The 4th

Yesterday we went to East Grand Rapids (Brad's old stomping grounds) for an evening of family fun and fireworks. We spread out a blanket at the park near Reed's Lake and settled in for some good outdoor fun together. Thankfully both the girls took decent naps yesterday so we were able to do a late night without too much of a meltdown this time. :)

Here's our little diva looking very fashionable in her pink sunglasses (subject of the Birthday Meltdown... but I don't think she even remembers that that was what the issue was about!)

And here's little bean, standing near the lake and waving at the ducks. She's REALLY starting to pick up on language now! It's so fun watching her learn!

It was a tad on the warm/humid side, but we really did pretty well. And the girls did look cute in their festive 4th outfits. I love having two girls because then I can get 2 times of use out of my favorite outfits, like this little red dress! :)

Carolyn liked hanging out over this railing to get a look at the ducks and boats.

One of the best parts of the evening was this outdoor concert at the park where we waited for the fireworks. They did their rehearsal and then the real performance right after, so there was great music almost the whole time of being there. It was especially apropos because one of Carolyn's favorite book is Olivia Forms a Band and in that book Olivia says "you CAN'T have fireworks without a band!" Carolyn must have thought we were SUPER parents because we took her somewhere with both fireworks AND a band... but we didn't even know the band was going to be there, so it was one of those lucky parenting moments that just WORK.

She had a great time grooving to the music, and we had a great time watching her. :)

Here's this year's Family Portrait on the Fourth. You may notice I try to get a family picture at almost every occasion... because that's just how I am. :)

We took a break from the park for awhile and went to Jersey Junction for some ice cream. Big hit. And a new favorite trick- we wanted to wait til we got back to the park to eat the ice cream, so I asked for two plain cones in addition to the bowls for the ice cream and gave them to the girls to nibble on the way to the park. They enjoyed them immensely and it kept them satisfied until we were back at the park and could eat the ice cream. And of course the ice cream was even better. :)

Nora was SUPER excited about these cups we brought back from the Junction. Funny how the simplest things can delight little kids.

I played peekaboo with her, covering my eyes up with the cups- it was a grand success. She really has the best laugh- it's just impossible not to join her when she really gets going!

Carolyn had a really fun time with "London," her new Cabbage Patch doll (who was sporting her own 4th of July look courtesy of Ammy's fine sewing skills :)) who has been coming everywhere with us since she joined the family. [London is the name the Cabbage Patch people came up with... Carolyn asked what her name was and she didn't have a ready suggestion of her own... so London ended up keeping her original name].

Both girls really enjoyed playing with this little fan I got for cheap at Hobby Lobby, and overall, they shared pretty well. It really was swelteringly hot at points, so the little fan was nice. :)

Finally it was time for the fireworks... and they WERE beautiful. :)

I played around with the shutter speed on my camera... I'm a TOTAL novice... but had fun with it anyway. Here's a really weird picture of Brad holding both the girls watching the fireworks. They both really enjoyed them, I think.

Carolyn stood by the railing again to get a better look.

And that's the 4th, folks. And now I'm caught up on my blog! Good for me. :) Kids slept in this morning, so I had a little time... but now they're awake and the day has begun!