4th of July WEEK!!!!

FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!!

I LOVE HOLIDAYS but I REALLY love the Fourth of July.  Partly because it's always been such a fun summer holiday with great memories, but also because it's my birthday!!  I enjoyed decking out the mantle with red, white, and blue goodies, and the hubs surprised me with balloons and a birthday present countdown... 

 

...Harper was cracking us up trying out the exercise resistance bands I received one evening... hehe!

Because I love this holiday so much I tend to over commit to various Fourth of July celebrations... we  may have been exhausted when it was all said and done, but boy did we have fun!

Celebration #1: Lake Day at the Wilkinson family pad!!!

Our kiddos LOVED being at the lake.  Maggie parked herself in the shade with her snacks and toys, loving the breeze and sounds of outside.  Harper spent HOURS exploring the shore, fishing, and snacking with new friends, and Evelyn literally spent 5 hours in the water.  We couldn't get her to do much on the dock- she is 100% a water baby!

 

Celebration #2: neighborhood hangout and fireworks!  I love a good pitch-in dinner and hanging in the driveway- especially when fireworks are involved!  We combined dinners and our loot of fireworks with the neighbors and had so much fun hanging together!!!

 

...but sadly, Evelyn woke up in the middle of the night screaming in ear pain.  We were pretty sure it was swimmer's ear from her HOURS in the lake that past Saturday, but regardless she crawled in bed with me and we were up about every hour trying to help her through the pain until we could see the doctor.

That next day, it was confirmed: double ear infections with a bulging ear drum.  POOR BABY!!  With advil she felt great though and so we decided to continue on with our holiday festivities....

Celebration #3: Central Park Block Party!

We love being alums of this fantastic neighborhood!  We loaded up, brought food to share, and had a blast visiting, slurping snow cones, and watching the kids goof off in the bounce houses...

...until Evelyn came over saying something was on her ear.  Legit her ear drum burst all over the side of her face- GROSS!!!!!!  

Bad news: it was so yucky to clean up.  

Great news: that ear pressure was gone and she felt like a million bucks and slept like a champ that night!!

We took the next day and just rested... hung out and let little miss fully recoup.

 

Celebration #4: Fireworks on the Fourth

Every year we have lived in Arkansas we have celebrated the Fourth of July with the Brundige Family.  We do a pitch in meal, make fun drinks, let the kids play their hearts out, and watch our husbands light stuff on fire- HA!  This year was no different... we had a BLAST visiting, eating too much, and watching the fireworks altogether!  Brett and Shannon are the best hosts and they surprised me for the second year in a row with a birthday cake.  Not only was it a cake, but from my FAVORITE bundt cake store- DELICIOUS and so special.

{Maggie making new friends}

{Evelyn making new friends}

{Maggie LOVES FIREWORKS!!!}

She would shriek and laugh after every firework- so funny!

The look of some EXHAUSTED babies following fireworks!

Thursday, July 5 was ROUGH!  We were all so sleepy from all the fun times and late nights, but a surprise treat like this from a sweet friend can push that sleepiness aside!  These adorable little cakes from a local bakery were DELICIOUS and the perfect encore birthday treat- hehe!

Thank you Jessica... these treats MADE MY DAY!!!!

And to top it all off, I was able to sneak away for a little birthday dinner with a friend... so needed and appreciated- LOVE YOU KASSI!!!  You know you hit the friend jack-pot when you get to go to dinner and THEN she takes you across town for our fav dessert- ha! 

 

All in all, despite the ear infections and slight family exhaustion, I think it's safe to say we enjoyed our holiday week...

Happy Fourth of July 2018!!!