4th of July (oh yeah, I guess that was last month:)

Sitting by the water to watch the air show (and eating cheetoes,

what 4th of July would be complete without them?)

Okay I know I should've put these up a month ago and I have no real excuses for not doing it sooner (other than vacations, distractions and forgetfulness). But here was our Independence Day Celebration.

I actually really love our city when it comes to the 4th. There is so much to do that's free, unique and family friendly. Our city does an air show every year. We sat by the water and watched the air acrobatics. There were some really amazing "stunt" flights.

It was hard to get a good picture but those little specs with the

white trail behind them-those are the planes

Ryan and I were pretty enthralled but Ezra got bored so we went down to play in the water-which was actually pretty fun too. We found small crabs, oysters and Ezra hauled up lots of sea weed :) And lots of boats (we saw them-Ezra didn't haul them up :)

Yes, son that's a boat too.

There was a freedom fair too, with lots of food, booths with fun junk. All of it was overpriced of course. We bought 3 corn dogs and it cost us $18. Whew! (In the corn dog's defense they were delicious).

Making the hike home (still smiling too-at least when the

camera is on)

Even though this event took place a few minutes

drive from our house it took us probably 45 minutes to get home. There was no driving in that crowd. This was no reflection on how fit we physically are. We just had to park the car...millions of miles away up a hill, with a toddler (a very cute toddler but still a toddler none the less).

Ryan, Ezra, Aaron, and Isabella sitting on my quilt

Later that night we got together with our next door neighbor Aaron and Isabella (Ezra's best friend) and walked over to the water to watch the fireworks. It was Ezra's first time staying up to watch see them. Here in Washington it doesn't get dark until 9:30 or 10 and I am a normally a stickler about bed times. But holidays are meant to be exceptions.

We sat on my quilt. I just have to point this out because-I made it. This was a huge feat for me because I don't like to sew. I started the quilt as a YW project when I was a leader in the YW presidency. It took about 2 years after the fact but I did it. (A big part of that time was spent searching for a good mentor. I was just too intimidated to do it on my own). Made from old jeans and this is the only picture I have of it (but don't look too closely or you might find some... imperfections).

We didn't get pictures of the parade or the picnics we went to (or naps we all took after walking/melting in the heat). But you get the idea! It was an incredible fun filled day!