4th of July

Our 4th of July celebration was a bit different this year than it has been in the past.  Neither Riley nor I were looking forward to it because it was the first year since Oliver was born that we wouldn't be going to Wamego to be in the parade, grill at CTI afterwards, and watch the fireworks.  That is what we have done the past two years and we've really enjoyed having our families together and also the ease of the day.

Also, with Independence Day falling on a Tuesday, it kinda put a damper on the whole production and deciding our plans.  We originally weren't going to do anything, but decided that we would both take Monday off and have a long weekend in Horton.  There were lots of projects behind our motivation in going.  My mom and I needed to complete lots of baby projects including finish the mobile, make curtains, and make a crib skirt.  My dad was putting tin on the shed and needing extra hands (not mine!).  Jim and Riley had the cubby project to get done for our laundry room area-- more on that later.  Cubbies are done and installed, but Riley still has a few more little things to do to the laundry room before I can take "after" photos.

Anyway... we left Saturday morning for Topeka as Haley and Dalton had just moved the day prior.  We delivered a lawn mower and saw their new place.

Saturday evening we headed out to the lake to join my parents along with a bunch of their friends.  We ate lots of yummy food and Ollie even got to enjoy the lake with his first jet ski ride.

I was a bit nervous how the life jacket thing would go, since the only other time he had one on (in Branson) he had a total meltdown.  However, this time he was completely fine with it!

He looks like such a big kid in this picture!

Grandma and Grandpa even joined in the fun at the lake for a bit as they were cruising around.

Like I said, the rest of the weekend was spent working on lots of projects.  Ollie did some snaps in the garage, but other than that our firework display was pretty limited.  I don't think any of us saw any real fireworks in the sky (much too late for a little boy and a pregnant momma).

Somebody got lots of rides in the Gator...

...and even had fun swimming with Grandma while Daddy, Grandpa, and Papa worked on putting tin on the shed.

Although it was a bit of an unconventional 4th of July with no firework displays being seen by us, it was still a great weekend with family and lots of productivity on lots of projects.