4th of July fun!

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year! We started our celebrations on the 3rd by dressing in our patriotic best! Mainly because I knew we wouldn't be wearing much more than swim suits on the 4th! 

An impromptu photo shoot was in order! 

I couldn't believe that they were so cooperative and posed so well! 

That night, we went out to celebrate Graddy's birthday since he would be in Alaska on his actual birthday. We enjoyed dinner at Railhead, and as a plus there was a balloon artist there! 

Brenna chose an Elsa crown....

That her Daddy tried on....

(Back off ladies...he's mine!) 

Macie chose a purple puppy...

And as soon as the balloon guy heard that it was Graddy's birthday, he went to work on a special hat just for him....

Hahaha!!!! A beer mug complete with foamy bubbles! 

It was a fun night!! Especially for these three.... 

They sure do love their Graddy!!! 

On the 4th, the girls and I got up and started on our red, white, and blue cake baking tradition! This year we went with cupcakes. 

Then the rest of the day was spent enjoying friends at the Riley's. 

These two had been separated for WAY too long. The Baldwin's had been on vacation for almost 4 weeks, and Macie Claire was having BFF withdrawals from Maylee! They had a great day together, and we're pretty much inseparable. 

Sometimes, when you've missed your BFF so much, you just need to share the same chair to eat a cupcake. 

Brenna had a great day too! She was in heaven playing with Landry and Jaylee. 

Madison, Jaylee, Brenna and Landry

Macie and Maylee eventually decided that they needed to go for a drive. 

The conversations we overheard while they "drove" we're hilarious! At one point, Macie said "Hey Maylee, let's go pick up some friends!" Oh boy. I caught a glimpse of the future...and I got scared! 

When the sun went down, we all migrated over to the pond for fireworks. Schaef and Carter put on a great show for all of us! 

Best seat in the house! 

Of course, these two were connected at the hip! You can see the total exhaustion on their faces! 

It was a great time with great friends!! Doesn't get much better than that! 

On the 5th, we got together at Pops and Memaw's to do some fireworks because...TRADITION! We've done fireworks at their house every year as long as the kiddos have been around. And probably before, but my memory isn't that good! Josh and Pops always put on a great show, and the kids love doing sparklers together! 

Sweet Macie! 

When did my Brenna grow up?? I'm not liking this. 

Aunt Emily isn't one to be left out of anything fun!! Shouldn't everyone have an aunt who plays as hard as the kids?? 

As soon as the sparklers were done, the show started! 

And these guys got a front row seat! 

Emily, Memaw and I just sat back and enjoyed the squeals of pure delight that came from these 3 munchkins! They had so much fun! I loved hearing them scream and giggle every time a firework went off. I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite parts of July 4th. Hanging out with family, watching Pops and Josh enjoy setting off the fireworks, and listening to these 3 cousins have the time of their lives!!