Happy 4th of July!

We spent the morning playing outside and swimming!  It was already pretty hot even in the morning!  I'm not sure what the temperature got up to other than just plain 'hot'!

Our plans were to head up to Matt's mom and step-dad's home for a cookout. Bobby also wanted to go to the beach while we were up there since they only live about 4-5 miles from Silver Beach. A couple of years ago, we went to Silver Beach for the 4th (before kids) and I vowed I would never go back on the 4th because it was super crowded and took forever to get out of traffic. But...that's just what we did...went to the beach!  While packing up stuff to take up there, I felt like I was packing up my whole life just to go to a cookout!  I couldn't find things and felt like my head was detached from my body, that's how unorganized I was.  It was pretty frustrating.

We had a good time at their house even though it was hot! We had LOTS of good food and Natalie had fun playing in the sprinkler that Matt's mom got just for her.

I'm going to have to get the girls in their matching outfits again and take a good picture of them together!

We didn't head to the beach until 8p, which is already usually past Natalie's bedtime, so I was interested on how the beach was going to go, but she had an absolute blast playing in the water and sand. The beach was SUPER crowded! Thanks to my mom for dropping us off and keeping Aubrey and for Amanda for coming to pick us up.

By the time we got back to the house, Aubrey probably wanted to eat, but off we went right away to go park to see the fireworks.  I eventually had to climb to the back of the car and sit between the girls' seats to console hungry Aubrey. Once we got to the parking area, we had a perfect view. Natalie got to sit on Daddy's lap in the front seat and I fed Aubrey. It was midnight by the time we got home and while trying to get both girls to bed, they were both crying. Thank goodness for Bobby because he had Natalie and I had Aubrey. Otherwise, I would have lost my mind!

Natalie prior to arriving to the beach

Aubrey wide awake while we were headed to the beach without her

Crazy, busy beach!

Digging in the sand

Dirty baby!

The splash pad was fun too, but again, super crowded even at 9p!

Showing the crowded beach!

 

Every 15 minutes the ground fountains go away, all the kids scream and run to the middle, and the fountains on the outside spray toward the middle.

 

We had a great, busy and hot, 4th of July!

4-H Fair

On Sunday, we headed out to breakfast with Bobby's family...all 15 of us!

It was one last get together with all of us until Christmas, which we will be celebrating December 8th this time with Bobby's family. So, we won't be seeing the Mumaw's anytime soon unless we make a trip out to Maryland.

Out of 15 pictures, I only got 1 of all 7 kids looking at me...well maybe not Aubrey, but everyone that could look at me!

Cousins: Evan (8), Preston (4), Jaxon (10 months), Brielle (7), Aubrey (1 month), Natalie (16 months), Alexis (5)

...and we're done!

On Monday, my mom, sister, and Aunt Krista all headed to the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair. It didn't feel too hot before we left, but by the time we got there, it was definitely warm! It was like a big zoo for Natalie with multiple animals, including a small petting zoo.

She loved the little piggies!

...and the bunnies

The petting zoo also had small guinea pigs that Natalie got a chance to touch, but then she grabbed one of them and squeezed it a little, which made it make a squeak!  Needless to say, I don't see any small animals in her future :) ...or ever!

Notice their matching pony tails?!

a horse just her size

Natalie got to experience her 1st fair rides. It was dollar ride day, so she got to go on 3 different ones. The first 2 she liked, but the last one...not so much. Natalie and Mommy rode the carousel, Aunt Amanda rode a bear ride and Grandma rode a more adventurous one that went up and spun. However, the last one, we all thought you could control the spinning, but we were wrong. Grandma didn't like that ride either!

Aubrey just hung out all day

One very nice thing about the fair was the air-conditioned buildings, but what I especially liked was there Lactation Station they provided to nursing moms! They also provided diapers and wipes in there too. Very few places are so pro-breastfeeding, so it was a very nice accommodation!

 

Not loving this one so much!

Just was we were getting ready to leave after being hot and tired, we saw some duck races.

 

After having fun at the fair

Grandma was tired too!

The rest of the time was spent just hanging out and swimming!

 

Loving the pool...2nd attempt (1st didn't go so well)