Our 4th of July Weekend

What a weekend! It started off on Friday with the annual Kiddie Parade, and continued that evening with a potluck BBQ with friends at our house. It was so delicious- Veronica brought the most amazing ribs that I'm still thinking about and in addition to that barbeque-saucy goodness we had a ton of patriotic sweet treats, a few salads, and hot dogs for the kids. It was such a nice night, and so full of conversation and fun that I took just a handful of photos- and that's always the sign of a successful evening, don't you think? Once it got dark we loaded the kids up into strollers and wagons, gave them a ton of glow sticks and necklaces, and walked down the street to the park for fireworks. We had five blankets between all the families, and it was a great feeling to look around and see this whole new chapter of our life. Kids and holidays and other families that are our friends...it's a great thing.

The next morning was the big 4th of July parade downtown, and we headed over to Hank's Dad's to watch it like we do every year. I mentioned it on Instagram, but I realized that Hank's Grandpa, Dad, and Hank himself have all watched the parade every year from that very lawn, just like Henry and Charlie now do. Pretty neat, right? The parade lasted all morning and just as it was ending the rain started to finally come down, hard. I must have heard a million "don't rain on our parade" jokes that morning. ;) And then later that night I went out with my girlfriends and stayed out way too late for the first time since having Charlie. It was SO much fun though, laughing and talking the night away. It was a great end to a whirlwind weekend that had been tinged with some sadness too, as our community remembered the 19 firefighters we lost last year.

I hope you had a happy, happy 4th of July too, whatever you did! Can we also discuss for a second that because it's officially July, I can say that Charlie's birthday is NEXT month?! Insanity.

Here are some photos -

Christmas 2013

The best part of every part of my life is family. And since becoming parents, the best part of every holiday are the children. In our family we now have three little ones between my little family and my sister's, and really, nothing is better. It was Charlie's first Christmas and it was a good one. We spent Christmas Eve with part of Hank's side, then came home to do our own traditions. Growing up my Dad would read The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve to my sister and me, and once Hank became a father he gifted him a new copy with the sweetest inscription. And that's one of the neatest things about being a parent; getting relive your own childhood once again with fresh eyes and the foresight to really take it all in.

Christmas Day was full to the brim with family, good food and presents. Hank and I don't actually exchange gifts with each other outside of doing stockings and instead focus on traveling throughout the year. The boys though, got some really wonderful books, puzzles, and a few new toys. Henry's "big" gift this year was the kid's kitchen from IKEA, and he was really excited. We got my Dad a telescope and my Mom a gift card to her favorite spa, and there were smiles all around...between the little talks we had to have with Henry about why every present isn't for him, and why it's so nice to give presents to other people, too. It's tough being three...

It's hard to convey the feeling I get when I look around a room full of my family, all smiling and happy and healthy, together in one place. I feel peaceful. And so, so lucky. I know things never stay the same, but this year, right there in my living room surrounded by the people I love the very most, I had to stop and whisper a little "thank you" into the air, for all of the goodness. Because even though we were opening presents and getting "things," it still reminded me that the best things in life aren't those things, they are these people. Lucky. Happy. Healthy. Wishing for the same over the next year and beyond.

Happy holidays, from our family to yours!