HAPPY 4th of JULY!

It's Sunday morning of 4th of July weekend and it's shaping up to be the first hot day of the weekend. Friday (July 4) was rainy and cold. Yesterday it was beautiful outside, but not hot. Today looks like a perfect pool day. We had a great weekend. On Thursday Betty took her oath of citizenship. I didn't make it to the ceremony, but Barclay did. She got to give the speech in front of all of the new citizens and dignitaries and did a fabulous job. She was also interviewed on Channel 6 and Lily got to see grandmother on television. It was big stuff. Congrats Betty! Thursday night we went over to our friend Chad's house and hung out at their cookout for a while. Friday morning we headed off to the Haute. You're going to LOVE all the fabulous pictures I got of the kids. Matt, Joe and Dad were missed greatly, but we made due! Taryn, Gabe, Melissa and Mike came and spent the day at Po Po's house with all of us during the day on Friday. The kids all napped at different times, but still got to spend a lot of time together. They all loved Gabe! We even managed to get a few good group shots...even if asking them to all smile and pose is a little beyond them at these ages :) On Friday night we went to a new restaurant called Toykio. It's a really cool new hibachi grill and sushi restaurant. Without the boys there we were all free to enjoy sushi to our hearts content. I have a feeling we won't be eating any sushi in N.C. Saturday morning we took Lily to Deming park so she could ride the train. That was a real treat. She loved it. We told her she can't go again without Mike, Gabe and Addy. We also ran over to the playground, which they have completely redone. We need to take the kids there again and spend the day...maybe rent a shelter and have a picnic. Then we took the girls to see Abbie at Fowler Park and swim a bit in the lake. They really enjoyed playing in the sand and watching Aunt Abbie life guard. After kid naps we had a 5th of July cookout with Taryn, Gabe, Melissa, Mike, the Sturgeons and Grandma. It turned out really nice. We just grilled burgers on the backporch and let the kids run around the yard. It wasn't too hot so it was nice to sit outside and talk. After that we kissed everyone goodbye and headed back to Indy. It made it easier to know there are just a few weeks before we see everyone again (everyone including the boys)! Love you all - hope you had a great fourth. I really took a LOT of pictures :)