Our Fun-Filled 4th of July Celebration

The 4th of July has been one of my favorite holidays for years. It never used to be that way, but my husband and his family converted me! Now I love it, and we are passing on all of our favorite 4th of July traditions to our kids!

This year, the 4th of July was almost perfect. We spent the day with family and friends, from start to finish. We kicked it off with the town parade, spent the afternoon and evening at a pool party/picnic with friends, watched fireworks with friends and family, then headed back to a friend's house to continue the fun! 

The only thing missing was Dylan. Having older teenagers is tough, but we eventually learned to compromise. Some holidays and events are non-negotiable, but we do understand that some things are more fun with friends. He just wanted to go to the parade and the fireworks with his best friends. We missed him, but talked to him at the end of the day! But other than that little downer, we had a great day!

School's Out for the Summer - The Last Week of the School Year

School's out for the Summer! Dylan, Lexie, Lily, and Liam had their last day of school on Friday. They are now joining me and baby Coen at home until September 9th. The last week of the school year was a busy one, and although the last day of school was bittersweet, my crew is excited about the Summer ahead!

This past week included a fun event in our little town, a school kindness celebration, middle school graduation and a dance, an 8th Grade class trip to Cedar Point, Liam's annual eye exam, an oil change and car shopping, Lily's last dance class, the last day of school, a baseball game, sleepovers, and fireworks. I wish we had a lazy week ahead of us, but Lexie was asked to represent the school's STEAM program during the school board meeting tonight, Lily has a practice for the dance recital finale tomorrow, the dance recital rehearsal is on Thursday, Liam has an early baseball game on Saturday, and Father's Day and the dance recital is on Sunday. Gone are those lazy Summer days!

We are only four days into Summer Break and I can tell it's going to be a busy one! Kids are entering and leaving our house in a continuous loop for sleepovers/playdates. Did I also mention that Coen is rolling over EVERY time I put him down to sleep, then gets angry and starts screaming? Sleep just isn't happening for either of us! So many moms say that Summer is actually busier than the school year, and that seems to be the case this year.

Here's a glimpse at the last week of 8th Grade, 6th Grade, 2nd Grade, and Kindergarten..

Fourth of July Festivities

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, and this year was a great one! We swam, we picnicked, we paraded, we ate too much food, we swam some more, and we watched fireworks. We had so much fun celebrating America's birthday with our family and friends!

The 4th of July has been a big deal since I met Grant. I quickly grew to love the holiday as much as his family did. Every year since I met Grant, we celebrated the 4th of July with his family. They always hosted a huge picnic, then we walked down to watch the town parade. Grant often drove his dad, who was the mayor, in the parade, and I occasionally joined him. Eventually, Dylan took my place. His dad brought fireworks back to the area, so we would end the night by watching the fireworks in the cemetery on the hill, then head back to his parent's house for a fire.

That tradition just wasn't the same after the death of Grant's father, who absolutely loved the 4th of July, and two years ago was the last year the picnic happened. Last year felt like a huge disappointment, so we knew things had to change. Although change is tough, this year we went to our friend's pool for a picnic/pool party, and we ended up having a fun day!

Mom Life Lately

I always say that May is the busiest month of the year, and it is, but June is shaping up to be just as busy this year! Summer Break isn't exactly going as I envisioned it. The truth is, life in a big family is always busy and loud, and there's NEVER a dull moment!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Happy Thursday, my friends! I took a much needed blogging break while celebrating the 4th of July with my family and friends. Grant was off work, family was in town, and we also had a baptism and a birthday party. Life is always so chaotic, so I really just wanted to spend my time focusing on them!

This year, the 4th of July was so much different than it has been in the past 18 years! Ever since I met my husband when we were teenagers, we have celebrated the 4th of July at his family's home. We always have a big picnic with family and friends, walk down the street to watch the parade, then go back to the picnic until it's time to go see the fireworks display. That didn't happen this year, and the 4th of July just felt off.

I didn't even take that many pictures. Perhaps it was because my camera has been around my neck 24/7 so I could photograph big family events, and I needed a break. Or maybe it was a little bit of that holiday funk this year creeping in. Either way, my usual 500+ holiday photos dwindled to about 100.

We tried to make the day fun - and it was - but it just wasn't the same! (Can you tell I'm not a fan of change?!?)

We did have our own little picnic! I made so much food for 8 people that we ended up eating the same meal again tonight, and we STILL have leftovers. I didn't exactly enjoy spending the first half of my day cooking and preparing all the food, but picnic food on the 4th of July is a must!

After we ate, we drove to the parade and camped out in the shade with a huge group of family and friends! Liam loved the parade this year, and was absolutely mesmerized by all the rescue vehicles with their lights and sirens on! He couldn't get enough.

The parade was extra special this year because my nephew was in town from Florida with his sweet family, and they were there with us. Over the past two weeks, my kids fell in love with their cousin, Peyton, whom they hadn't seen since she was 2 months old, and their newborn cousin, Kalen. They are going back home in the morning, and we are all so sad!

All the kids headed home happy with bags full of candy, 4th of July bling and toys!

I, of course, win the parent of the year award. Grant went ahead with the stroller while I stayed behind with Lexie to talk to my nephew longer. We eventually bid them a sad farewell, and I was trying to console a crying Lexie while trying to keep Liam from jumping out of my arms as we walked away.

I finally gave up and put Liam down, not realizing that his shoes were IN the stroller. It wasn't until he took off at a sprint in front of me that I realized he was barefoot. As I raced to grab him, I heard a man exclaim, "I know Liam!!!" Sure enough, it was his doctor from the Down syndrome clinic, whom we see once a year. And there I was chasing after my son, who was running up the middle of the street completely barefoot. WINNING. (No worries. We all laughed about it!)

After we made it back to our car, we headed home with some friends from the parade following behind us. Back at home, we enjoyed dessert and hanging out with friends, while we passed the time waiting for the fireworks to start. 

The kids played with their friends, the adults talked, and the S'mores dip was a huge a hit!  We are all together each 4th of July, and we agreed that the day felt really strange!

The evening passed by so quickly, and before long, it was time to drive to our favorite spot to watch the fireworks. It sounds strange, but the most popular spot in town to watch the fireworks is at the cemetery. It sits on a hill, so it gives a perfect view of the fireworks display! 

There's a big field behind the cemetery, so the kids always run around while we wait. Playing with their friends before the fireworks is one of their favorite traditions!

We always sit by Grant's dad's grave. He was the mayor of the town for over a decade and he absolutely LOVED the 4th of July. He worked so hard to bring fireworks back into the town, and succeeded. He loved it so much that they even had a fireworks display at his funeral. 4th of July evening is always a bit emotional for us. The kids love to put flags in front of his stone before the fireworks begin, and Lexie always sits in that spot so she can be with her PapPap.

As usual, the fireworks were beautiful! I always debate driving into the city to see a major fireworks display, but it would just feel wrong to watch the fireworks anywhere but there! One of the things that makes me sad about moving away is the thought of missing our 4th of July traditions with our loved ones!

We all returned to our house and we talked for another hour before everybody went home. Dylan went home with friends for a sleepover, and Lily's best friend spent the night at our house. The day went by so quickly! The kids were still very hyper after all the excitement of the day, so Grant and I ended up staying up very late!

Despite the unexpected change in our holiday plans, we still had a fun day! Change is just a tough thing to deal with at times, especially when a tradition that lasted so long comes to an end. We're hoping that our 4th of July tradition picks back up next year, but if not, we're going to start one of our own. Perhaps mixing our favorite traditions with some new traditions is the way to go!

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Celebrating the 4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and it always comes and goes so quickly!

There is so much anticipation for that big Summer celebration and we always have a lot of fun with our family and friends!  Each year, I feel a bit bummed when it's over. It's kind of like returning from vacation and going back to reality. The party may be over, but we sure had fun!

Our 4th of July weekend is always jam-packed. Between a birthday party and two picnics, we keep busy! This year was no exception.

First up was a birthday party for our friend's daughter!  Audrey just turned 17 and I'm having the most difficult time wrapping my mind around it. I remember sitting next to her in the car when she was a baby and I was barely an adult myself. Now she's a gorgeous young lady who can drive and she's getting ready to start her senior year!

Shortly after we arrived, Grant made fun of Liam's new life vest.  I bet him $20 that Liam would fall into the pool and that's why he needed to wear it at all times. The teasing continued, but sure enough, I was right! Liam DID fall into the pool and I was right behind him to calmly fish him out with that convenient handle on the back of the vest. Of course, it took a lot of convincing to get him back into the pool...

We had a good time with our friends, but unfortunately, we could only stay for a few hours. We left the party and went straight to an early 4th of July picnic with more friends!

A lot of food, a lot of kids and a whole lot of fun!

We left the picnic a bit earlier than we usually do because the hosts were going on vacation early Tuesday morning. Almost everyone had left and although we would have loved to spend more time with them, I know how stressful it is to pack for a big family!

On the morning of the 4th, I woke up not feeling so well. I assumed it was allergies and headed back to bed for a few hours while Grant took Dylan and Lexie with him to help set up for the family picnic.

We headed over for the picnic that afternoon and kept our fingers crossed that the rain would hold off! Thankfully the tents were set up just in case.

We managed to fit in a few golf cart rides through the neighborhood while we waited for the guests to arrive.

After we sped around town on the golf cart, Grant and several of his family members left, because they had to line up for the parade. (They were driving people in the parade in their Camaros. Grant's family owns a Chevrolet dealership and his uncle just retired from GM. For any Camaro enthusiasts, he's the Fbodfather. He was a product manager for Camaro then moved on to manage GM auto shows around the country.)

The guests began to arrive and we all walked down to wait for the parade to begin. Of course it began to rain just in time for the parade. And by rain, I mean the sky opened up and it POURED.  I've learned that it's best just to laugh at frustrating situations. Yes it rained. But everyone still had a good time and it really was comical!  Umbrellas were pointless and candy washed down the street!

 

Grant's dad was the mayor until just before he passed away. He loved his town and the 4th of July was his favorite day of the year. Every year, Grant drove his dad in the parade. This year, he was supposed to drive the current mayor in the car. The mayor offered his seat to the county teen pageant winner due to the rain, so Grant drove her and the mayor's wife, while the mayor walked alongside the car.

Dylan rode with them and I teared up as they passed.  For several years, I was in the passenger seat in the parade, and eventually, Dylan was born and ended up on my lap. Grant's dad always joked that Dylan would be a future politician because even as baby, he leaned out the window and waved to everyone he passed. Sure enough, he took his Pap's place in the car!

By the end of the parade, everybody was SOAKED!

Complete outfit changes were required and the dryer ran continuously as we ate our dinner!  Those outfit changes were pointless, because the kids ended up playing for hours in the rain anyway.

The rain ended an hour before the fireworks display was scheduled. More outfit changes (and a bath) occurred before we headed out to watch the 4th of July fireworks!

Liam fell asleep on the 2 minute drive, but woke up just before the fireworks started. It was hard to sleep with his siblings and cousins running around!

All of my kids love fireworks, but Liam was extra enthusiastic this year. He smiled and clapped his way through the entire fireworks display!

It wasn't a picture-perfect 4th of July, but my family had a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day!

How was your 4th of July?

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