Lil' Bubba Makes Four: Our July 4th weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend. It all started on Thursday when Ron called and said he was headed home from work early and asked what fun stuff we wanted to do that evening. We totally were not expecting that. It was a wonderful surprise. After much thought, we decided to go to a park and walk a trail. It was so quiet and beautiful. We had a great time. At the end of the trail was a play ground. Of course, we HAD to check that out. :) It was flat dab out in the sun; so, we could not play too long as we did not have any sunblock on and we did not have our Coolibar with us. (I am a stickler for protecting our skin.) After that, we went to a small Italian restaurant. It reminds me of a restaurant that I used to work at years ago which used to actually be just across the street before it went out of business. It is now an ice cream place which we visited after dinner. :) The small restaurant is simple and very casual. Ron and I were joking that we did not know if any of the food was made fresh or came in frozen; but, whatever, it is a neat little place. The owner (?) could use a personality check and/or lessons in customer service that is for sure because he led us back to our table, put the menus on the table, and walked away. No, "Enjoy your dinner." or "So and so will be your server." Again, whatever, we were there as a family having a good evening together. Like, I mentioned earlier, we went across the street for ice cream afterwards. Yum, yum!

Friday brought another hard day at work for Ron as he and several of his co-workers had decided to have a "meeting" outdoors...at the golf course. :) The kiddos and I went shopping...oh, bummer. It was pretty funny though because we bumped into (almost literally, with the carts) the family of one of the guys Ron was golfing with at that very moment. Max was thrilled with this shopping trip because he was able to purchase the last Star Wars figure he needed to in order to get a FREE Captain Rex helmet. He was also very pleased with the ICEE that I bought him because he says that it has been 2 years since he has had one. I think he is being a little dramatic there. I do have to mention that I bought one for each kiddo, big spender I know, and the only child who would not let me sample their creation was Veronica. That is so her. She is a little spitfire, for sure. Planning ahead, we picked up Indian food for dinner. Ron and I are the only ones who wanted anything from the restaurant until that evening and the next day when the girls decided they too wanted some. That drives us crazy when they end up eating our food! :) We tried to enjoy some bottle rockets, fountains, and roman candles that evening. However, Veronica was NOT enjoying them. We went ahead and put her to bed and then went back outside to do them. It was passed her bedtime anyways.

After mass Saturday night, we went to a party at our friends' house. It was nice to see them and some of our other friends. The kids had a great time in their bounce house, playing tag, doing sparklers, etc. Plus, we got to talk about Lil' Bubba and share his pictures. That is always nice as I am sure other people are tired of hearing about the whole thing.

Sunday evening was spent with Ron's side of the family. We had a great time talking over dinner. Afterwards the kids went swimming with their cousins, Ma, aunt and uncle. Veronica got a little wet, but prefers dry land like Mommy. She and I spent time swinging together.

Our town had all of the festivities on Monday. The kids had been looking forward to the parade for a LONG time. They were running low on candy and they always get hooked up at this parade. Pa, Ron's dad, led the parade (along with some other men) carrying the American flag. We are always so proud seeing him march down the road. Ron's sister and two of our nieces were also in the parade. Not only did the kiddos leave with a TON of candy, they also had received gifts from my sister. My sister had recently gone on vacation and brought them each a shirt back. She stood with us during the parade which was nice. She brought the kids a pop to share; so, they were very happy campers. :) Afterwards, we walked up the street to the flea market and had popcorn and homemade ice cream. This has all become tradition over the years. The bonus of the day was that the weather was beautiful (albeit very hot) and we were able to take the convertible out for a drive. Ron laughs at me because I get so nervous in this car. I love it. It is beautiful. Yes, it does make me nervous though. Ron started teasing me about going to my "happy place" during the drive. It is true...I pray a lot while we are in it. :)