Monday, July 6, 2015

4th of July

We had a fun, wet, miserable, memorable, great 4th.  Yes, all of that rolled up in one day!  First, the kids have been doing lots of Lego building--as always!
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Also, Lee attempted to fix my phone.  I didn't do the right research and didn't buy the right part.  Hence the phone ended up broken so I purchased a new one.  I did not like having a cracked screen! Thanks for trying though Lee!  Now we know how to fix it next time though!
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We went up to the 3rd of July to attend the temple.  Lois, Deb and I did a late night run to Kohl's and I bought my first "Sunday" outfit in a year.  I don't buy clothes for myself that often.  Now that I feel like I can justify more personal clothing purchases I am having a hard time actually buying some! I need to break this long habit.....ha ha.

On the 4th we started the day by enjoying a yummy breakfast with Lois' ward (church congregation).  I know several of her friends, which makes it fun for me to go to things like that with Lois. And some of her friends have become my friends.
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There were some fun crafts too for the kids.
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After lunch at Lois' we headed to downtown DC.  We first headed to Arlington National Cemetery.  Since we were there I wanted to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. It was humid, but the walk was nice.  My younger kids at the time disagreed. We enjoyed having Makenzie hang out with us.
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The un-happy campers.
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We made it!
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Pretty soon it started raining. Lee and I never carry an umbrella, but I sure wished I would have had one this day!
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We had a long walk back to the parking lot.  We were soaked.
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It took us awhile to find out where everyone else was, and we were still wet.  Not fun. Thankfully the rain let up and eventually stopped for the evening.  We had dinner together, visited, played, then enjoyed the fireworks...what we could see of them.
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Our spot for viewing the fireworks was fantastic!
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But because of the cloudy weather and heat (my own prognosis) the fireworks looked like this:
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And this:
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Not super spectacular for a National Mall fireworks show.  The fireworks that were shot higher up looked great.  The finale was one big smoke show.  At the end of the day it was great being with so many cousins and my parents.  Deb and Darrell were with Lois and I too.  Very fun!  I love it when lots of us get together.  Oh, little story.  Last year we celebrated the 4th at my brother Sam's in Iowa.  He had a few coolers full of cans of soda and let everyone help themselves.  We don't buy soda very often so it was a fun treat, especially for the kids.  This 4th I did the same.  I had one cooler full of soda.  The big problem though is we were pretty far away from a bathroom and the kids had to go to the bathroom ALL NIGHT LONG!  Note to self....don't do that again.

The kids had fun with glowsticks too that night.
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We arrived home late Saturday night, safe and sound.  Thanks Lois for the hospitality and the great 4th location!  Hopefully the firework show and weather cooperate together next year.

That Sunday I made homemade ice cream.  On the 4th Aldi had blueberries and strawberries for $1 per container. We bought a bunch. This strawberry ice cream was sooo good!!!
July 5 2015

Last random photo, I have a new wallet!  The brown one worked just fine, but I bought a new purse and thought a wallet change was in order.  I really like it!! 
July 6 2015

Did all of you have a great 4th too?  We are so thankful for our God given freedom and independence!

1 comment:

Deb B said...

I can't wait to go shopping with you again!!! I love your new wallet, and the kids all had a blast on the 4th. Thanks, and thanks and thanks for the yummy meal!!!!!