Happy 4th of July 2008!

We skipped the trip to ND this year in lieu of going back for a graduation in May. I was totally bummed about this. 4th of July is the best time of year to be in ND!! L kept asking about the parade and Art in the Park. We will try our best to make it up there next year. That's when we plan to have the new baby baptized as well. Anyway, our 4th ended up being pretty fun after all. We started the day out in the pool for a couple of hours (we had a water fight - boys against the girls and the girls kicked butt!) (oh and L is totally afraid of the water, way more AFTER 2 weeks of swim lessons than ever before, what's that all about??) and then had a yummy lunch with watermelon and fruit dip (perfect summertime treat) and naps. When we all woke up refreshed, we played some games and put puzzles together as a family. This evening we had brats and pasta salad for dinner. We let the kids stay up waaaaaayyyy past bedtime to watch New York's fireworks on TV. Daddy Piper thought it was going to be too stormy here for fireworks but they went off without a hitch. We climbed up on the roof and watched them. L was pretty scared to climb up on the roof in the dark so I said I would stay on the ground with her but she got brave and we joined the boys up on the roof. This was so nice!!!! So peaceful, being together the 4 of us, watching the beautiful fireworks all around us (and some lightning too!!). It was such a relaxing day, from start to finish. I feel so blessed to have such a family!!