A fun 4th.

We had a fantastic 4th of July weekend and I wish I had the pics to prove it. The pics I posted in the previous post were actually taken after the kids evening bath July 4th night and instead of jammies I grabbed whatever red/white/blue I could find. I wasn't sure we'd be making any traditional parades or parties this 4th so I didn't stock up on the red/white/blue outfits. The pics were the best I could do to have proof that we were patriotic on the 4th.
The holiday weekend was coupled with Trae (wes's college roommate) and Cyndi's wedding and we headed to Austin on Friday to join in the festivities. The weekend started off with the rehearsal dinner at the Thurmon Mansion at the Salt Lick (YUM!), the guys had lunch downtown at Iron Cactus (YUM!) Saturday for lunch for Trae's last bachelor meal, and then we watched them become husband and wife at the Vista West Ranch in Dripping Springs. After cocktails and a YUMMY dinner, we rocked to LC Rocks - an 80's band - ALL night long. I feel like a little kid sayin this, but "it was so much fun!" We have the photo booth pics to prove it! We stayed until they told us to go home and sent Trae and Cyndi home down an aisle of sparklers. Congrats Trae & Cyndi!
This was a kid free event, but the kids didn't miss out on all the fun. They had fun of their own at Uncle Jason and Bruce's which included lots of pool time, constant entertainment, and plenty of fruit snacks! These guys know how to treat house guests, even if they are only 3 years old. Wes & I got in our pool time too on the morning of the 4th. We all suited up and had some family fun in the pool - water guns, cannon balls and all. Lunch consisted good ol' hot dogs on the grill poolside - now that's Americana. Mid-day we headed back for good ol' Btown and opted to take a chance on seeing fireworks from our backyard opposed to getting back in the car to drive to a guaranteed sky lit display. For the sake of seeing fireworks, we should have loaded up and gone somewhere, but for the sake of enjoying a little family time outside on the picnic table just talking about "stuff" and being silly we made the right choice.
I guess that is one thing we can do on the 4th of July - and year round - make choices. We can choose to raise our kids in the bustling big city or enjoy small town country life. We can cook gourmet mac n' cheese or go for the powdered box brand. We can choose to work full time or be a stay at home mom. Beach or mountail vacation... vanilla or chocolate... flats or heels... cats or dogs.... paper or plastic... it is our decision to make. I thank God I am in a country where the choice is ours - God bless the USA.