Happy 4th of July 2010!!

Happy 4th to you all!!! We had a GREAT weekend celebrating with family and friends!!! We always kick off this holiday by grilling out with family on the 4th "eve"....and Daddy ALWAYS has fun with his FIREWORK SHOW he puts on in the driveway....He gets the seating ready and everything....(i'm seriously married to a kid sometimes :) He enjoys his little show:

Jules and Poppy came in to witness their son's beautiful firework show (pictured above)...ok, so really they came to see their grandkids...but the fireworks are a bonus I'm sure!! :) Thanks for coming Poppy and Jules!! :) After a VERY late night of sparklers, lots of good food, family and neighbors...we wake each 4th for our neighborhood's annual BIKE PARADE!!! This year the local firemen came and joined in on the fun!!!

After the pike parade, we all head down to the pool for the annual Neighborhood Pool Party!!! (one family pic above before heading down to the pool)

The firemen spray all the kids before they take off....they had a BLAST!!!!

LL even enjoyed her free fireman hat and wouldn't take it off...funny girl!!!

After a LONG day at the pool..it's back home to clean up and get ready for our local HUGE fireworks show at one of our local parks....We go every year!! Above, we have my girls posing with Cousin Haiden who comes in each year with her fam and stays with us for the 4th festivities!!

Here's my sweet 5 babies above...all ready for our "PEACE" themed attire this year!!! Yes, the girls are sporting their 4th of July Poppy Dip skirts..and the boys are sporting their tshirts they picked out!!

The kids have fun dancing and running around before it gets dark and TOO crowded!!!

All 4 sisters made it to the festivities this year....Gotta ALWAYS get a Sisters pic when we can!!! (I'm sportin my Wiphan tshirt from http://www.wiphan.org/ )

LL has fun being dragged around by all her siblings....

And, we all stop for a minute for ONE FAMILY pic to remember the 4th of July 2010!!! We have helen 8, julia 6, hal 5, george 3 and lucy lane 19 months!!! And, daddy and I are 38 and 35 incase you were wondering !!! :)ha

The band sings YMCA which is always a crowd pleaser!!! :)

As it gets later and darker, George requests his paci's and blankies!!!

Sister Karson and hubby with their new baby #2!!

Lots of friends hangin around chattin....fun!!

One of LL's friends enjoyed herself some chocolate!!! funny!!

Cousin Nathan (from Ethiopia) getting so big!!

Daddy had fun walking around with Baby Drew....(sister Karson's new baby)...See...he hasn't lost his touch...see...we can handle one more!!! :)

Sister Kasey and her fam!!

LL's friend Addie Grace joined us...She came home from China the same time LL did from Ethiopia...LL wouldn't take a pic with her, so I just took one of her playin on our blanket...she's too cute!!

The Bonners joined us...They'll be traveling at the end of the month to pick up their new son from HH!!! Oh, I can't wait!!!

Sister Kelly and her hubby...Her kids are so old that they just run around all night..so you never can catch a family pic!!

And, the night always ends with a spectacular fireworks show!! None of my kids were scared of them at all!! It was all so enjoyable!!! I always sit back and watch the fireworks and think about HOW blessed we are to be there.... How lucky we are that all 7 of us are together, healthy and happy!!! This is LL's 2nd 4th of July Home!! She was SO little last year....Oh, how ONE YEAR makes a HUGE difference!!

***Hope you all had a wonderful holiday too!! And, I pray that by next year there are MORE children home with their forever families..snuggled up with their parents enjoying the show...what a blessing that would be!!! My thoughts are expressed perfectly right now at my friend Andrea's blog: www.babeofmyheart.com It's another must read for every person on this planet!! Happy Monday to you all!! kj