Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day!  I am so proud and thankful to live in this country.  I am sure I take things for granted far more often than I should, but I consider myself so blessed to live in the U.S.A.  I was going to wrap our 4th of July festivities in to the weekend post, but today was so full of fun shenanigans that it deserves its own post.  Besides, I made the ginormous mistake of not taking off of work tomorrow, so my weekend hasn't technically even begun.  :(  Today started the same as any day, with a 5:00am wake up call from Ben.  Although I usually do everything in my (totally exhausted) power to get him back to sleep, I love this holiday so much that I didn't even care that the sun and birds were barely awake.  We played, ate, cleaned, and napped before it was time for the parade!  Since I totally love parades, I of course wanted to take Benji to his first one.  There was only one small problem; which parade?!  Hometown parade (best parade ever that I've gone to for the last 15ish years) or current town parade (where our friends were going)?  The friends won, as they should, but the parade itself was just so-so.   Luckily Ben didn't notice that there were no patriotic songs (how is this possible???), Irish dancers, or Special Olympics athletes. :)  We were in great company though, so all in all, the parade was a success!

                 Ben loves sunscreen....bottles.                                    "How am I supposed to catch any candy way back here?!"

It was quite hot and of course we forgot Ben's shades or a hat with a brim, so he was pretty exhausted by the time the parade was over.  He fell asleep in the car and took a great nap in preparation for the afternoon festivities.  We made some last minute plans with my bff Sarah, her hubby, and their baby girl.  Sarah and I share a love for America and patriotic songs.  We are so happy that she and her family are back in the U.S. of A. for the 4th of July for the first time in 3 years!!  Despite our lack of planning, Pinterest was able to come to the rescue.  Project #1: Andy's shirt.  (Success.)  As usual, Andy, the grill master, took care of the food, and I made sure our party was dripping with red, white, and blue fun.   Thanks for the family pics, Auntie Anna!

As you can see from these pictures, Ben had no interest in smiling for these family photos.  And if Auntie Anna can't get him to smile, no one can.  I wonder if that frown has anything to do with that outfit...  Just when we thought it was time to quit with the pics, we let Benji "play" with Rosco.  He has a new hobby of banging on Rosco's back and then squealing in delight.  Luckily, Rosco doesn't seem to mind.  Oh, and Ben decided he wanted to stand and TAKE HIS FIRST STEPS today!  Months ago, Andy predicted Ben would be walking by the 4th of July.  We aren't quite there, but it is still exciting!

Before it was time to eat, Ben and Maddie wanted to get in a quick dip in the pool.  It was pretty much the cutest thing EVER.  These pictures do not do justice to the adorableness that went down.  I picked up this little pool at Target for a mere $4.99.  Three buckets of warm water later, we were ready for some fun.  It is quite possible that the 4 parents had more fun than the babies, but there were plenty of smiles to go around.

They watched the water...and drank the water.

They read books. 

They looked at their crazy parents. 

And then Ben gave Maddie a foot massage.  

After the pool, it was obviously the perfect time for another photo shoot.  I ordered these outfits online a few months ago (I could not resist), so of course we needed to get pictures of them together.  While the dads were rolling there eyes profusely and vocalizing that they did not want anything to do with this, I think they secretly enjoyed it.  I am going to refrain from posting multiple sailor pics, but you get the point. ;)

Good thing I do not have twins...

I should have taken more pictures of the food, but I must have been too busy eating and drinking.   Andy's chicken/steak kabobs were a huge hit.  I wish I would have gotten a better picture!  Thankfully I live with the guy so they can be recreated in the future.  ;)  I seriously do not know how I survived before I met him.  While I cannot take credit for much, I did make the cake and cocktail.  I, of course, had to make a funfetti cake for Sarah, her fave.  The festive drink was actually quite good (after adding some cake vodka)...





























And since the babes still had far more energy left than the adults, they entertained their parents themselves for a bit before it was time for bed.  It is so cute to watch them play together.  We still need to keep an eye on them every single second, but I know it won't be long before they are off and playing, wanting nothing to do with their cool parents.

While I would like to say we topped the night with s'mores and fireworks, it turns out we're actually listening to the fireworks (not by choice, but we can hear them) and watching fireflies in the yard (not watching, but we can see them).  Close enough, right?  And truth be told, I am more than ok with being in bed at the moment.  Remember, we were up at 5:00 this morning.  And, since Ben crashed at 7:00 tonight, we might be looking at a 4:30am wake up call tomorrow.  Goodnight!  God bless America!

Is that a smile?