* * * July 4, 2009 * * *

What a day! It started around 5am with Tyler leaving early to go crabbing. The boys were up and at 'em by 6am with me, and we spent a nice, long morning together. ;-) By 8:15am I had caught my very own "crab" and put him down for a nap! Wayne and I spent the next two hours snuggling, reading books, playing trains, and scrapbooking. D-lightful! Weston "waked up" and I decided that since it was a holiday, and since I'd been resting for the last few hours, we could head out to the Nooksack park to play. It was cooler there because it is so nice and shaded! We left here at 10:05. Both boys were so excited when they saw all the fun slides and things to climb on. We were the only ones there, and things were going really well... So well, I thought to myself "I can totally take them to the park by myself being 8 1/2 months pregnant! Piece of cake!" Famous last words... Two minutes later Wayne was in a panic saying, "I go stinky, I go stink!" I dove to grab Weston, and grab my camera, etc. from the bench and race to the bathroom with Wayne. Have you been in that bathroom? It looks like a prison cell. Wayne took one look and said, "That is bachy! I no go stinky!" Well bud, actually you did go stinky, just not in the pot! Argh. Now I've got Wayne with stinky in his undies, Weston, and everything else, and the Jeep is parked 15 feet from the bathroom... Did I mention Wayne's pants and undies were pulled down? Okay, think smart woman.... I told Wayne to stand very still (remember, he's outside of the bathroom on the sidewalk) or he'd get very messy, and I deposited Weston in the car with everything else, and then grabbed the wipes and raced back to Wayne. Great. I only have 2 wipes left. Seriously! The Queen of Preparedness was NOT in fine form! Anyhoo... I picked Wayne up and carried him to the back of the Jeep where we stripped and cleaned his lower half. Thankfully, fear of the "cell" had only allowed just a small stinky to escape, so it wasn't so bad. I buckled Wayne into his carseat, in his birthday suit from the waist down, all while both boys are screaming at the top of their lungs because they DO NOT want to leave the park. *sigh.* We sped off towards home and a much needed "official" clean up for everyone!

Okay... we got home, had lunch, and the boys were in bed at 12pm. Tyler wasn't going to be back from crabbing until 2pm, so I bustled around cleaning up, ate lunch myself, and then Weston was up and Tyler was home. We cleaned and cooked the crab, picked up some more, and got ready for a picnic. Seriously? A picnic now? I was tired already!

Thankfully, I had volunteered to bring chips and dip to the picnic, which was a HUGE blessing. Normally I love to cook and bring lots of great food, but.... I'm taking the "I'm pregnant" easy out this time around!!! We stopped at the grocery store, where Tyler and Weston did the shopping, while Wayne and I went to buy Pop-It's from the little old men (Everson Lion's Club, I believe.) He was sooo excited, and had to have me take his picture with his fireworks next to Dad's red car. Wayne is IN LOVE with Dad's red car. Good luck ever getting him to let you drive it buddy!
We then went to my Aunt Dar's for the picnic/BBQ with my mom's side of the family, including my Grandma's brother and all of his kids. What a group! It was HOT when we got there, and I thought that I would melt! Thankfully Tyler took over kid duty, and chased and chased them. I'm sure he lost 5lbs. just from sweating.
Kenna and Taylor helped chase the boys too. Aren't they just precious? They were in our wedding 8 years ago, when they were 4 and 3. Where did that time go?
Bless her, she kept Weston contained for more than 2 minutes... Must be a record!
A four generation photo... Mom, Nana, Tara and Madelyn.
My attempt at a quick photoshoot with the boys... Wayne wasn't in the mood, I guess you could say.
Awww... those are our boys!
Around 7 or so, we decided we had better bail on the old BBQ... Weston was exhausted and both boys were FILTHY. We packed up and left, bathed them both and got Weston ready for bed, and switched to driving the Jeep again. We then went up to Mom and Dad's, where Weston went straight to bed. Whew!

We spent the night outside, on the "upper level" of the lawn, eating smores, crab, and watching Tyson's warm up fireworks, and then the neighbors massive show. Wayne was soooo good... I love age 3!!! It was relaxing and just nice to hangout for a change. Mom, Dad, Tara, Ryan, and Tyson and Breanne were all there, and it was just great. These are memories that I have of my childhood, and I so want our kids to have them too.

Yes, we let three year old's have sparklers that are as big as they are!

The only picture I have of even part of the family from today... thanks Breanne!
Okay, I debated putting this up, because Breanne might kill me... but I am WAY bigger than she is, so I thought I might get away with it afterall! I've got 17 days to go, and she's a little less than a month from her due date... Funny to think that 1 year from now we'll be planning birthday parties and the two babies will be little friends!
Wayne scarfed down his crab, and then asked for more. He LOVES crab!
More fireworks...
Love this shot... if you leave your shutter on your camera open, it will capture the light moving. This was a 1.3 second shutter opening, which shows you how fast Wayne was moving his sparkler!
Wayne, all curled up on his own chair watching the fireworks. He didn't want to snuggle, he wanted to sit "myself." But he DID want Uncle Ryan's arm to use as a pillow!
The crew on the hill, watching the neighbors fireworks. Great show! Fun times.
By 11, Wayne had been sleeping for awhile, and it was time to pack up and head out. We grabbed Weston and headed home. I am so thankful for holidays like this that are spent enjoying family and just hanging out. I am thankful for all the memories that we made, and the fun that we had. I am thankful that I live in the home of the free because of the Brave!