep patient and not let it get to me but it all went down hill from there. The kids were arguing and wouldn't do their chores whatsoever. We were trying to get everything done so we could go to the Plumas Lake Children's parade. The continuing of fighting and temper tantrums all before 8am just made me snap! I was in a bad mood from that point on, along with the rest of the kids. When Jason got up... we decided to let him take the kids so I could get the house cleaned up. It felt wonderful just being able to get things done without interruptions. When everyone got home from the parade... the house was clean and things were better and the kids were happier. But as the afternoon went on... the kids were getting bored and starting to have a tough time again. By 7:30pm... all the kids but Maci were having a melt down. They usually go to bed at 7:30 and we were so tempted to just put them to bed. But I didn't want to end such a special day on a bad note. So we decided to go over to the Morrison's and hang out with them. And the kids loved it and were so happy. We ended our Nation's Birthday with smiling faces instead of crying and whining. Here are some pics from our day. Ahhh... the many faces of our 4th of July! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th!





Thank goodness the day got better and here was the highlight of the day. The Morrison's (Hope's family) invited us over for dessert and fireworks. There's nothing like having good friends around. Here is Ginnie and Elijah trying to keep warm. I couldn't believe how chilly it was on a July evening!

Maci & Markayla... so cute!
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You gotta love sparklers!

Sadee and her best friend Jossie. It's so cute seeing these 2 together.