4th of July

I kind of have an obsession with holidays. Give me a reason to celebrate and I'm all over it like white on rice! So the week of the 4th of July we got in the spirit. We made some patriotic sugar cookies and had some patriotic watermelon.

We also tried out some patriotic hairstyles! I was surprised and how cute it turned out!

Anyway, we were so excited to be able to go spend the 4th of July with my parents.

However, on our way, we got more excitement than we bargained for! While driving down the Interstate our transmission in our van went out. Luckily, a very friendly Police Officer came to our rescue, along with a friendly tow truck driver (named Slinky, no lie) and we were able to hang out at a truck stop for a bit while we waited for my parents to come up and rescue us.

Because the transmission went out the evening before the 4th, we just left it at a shop, which was already closed for the night. But, since the next day (Thursday) was a holiday, they were closed that day as well. Then they decided to take Friday off as well. And they were closed on the weekend, so we didn't even get someone to look at it until Monday (5 days after the fact). Steven had to be back for work on Monday, so he took my sister's car home on Sunday night, while the kids and I stayed at my parent's for an extended vacation. And boy oh boy, did we have fun! Mom and I did some shopping (before Steven left to head home). We took Ella with us while my dad and Steven went to one movie, and my sister Hannah and brother Brad took the kids to see another movie. Ella kept us well entertained with her non stop talking and insistence on wearing any accessory she could find.

Then of course there were fireworks and sparklers (and a large sunhat that Addie wore almost the whole time we were there!)

We took advantage of Nana's hair cutting skills and the boys got hair cuts.

There was tons of pretend play, that wore them out, but sometimes they stayed in character even in their sleep.

And of course, there was TONS of swimming. I think we swam about 3 times a day. Each time for at least 2-4 hours.

Finally on Wednesday, Steven got a work truck that would fit us all, so he towed my sister's car down, picked us up, then we went to pick up the van and tow it home. We wanted to get it fixed closer to home so it would be easier to pick up. However, there was a problem with the trailer we were towing and the van wouldn't fit on it, so we had to back track and take the van back to the shop it was at, tell them to replace the transmission, and then find a place to return the trailer. Finally, after 6 hours, we finally made it home (which usually takes us 3 hours).

Killing time at the transmission shop while we were waiting for dad to work out the details.