Weekend Recap: God Bless America!

Get ready for loads of pictures!  We had the best 4th of July weekend yet.  I'll get right to the fun.  We started our day by picking out our most festive outfits.  Surprisingly, I didn't have something planned for Ben to wear for one of my favorite holidays, but don't worry, we found plenty of options.  We grabbed a quick breakfast at Panera before meeting up with some friends for the parade.  I just love July 4th.  I am so proud to be an American and I am so grateful for those who made this a free country!

Just like the Memorial Day parade a Ben was clapping and waving like it was his job.  He was also collecting candy with the best of 'em.  I guess I shouldn't say "collecting" because that would imply that the treats didn't disappear within seconds of Ben getting his little paws on them.  "One more! Eat!"  The little stinker would run back and forth between Andy and me, which I later learned was so that he could get both of us to open candy for him--so smart sneaky!!

After the parade we attempted a nap, but after eating a pail full of candy, sleep was not on Ben's agenda.  And thus, we did the next best tiring activity---swimming!!  Ben is becoming quite the dare devil in the pool and wants to jump in 100 times in a row.  "Again!"

***having some video issues!!**

And what trip to the pool is complete without a popsicle--a patriotic one at that!

At around 4:00, Ben decided that he would take a nap.  The length of his nap was the deciding factor of whether or not we were going to go to the fireworks.  Andy and I haven't gone to the fireworks for years.  Actually, I don't know if we have ever even gone together.  We kept going back and forth on whether or not we should go, but when he woke up around 6:00, we took that as a signal that we should go.  It was soooo beautiful outside, so we walked to the park from my mom's house.  (The park is essentially in her back yard.)  A kind runner offered to take this picture for us on our walk, and I'm so glad we got a festive family picture.  :)

There were a ton of activities going on at the park and Ben was loving the people watching.  He played on the playground with Auntie Anna as we patiently waited for it to get dark outside.  We were prepping him for the fireworks saying the were so loud, "BOOM! BOOM!" but so pretty too.  He repeated everything he learned about fireworks over and over again.  "Fireworks!  Boom!  Boom!  Loud! High!"

When it finally got dark outside, we got our glowsticks going before the fireworks started.  Ben was pretty excited to see the moon for the first time.   (He loves that darn  "Goodnight, Moon" book.)

It was finally time for the fireworks to start, but after a few loud BOOMS, Ben decided he was DONE.  We spent the entire fireworks show covering his ears, snuggling him, singing to him, and counting down the minutes until it was over.  He covered his eyes and put his blanket over his head.  Our hearts were breaking for the poor guy.  "Boom! Boom! Scared! Rock!" (meaning he wanted to be rocked…at home)  We would ask him if he wanted to take a peek at the pretty colors every once and awhile, but we got a meek little "no" every time.  

Ugh.  This picture still makes me sad.  Thankfully he slept through the night without issues, though he was still up with the birds despite his late bedtime.  We decided to get an early start on our Saturday with some strawberry picking.  Hopefully this countered all of the firework scariness.  Nana and Auntie Anna came with us, so he was back to his happy little self.  

We got to ride a tractor to the area where we picks berries, so that instantly made him happy.  "Tractor! Fun! Again!"

He was such a great helper.  

I knew he loved he strawberries, but I wasn't really expecting him to try and eat every berry in sight. 

I am pretty sure more ended up on his face than in his mouth, but at least he was sharing the love.  

After we rode the tractor back, Ben got to feed the goats and play on the play set that had tons of slides.  He was a happy boy.  

It was definitely time for a nap when we got home, because Ben had to get ready for his first sleepover at Nana's!  Nana has stayed with him at our house before, but he has never stayed elsewhere.  He was so stinking cute with his backpack.  He even picked out the book he wanted to clip to his pack.  

While Ben kept Nana and Papa John busy, Andy and I had a night out at my cousin's wedding.  We I take so many pictures of Ben, that I thought we should probably take some of the two of us.  

It was such a beautiful wedding!  The views of the lake were stunning and the flowers were amazing.  

Not to mention, the bride herself looked fabulous!  The ceremony ended with a "Love Actually"-like surprise with singers singing "All You Need Is Love" out of the windows of the reception building.  It was so cool!

I shouldn't be surprised that the food was unreal (my cousin owns a catering company and several higher-end grocery stores), but it was enough food to feel the guest list for at least a week!  It is hard to tell in the picture below, but the charcuterie table was overflowing with delicious cheese!  I took more than a few trips up there!  There were 4 different stations of food, and each one was more jaw-dropping than the last.  

But truth be told, I made a bee-line for the children's table that had mac and cheese and chicken tenders in addition to the fruit bowl that was probably too heavy for me to even carry.  :)  Even better than the food was the fact that I got to hang out with my family!  I love my sibs and of course my dad!  Two of my fun aunts were at our table too.

Staying out late (by our standards) 2 nights in a row has to be a recent record for Andy and me.  It was actually weird going to sleep without the baby monitor on.  I missed the sweet baby boy!  I woke up at 5:45, but I shockingly was able to fall asleep again until 7:45!!!  Amazing!!  We both were missing Ben like crazy by this point, so we went and picked him up.  My friend/co-worker asked us if we wanted to come "shopping" at her house as they were trying to get rid of toys.  Ben made out like a bandit!  He was in absolute heaven!  We got a few fire trucks, a fire house, and a big bag of tools, in addition to some toys that I am going to hide for awhile.  He has been "pounding hammer!"ever since we got home.  :)

We ended our weekend with a trip to Home Depot and Menard's.  Ben was right at home with his tools. He was happy "fixing" the cart with his hammer and screwdriver until we made the mistake of letting him get out of the cart to "fix" other things.  He instantly bolted and we found him "hiding" under one of the shelves.  Back to the cart you go, buddy!

We are still working on our 2nd floor makeover, but we took a nice break over the weekend.  Hopefully we will get more done this week.  Andy is going to do some painting and I am itching to order new carpet!  That 3 day weekend with my boys was just what I needed, but it's back to reality, for now! ;)

Weekend Recap: Happy Memorial Day!

Although last week was long, this week has been zipping by!  I am so happy that tomorrow is already Friday!  I continue to have problems making enough room on my laptop for all of my pictures, and I literally spent the last hour deleting pictures off my computer to make room for new ones.  I do have an external hard drive, but for some reason I am afraid that it isn't going to save everything and my pictures are oh so precious to me!  I will have to figure something out though, and soon!

This past weekend was so beautiful!  I LOVE being able to spend time with my family.  It's the best thing ever.  We kicked off our weekend with a trip to the kite festival.  I had read that there was a 500 kite launch at noon, so we packed a picnic and headed out.  We were only a couple of minutes late, but we saw approximately 15 kites---not quite 500!  Ben was excited nonetheless and even better than the kites, some of his fan club, Grandpa and Uncle Joe, showed up as well.  We got to show Ben what a kite is, so I would still consider it a success.

There were plenty of grassy areas for Ben to run around, so he played catch with the boys and had an absolute blast.  It was hard to get him to stop playing to pose for a picture or two. :)

We also checked out some paddle boats after playing and walking along the lake.  It was Ben's first boat ride and as predicted, he loved it.  Well, he loved it for about 10 minutes (even though you have to rent the boats by the hour...)  We paddled around for a bit before it got too hot in the sun and we called it quits.

Although we thought Ben was going to be exhausted, he opted only to nap for about 15 minutes during the car ride home.  We grilled out at home and enjoyed the beautiful weather before it was time for an early bedtime for all.  Yes, Ben is still digging the 5:00 hour for waking up in the morning.  It's not that I mind getting a jump start on the day, but just once and awhile a few extra zzzzs would be nice.   ;)  We had so much time on Sunday morning, that Ben and I walked the 45 minute hike to Target while Andy did his long run.  As you can see, we've been into selfies lately.

Sunday was another gorgeous day weather wise, so we headed to the pool in the afternoon.  After the arctic winter we've had, I can hardly believe that it was what I would consider HOT outside and that pools are open!  (We even turned the air on at home it was so hot!)  We aren't exactly sure how Ben knew what swimming means, but as soon as he mentioned it, he was running around in his excited little way yelling, "POOL! SWIMMING!" over and over.  He was right--he loved the pool!  There was a big bucket of toys in the kiddie pool so he was in heaven.  He was so tired after a long afternoon of swimming that he didn't even put up a fuss when we left.

The sun made us all tired so Ben took a nice long nap before we went out to dinner.  Too tuckered and hot to cook!

Perhaps my favorite day of the weekend was Memorial Day itself.  I can't forget to mention how much I love the USA!  I am so thankful for all of the people who have made sacrifices for this country to make it what it is today.  I know Ben doesn't understand the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day, but he certainly did his part to show his appreciation.  After a super early bird breakfast at Panera, we set out blankets for the parade.  Ben LOVED the parade so much.  Well, he actually at first thought "parade" was "prayed" so he kept folding his hands whenever the parade was mentioned, but I think he figured it out.  It was the cutest thing ever.  He stood up, clapped, and waved his little flag for each and every car of vets that drove by.   He was a pro.

I have always loved the Memorial Day/ 4th of July parades, but I was having so much fun watching Ben get excited about everything that he saw.  From the cars, fire trucks, marching bands, and dogs, to the airplanes, horses,  bikes, and candy-throwing kids, Ben was loving life.  I was too.  I am not sure if I watched more the parade or more of Ben, but I was perfectly content.

We went to the parade with some of our friends, but more family (aka Ben's fan club) ended up joining us too.  I hope they had as much fun as we did!

The parade was over an hour long, but Ben didn't get bored once.  He did crash about 5 seconds after we left though, and then proceed to nap for 2.5 hours.  I think we all fell asleep for a bit. :)

We had big plans of heading to the Beer Garden later in the afternoon with our friends from the parade, but everyone was tired so we ended up making some homemade pizzas at home.  All in all, another weekend of perfection in the books.  So excited that the weekend begins again tomorrow.  Goodnight!