Since their Grandad is 100% British, the phrase “the redcoats are coming!” means their beloved Grandad and Grammie are coming to visit. But even with that English blood in his veins, Ethan apparently has some mad American pride already 😉 And boy does my hubs love to give his dad a hard time when 4th of July rolls around every year! Grandad’s reply is typically something like what we got back from him yesterday: “It was just a rebellious colony that didn’t appreciate good tea. No big deal.” 
We started off the festivities on July 3rd with watching the annual fireworks display at the outdoor mall around the corner from our house. (My hubs proposed on July 3rd. 9 years ago that ended in a round of fireworks over his Nannie’s lake after I agreed to wear that beautiful ring, xo) We’ve always taken the stroller and watched from the street, but this year we didn’t feel like going that far. It had been a long day and Avery was partying it up with her witching hour. We went on the roof and ended up scaring the CRAP out of our kids. There’s a flat landing on the roof right outside an upstairs window. My hubs had set up blankets and pillows for the kids to lay on while watching the fireworks. Our kids are typically easy going when woken up at night. Well, nope. Not this night they weren’t. After shaking them to wake up, I carried them to the window where I handed them off to my hubs who was outside on the roof. 2 minutes later, all 3 kids broke out into hysterical tears full of screaming, including this gem: “THE SQUIRREL IS GOING TO EAT US!” We’ve never seen them so incredibly downright terrified. And I was laughing so hard the entire time. Witnessing our typically fearless kids being 100% scared for no good reason while ruining my hubs great adventure idea… all I could do was laugh! I’m hoping they’ll always be this terrified to sneak out of the house through the window 😉 So, we let them pass out in their beds again while we caught the finale.
We started July 4th off at my parents house. They live just under 30 minutes away. My older sister and brother all met up with their families and it turned out to be a super fun pool party with everyone. We have 9 cousins ages 5 and under and so it’s always pretty wild in the best way. It has been such a blessing living close together. I couldn’t have imagined raising our kids any other way. After 4 hours in the sun with family, we popped over to one of my best friend’s house for their annual 4th of July swim party! There’s a group of 8 of us moms who met over 5 years ago when we were all brand new moms. We’ve been through it all together. New pregnancies, births, miscarriages, sadly moving away, cancer, divorce, etc.. I really lucked out to find this close, down-to-earth group of friends!
We’re thanking Heavenly Father for all the good people who have served and sacrificed for this country we love. Living free and brave is such a blessed way to live!
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