Fourth of July 2012

Happy Fourth of July 2012!!!  We had a wonderful family day on this great American holiday.  Nate didn't have to work, so we spent the whole day just playing together!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa in Utah, the kids were decked out in their American holiday outfits!  The boys were very proud to wear their "flag shirts" and made sure they were clean and saved for this holiday!  

The day before, we came across a bike trailer through craigslist that was practically brand new!  We got it and decided to take it for a family bike ride on July 4th in the morning.  This was during the Fort Wayne heat wave, so it was about 95 degrees by the time we got out on the trails.  So needless to say, our ride was short, but well enjoyed!!  Kaylee loved her new "ride" and happily ate snacks and looked around as Nate pulled her behind his bike.  Its a double trailer so the new baby will be able to ride too.  And now we can take the kids on bike rides, which we never have really been able to do all together before!  

We took the bike trails around the college campus of IPFW which was beautiful.  The trails wound around one of the three Fort Wayne rivers and had dirt trails that led to the river's edge.  We took one of the dirt trails to park at the river's edge and eat our snack and take a break before heading back the way we had come.  It was beautiful!  The kids just loved it and I can't wait to do it again!

That evening, we went to a friend's home for a fun BBQ and gathering.  The kids played with all the other kids in the sprinklers and kiddie pool, sandbox, and playset.  The adults got to spend some time hanging out and catching up.  After our party, we headed over to the LDS church parking lot which happened to be the very best seats in all the city to watch the city fireworks!!  The fireworks were let off at the college IPFW and the church sits right behind the college.  There were cars and people everywhere around that area of town; it was such a crowded mess.  BUT, not in the church parking lot!! People didn't think to go in there, or maybe they thought it was off limits or private property.  But we took advantage of that!  There were a handful of cars and people in the parking lot and I do believe we had the very best seats!!  We will remember that for next year!  Kaylee was so intrigued with the fireworks, and so very tired from the days' events, and from it being 10:00 at night, that she was almost hypnotized by the lights and sounds and started to doze off right in the face of the fireworks!! It was sweet!  We all had a good time and made some fun traditions for future Fourth of July Holidays!!