Happy 4th of July!!!

We love our 4th of July traditions! We started watching the Hillsboro Parade with the Gateley's back when Ella and Ethan were not even 2 years old....now we have 6 kids between the 2 families 5 years later.                                        Ainsley, Grant, Micah, Ella, Ethan and Aubrey

 

Ainsley wasn't too sure what was going on with the parade and candy stuff. Once she finally realized what the people were throwing at us, she tried as hard as she could to get into that candy!

Ella and Aubrey love the parade candy!!

Funny story behind this picture. A couple of floats had squirt guns on them and they would spray the crowd. Well as you can see by Aubrey's coat, it wasn't a super hot morning. Suddenly I look over to see Micah crouching behind Aubrey and Ethan is running for the hills. Way down the road I notice that another float with squirt guns is heading down the road. The boys won't be caught wet twice!!! The closer the float got, the farther behind Aubrey that Micah crouched =)

 

 

 

 

After the parade, I headed off to work for a few hours. It was a great way to fulfill some holiday hours at work plus you can't do fireworks until dark anyways =) While I was working, Neal and the girls went to BBQ at Uncle Ryan and Auntie Allie's.

Logan wasn't so sure about the fireworks at first...but it didn't take long for her to warm up!!

Quin and Ella. These 2 have such a special bond!

Auntie Allie and Ainsley watching fireworks together.

Ainsley's 1st sparkler. She L.O.V.E.D. it!!

By loved it I mean, trying to grab the burning end repeatedly LOVED it!! Poor Auntie Allie didn't have enough hands to keep the baby safe while from the burning stick she was trying to grab!

Our one mishap for the evening involved Aubrey Grace. Notice her right foot....and its lack of a blue flip flop. One of the fireworks was a little bit louder than anticipated and she jump...right out of her shoe. The shoe literally broke when she jumped!! We are so grateful that this mishap didn't require any medical attention ;-)

Fire on a stick= pure delight for Ella!

Ella LOVES 4th of July. She had been counting down all week to make sure she didn't miss July 4th ;-)

Everyone sparklers in!

Aubrey enjoys watching fireworks, but from a safe distance. I love the progression of faces and distance!!

Blog catch-up has officially begun. Its August 6th and I finally posted about July 4th. Here's to hoping that I can get completely caught up before its time for back to school pictures. Aahhh....how has summer gone so fast?!?!?!