Our 4th of July weekend was chock full o' family fun, and we wouldn't have had it any other way. (The only thing that it lacked, of course, was Brett, who we desperately wished was here to share it with us.)
We got things started late on Friday morning with Pops, who accompanied us on a trip to go shopping at Tuesday Morning. (Because nothing says "Happy B-Day America!" like spending money, right?!?) But hey, I hadn't gotten my act together enough to drag the kids to a parade, and I needed a mattress pad for our guest bed, after all. Our time at Tuesday Morning was going well enough, until an offer from Pops to buy the kids each a toy went awry. Unfortunately, due to some out-of-control whininess + ungrateful attitudes, I had to tell them the toys weren't happening that day. This, of course, resulted in fits being pitched, and ultimately to two little boys leaving the store in tears (and, quite frankly, a momma who was so frustrated, she was on the verge of them, too). :( From there, we stopped to grab some food for the adults, then drove to Hafer Park, in the hopes that lunch and some playtime would improve all of our spirits.
A few sips of a Chick-fil-a peach milkshake never hurts, either.
Patriotic pair.
Here comes the middle man.
Raise your hands if you love this country!
Once up on the equipment, Sis refused to come back down.
Chattin' + climbin', climbin' + chattin'.
Freaked out his first time up the curved ladder.
Once he saw Porter do it, he mustered up the courage.
Slide-by-slide.
Bestest buds.
After playing for a good while, the kiddos were pretty sweaty and in need of a cool place to rest. I insisted that all three of them lie down for naps that afternoon, before we headed over to the Rowes' that evening. Aunt Kirsten + her family and Uncle Justin + Aunt Amanda were at the lake for the weekend, so it was just Aunt Cami, Uncle Carl, Emerson, Ellis + Pops. We showed up right after 5:00 for swimming, jumping on the trampoline, and grilling out steaks for dinner.
Festive familia.
Taking a closer look at Ellis's necklace.
I wanted to get an official holiday pic of the trio while they were still dressed in their red + white + blue, before they slipped into their swimsuits and the opportunity was gone.
Porter thought that idea was laughable.
Sweet smiles from the youngest + oldest.
Pinwheel props did the trick (sort of).
After the mini photo session was out of the way, it was straight to the pool for these fools.
Clearly these kids aren't getting enough attention.
Proof that I was with all three of my babes on the 4th.
I wanted a mother/daughter pic; this is the best we could muster.
Kaiser went and learned a new trick while we were there:
Oh, the thrill of being tossed up in the air!
This girl has become quite smitten with her "Popsth".
Max is such a trooper with our rowdy crew around.
Taking a break from the water on the tramp.
At long last, it was time to enjoy the desserts Emerson had prepared!
My brownie-eating babe.
More swimmin' as the sun goes down.
"Don't even think about telling me it's time to get out and take a bath!"
After a bit of deliberation about what the rest of our night would hold, we decided to all go back to the Bralys' house to watch fireworks. (The Rowes live within OKC city limits, where it is illegal to shoot them off.) I managed to wrangle all the kids in the tub, get them cleaned off, and dress them in their pjs. Cami said that she thought the shows officially started at 10:00, but as we were driving north around 9:30 we saw bursts of light shooting up all over the place. When we got home, we went out in the backyard to enjoy our own little "show". Though there was an official one at a golf course nearby, our view of that was somewhat blocked, and I was pretty impressed with the size (and volume) of the fireworks set off by just the people in our neighborhood and the ones surrounding us.
Porter wasn't a huge fan of the noise.
All about getting a better view from the top of the storm shelter.
There's a good-sized one!
Kaiser + Emerson + Aunt Cami + I stayed out when everyone else went in.
Uncle Carl (a.k.a. The Baby Whisperer) + Ellis had the younger ones entertained inside.
I knew that we'd inevitably have a late night, but even I was surprised that it was nearly 10:30 before Maloney was getting down to bed -- and just after that for her brothers. Two-thirds of my kids fell fast asleep almost instantly; however, I think Kaiser was either overtired or still too wired, and he ended up getting up to tell me about anything and everything (fearing the fireworks would make our house explode, explaining that it was too dark to close his eyes -- you name it). I finally had to put my foot down and told him that if I saw him come down the stairs again, there would be {vague, but serious} consequences. That was at 11:30; thankfully, my 5 1/2-year-old threw in the towel, and didn't stay awake to see midnight.
"Hey, what are you doing here?!?"
They were super stoked to see their aunt, uncle + cousins (Caden was there, too), but were over the top excited when they saw another familiar car pull into our driveway!
"It's YAYA!!!"
At long last, I let the two of them in on the fact that they were going on their first real overnight! (If you don't count them staying at our friends' house the night Malone was born, that is.) You should have seen the smiles on their faces. Their bags were packed, and, aside from needing to put on their shoes, the pair was ready to go. Of course, they didn't take off right that minute; we all hung out visiting and playing in our garage/driveway/front yard for a short while.
Making sure no one ventures into the street.
"Hey now -- how come I don't get to go, too?"
Getting some special attention from her Uncle Patrick.
This girl misses her daddy. Bad.
Showing Kins his + Kaiser's sweet ride.
This passenger is just waiting for a driver.
A little before 10:30, YaYa + Papa Ron decided it was time to load the kids up and hit the road. I wasn't about to let them leave without taking a picture. After all, this was a pretty significant milestone!
Happy grandparents + blessed grandchildren.
Took some coercing, but Maloney eventually joined the group.
And just like that, I told my babies I loved them, kissed them goodbye, and sent them off! While the boys were away, I was excited to have some special time with my darling dot. After some playtime, we went to pick up Pops at his place, and the three of us went to eat lunch at Cafe Icon. Then we ran a quick errand, dropped him off, and came back home so Malone could nap.
Meanwhile, there was no nappin' goin' on in Enid. From the looks of the pics YaYa posted on Facebook, there was only fun, fun, and more fun!
Inflatable pool + water toys galore.
Sprinkler hopscotch.
Sippin' on juice to stay hydrated.
Someone knew how to keep her Lego-lovin' grandson entertained indoors.
Launching rockets on the iPad.
Back in OKC that evening, after both of us girls had rested, I thought it would be nice to walk Malone up to our neighborhood pool for an evening swim. Pops showed up shortly before we left and tagged along. The pool was a pretty happening place to be; there were several families there enjoying the sunny but not-too-blazing-hot weather that comes at the end of the day.
Packed a snacky dinner to eat during a pool "safety break".
Went down the slide in the shallow end at least a couple dozen times.
Love that she can do this completely independently!
Don't let her grump face fool you; she was having oodles of fun!
See? Told ya.
Seemed like she wanted to sit with Mommy, but on second thought...
...she'd rather swim with her diving ring.
I wasn't entirely sure what time the overnighters would make it back from Enid, but received a text around 3:00 letting me know they were on the road. Just before 5:00, three very tired kiddos were delivered to me. They clearly had had their fair share of fun, as I'm sure YaYa + Papa Ron had, too. We're all so thankful for the awesome memories they were able to make together!
No sooner had Kaiser, Porter, and Kinsey gotten out of the car than it was time to climb back in again. I'd just learned from Katy on Saturday morning that Jefe + Nana had invited all of us out to their ranch for a little belated 4th celebration on Sunday evening. She and I decided that instead of them picking Kinsey up from our house, I would just bring her with us down to Jefe's, since we were all meeting there anyway. It's about an hour-long drive, so I had plenty of time to chat with the cousins about their special getaway. Details were sketchy, but I know that, in addition to the activities pictured, they went to lunch at Braum's, had a movie night, played at the park, and went to see Papa Jim (YaYa's daddy) and take him out for coffee. The trio all gave their time in Enid two thumbs up and said they were excited for their next slumber party!
We pulled up to the ranch around 6:15, and despite their exhaustion, the kids were amped up and ready to go! In the hopes of getting a few more pics of my munchkins looking patriotic, I had changed them back into their red + white + blue back at the house. Katy had happened to bring Kinsey's along, too, so the girls were matchy-matchy! (For $5 at Walmart, that dress just couldn't be beat!)
Attempted to gather the grandkids with Jefe for a pic.
Forever wishing I had the ability to swap out heads...
Once the pesky picture-taking was over with, the little people were itchin' to head out and see their treehouse/fort. Jefe + Nana have been rebuilding/reinforcing a preexisting structure on their land, and we just couldn't wait to see it in real life!
Maloney + I were bringin' up the rear.
The Braly Brothers approve!
Lil Sis checking out the first floor.
Was a teensy bit nervous about her walking up + down the ramp with no handrails, but she was well supervised.
Good job, Jefe!
Can't wait to see all these rascals playing in it for years to come.
After the treehouse, we walked back toward the main house. On the way, we made a quick pit stop to check out the place where a fire would be built later that night.
Someone knows that where there's a fire, there just might be s'mores...
Wanted to pet the "dots", then got a little overwhelmed by their friendliness!
Next up on the agenda was some water play, so the kids got changed into their suits and went out on the lawn to run around. Instead of a typical sprinkler, they had even better: a human sprinkler (a.k.a. Jefe spraying them with the hose)! It goes without saying that there were tons of squeals and giggles during the half an hour or so that they were out there.
Sneaking up from behind.
Trying to be a "water stealer".
Stopping to soak in the tub.
That water was pretty cold!
Look who finally decided she didn't want to be left out.
Caden stayed nice and dry on the sidelines.
Who needs a shower, really??
Giddy girl.
Getting nailed!
When you mess with the Boss...
...you get a hose down the back of the shirt!
High fives from Uncle P.
Checking up on her younger cousin.
Big Sis loves her Bubba.
Time to dry off and eat!
Nana came to tell us that the burgers + hot dogs + sides were almost ready, so we stripped off suits and came inside for dinner.
Pretty proud of herself for climbing into Caden's scooting toy while I wasn't looking.
Hangin' with Jefe.
Trying to be a little momma.
"Why won't this kid take his bottle?"
Once our tummies were filled, it was right back outside for our crew -- this time, for fireworks! Jefe had bought a bunch of the ones that snap when they hit the ground, and the kids went to town throwing those suckers down and hearing them go "POP! POP! POP!"
They emptied out several boxes in no time.
Not entirely sure what to make of all the noise.
Gettin' in on the throwdown action.
"This is FUN!"
Patrick was put in charge of the more legit stuff.
Kids were instructed to watch from a distance.
Pretty pleased with her first fireworks experience thus far.
Got permission to stand down closer with his uncle.
After we'd watched a decent amount of things being shot off, Nana came down from the house with the ingredients for s'mores. The kids had almost {but not quite} forgotten about the special treat that was coming their way; once they saw that bag, they all but forgot about the fireworks!
Nana getting them all set up.
Super-size marshmallows!
This chica was all about the white fluff.
These guys perfected their roasting technique at Reynolds Plantation.
Nom nom nom.
When Kaiser's marshmallow caught fire back in April, he threw a fit. This time, he kept his cool, blew it out, and was even excited about eating it a little burnt!
There is absolutely no way to eat these things gracefully.
Porter kept it clean...at first.
Minutes later, he looked like this.
While gorging ourselves on s'mores + watermelon, we sat back and watched as our resident pyrotechnician went out to the end of the dock to set off the final 'works. (I believe one was called "The Shiz"???) These were not only bigger + brighter, but also significantly LOUDER. Like, "make-all-the-kids-but-Kaiser-cry" louder. Even Porter, who I really didn't anticipate would be all that afraid, was begging for them to stop. I think at the end of such an intense weekend, he was just overwhelmed and a little more on edge than usual.
Ka -
- BOOM!!
Before we knew what had happened, the clock was creeping way too close to 9:00, and the mommies agreed that we needed to get our babes in bed for the night. As we walked back in, I paused to snap one last pic overlooking the water.
Dang, this place is pretty.
Before we left, I threw all of my kids -- who were covered in a delicious-smelling mixture of sunscreen + bug spray + dirt + food + smoke -- in the shower and got them dressed in their jammies for the trip home. We thanked Jefe + Nana for a fabulously fun night, gave hugs, and promised to be back soon (next time, hopefully with Brett!). It took all of 10 minutes of driving in the van for Kaiser + Porter to pass out cold; Malone, however, held strong and was happily hollering until we were about 10 minutes away from our house. Fortunately, all three of them transferred to their beds without hardly a peep, and slept soundly until well past their normal wakeup times the next morning. {Insert Mommy saying a prayer of thanks while drinking her second cup of coffee.}
And that, in a nutshell, was our July 4th weekend. I'm exhausted just recounting it! Looking forward to many, many more like it in the years to come...
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