Independence Day

We had such a fun 4th of July!  Matt had a few days off of work, so we were able to fit in a lot of activities and family time, which was perfect!  On the 3rd, we went to the Riverton Parade.  We had a fun time watching the parade... and I especially loved watching the kids.  They loved collecting candy, and I loved seeing Cooper put his hand over his heart as the flag passed by, and watching Sydney wave to all the "princesses."  Cooper was a crack up sitting in his little chair with his sunglasses on, yelling "Yankees!" to anyone who passed by... he wanted to make sure they saw his Yankees hat.

After the parade, we headed over to the carnival.  The carousel is always a hit...

But, as we moved on to other rides, Cooper became a little apprehensive...

Then he became terrified...

And by the end of this ride, he was all smiles and said "it was so fun!"



The next "ride" was an obstacle course, that Cooper opted out of...

And then on to the roller coaster.  We asked Cooper several times if he was sure he wanted to go on it, and he was... but as it started going, he started screaming...

Luckily he had his big sister to put her arm around him...

For the next ride, we decided on something a little less scary... a car that went in a circle (like a merry-go-round).  Cooper absolutely refused to go on it, but I talked the worker into letting me sit by him, so he did ok, and we even got a smile out of him.

We ended our rides with a train ride, and at the end of it all, Cooper told us how much fun he had and how much he loved it.  I asked him if he wanted to go on the roller coaster again, and he said "Yes... on Saturday."

After the carnival, we got some frozen custard (YUM!) and watched the movie in the park... Happy Feet 2.  Not a movie I'd recommend, but still a fun time.

On the 4th, we went over to my grandparents' house.  They had a bunch of bouncy houses and games set up in their backyard, and of course a ton of cousins to play with.  We had a pancake breakfast there, and a BBQ for lunch.  It was so fun, and we all loved it!

Sydney taking a turn in the dunk tank...

My grandpa is such a good sport and said he'd do the dunk tank, until we all talked him out of it...

Cooper couldn't really slide on the slip-n-slide, so his nice uncles dragged him down it...

Dunford Doughnuts! (my kids ate SO MANY of these!)

and "Waterlemon!"

After all of the festivities at my grandparents' house, we went home and had some naps, and then headed to the Bees game.  We rode Trax down, and walked to the ballpark.  When we got inside we even splurged and let the kids get some balloons- Sydney's was a flower and Cooper's a sword.  The game was fun... I don't think there is anything better than baseball on the 4th, and the fireworks were amazing!  The only downfall of the day was when we lost Sydney.  Matt went up to concessions to get a drink, and she followed him.  I thought he knew, but he didn't.  When he came back 15 minutes later, he asked where she was, and then we were all off looking for her.  I don't think there is anything more terrifying than losing your child in a huge crowd like that.  Matt was talking with the police when my mom found her wandering around clear at the other end of the stadium.  I literally shed tears of relief when I heard they found her!  But we did end the game on a high note... Matt catching a ball, which he gave to Cooper.  Overall a great night.

It was such a fun weekend, and lived up to all of my 4th of July expectations- which actually are high considering it is my favorite holiday!  I am just so grateful for my family, for the gospel, and for this great country that we live in, and I love that Independence Day helps me celebrate all of those things.