Our 4th of July was pretty low key this year. The kids played in the back yard while Kevin worked on his truck. Ella hasn’t figured out that you’re supposed to hold a Popsicle by the stick and not where it’s cold.

We went swimming, and then came home for dinner and bed. Fireworks here don’t start till after 10 pm when it gets dark. I was not about to keep the kids up that late. We heard fireworks all night long, though.

I am so grateful for this country and all those who serve to keep it the country it is supposed to be. I had a cousin come home from Afghanistan right before Father’s day. He had been there training their army.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/soldiers-return-to-las-vegas-a-great-father-s-day-gift-124142644.html

I have another cousin who’s husband is in the air force. I’m so grateful for them and other friends that are serving our country. I sometimes get wrapped up in my own bubble and forget what is going on, but I am always appreciative to these soldiers.

(July 2nd)

Saturday, we got together for a bbq at a friend’s house. We had a lots of friends and food, minus a few who were out of town. We also celebrated a birthday!

It’s not a birthday without cake, but we had to get a little patriotic. Plus, Lauren loves fruit so it was a win win. This recipe is one from my Ina Garten book, and it is delicious. I forgot candles, so instead, we just sang to the birthday girl.

Lauren and Allison then served everyone the different desserts we had. Thanks ladies!

(July 1st)

Kevin got a huge box first thing in the morning delivered. It was some part he ordered for this beauty.

While I was in the shower, she managed to find a hole in the box. I had Styrofoam all over the house.

Does she look innocent to you? Maybe it was Jameson and not Ella you say? Here’s the proof that she’s not.

Really child?

(June 28th)

Are you tired of seeing Ella’s hair in a pony tail? I get tired of it, but that’s the only way to keep her hair out of her eyes. So, I got brave. I loaded up her tray with strawberries to keep her occupied, and went as fast as I could with her soft hair. The result? Her first braid!

I couldn’t help myself and 2 days later, we tried 2 braids. I had to put more food out to keep her busy, but we made it through.

At least I know that there is an alternative to the pony tail. As long as I have good enough food to keep her occupied.

(June 25th)

Every year, they have a Strawberry Festival here in Bellevue. It’s on old tradition dating back to when strawberry farming was the region’s most famous activity. Since it was at the park near our house, we walked down there in order to avoid parking fees. Our first stop was the big slide. The first time down, Jameson was not quite sure about it at the top, but loved it by the bottom.

(Kevin + Jameson, Jesse + Abby, Justin + Maddi)

I’m pretty sure Jesse and Abby won even though she was not thrilled.

Then Jameson picked up Ella for being a public disturbance. 🙂

Jameson feet were a little too short to reach the peddles, so I had to help push.

So I know there’s stereotypes about some other nationalities not knowing how to drive. It’s totally true, and it starts in childhood. Some kids ran straight into another little car, and then could not figure out how to back up so that everyone could keep going. It took a good few minutes to de-tangle the mess. We were not in the accident, but they did a good job at blocking the way so no one could get around it.

Ella took a turn in the driver’s seat, but she’s not that good at it yet.

After a few of the rides, we headed over to check out the food. We got some delicious Philly cheese steak sandwiches, lemonade, and then waited in line for some chocolate dipped fruit. We had a few tickets left to use, so I took a trip down the slide with Jameson before heading home.

We had a good time with friends, and it was actually not too bad of a day weather wise.

(June 23rd)

What am I going to do with this girl. She consistently finds things to put on her head, and then walks around. Today, she found a bag, put it on her head, and would turn herself around in circles. She’d get dizzy, and then run straight into the wall. Then she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This is not the first occurrence. The other day, she put Jameson’s hat on and walked into the chair. She wouldn’t take the hat off, and was getting mad that she ran into the chair. Crazy girl!

Ella hasn’t been a big climber, but recently, she’s learned how to pull herself up and climb on things. She was so proud of herself.

She does have a big tummy she’s got maneuver around.

(June 20th-July 1st)

A friend an I decided to put the kids in swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are a little foreign to me, since we all learned by swimming across the shallow end of Grandma and Grandpa’s swimming pool. Since I am a newbie at actual lessons, she found some for our kids at a reasonable price. It was even an indoor pool so we didn’t have to worry if it was raining or not.

The first day, I had to coax Jameson in the water while trying to keep Ella out of it. There were 5 kids in his class, 3 boys and 2 girls. One little boy quit coming or switched classes, because he didn’t show up again. The other little boy was a pain, though. He would come up with an idea, and Jameson and his friend Abby to follow. Then, they’d all get in trouble. I’m not saying Jameson didn’t do some on his own, but there was an instigator usually. After the first day, Jameson had no problem getting in the water.

By the end, he was jumping in the pool with his life vest on by himself, and then kicking his way to the side. The last day, the kids were standing in line, waiting to jump to their teacher, and the other little boy was taking to long apparently. Jameson gave him a little shove just as he jumped, speeding up the process to take his turn. I didn’t feel to bad. That kid got what he deserved.

(June 13th)

We finally decided it was time to move both kids to one room. Jameson was all for sharing a room with Ella, but he wanted her to move into his room. The only problem was that she was in the bigger room. After a lot of convincing, and picking out some decorations for his room, he was finally excited to move into her room. Kevin was helping some friends move that day, so I got to work moving all the furniture around.

There were a few reasons we moved the kids around. The kids need to learn to share and sleep through each other. Kevin and I also wanted a room for an office, and to work on projects without having to put it away every night. Kevin can work from home, if he has a place to work from. So since we moved the kids around, we’ve seen a lot more of him.

Jameson helped me put the stickers on the wall, which was really hard for me. He would just stick them on where he wanted, which was not necessarily where I wanted them. Hard for me? Yes. But, he loved decorating his wall.

I guess Jameson was a little too excited about the days events, and fell asleep before making it into his new room.

Poor kid. He was carried to his new bed, where he would soon wake his sister in the morning.

Apparently, there was a train wreck in my bed. I found the casualties when I went to get ready for bed.

I’m not sure if there were casualties and a mass grave site, or if they survived the wreckage and were watching on the side lines. Should I be concerned?