Fourth of July

We got to spend our Independence Day together as a family and we spent the morning at the pool. For lunch, we grilled some hot dogs and corn and then went swimming. Preston, Wyatt and Ava have all become a bunch of little waterbugs this summer! They absolutely LOVE the water! It is so much fun to watch them swim around the pool. The boys wear their life jackets and just jump in and swim around the pool until they are exhausted, and even then they don't want to go home! Ava loves to just sit in my lap and hang out in the pool. She is so snuggly lately. Her top four teeth are all coming in right now and have been ready to pop through for a couple of months, so hopefully they will find their way out any day now.
After lunch and swimming, we went home for a nap and then headed out for the parade, which was at 6:00. We had never been to a parade in the evening before, but I am a fan! The light was perfect because we didn't have to shield our eyes, and the day started cooling off. It was fantastic. The kids loved the parade and we filled a firehat full of candy. We had a couple of hours to kill before the fireworks started, so we walked around the town center where they were holding a concert and some local performers sang. Preston had himself a little dance party in front of us and some of our ward members that we ran into while we were there. He jammed out to a Christina Aguilera song and he got lots of attention and laughs. That boy loves to dance!
We walked over to Chick-Fil-A with the Burton family for dinner, and Preston and Wyatt got to play with their friend Jamison. Shannon and Jared also have a baby named Avery, and Ava loves her. She loves babies in general. It is so adorable to me how little girls are born with maternal instincts! The fireworks started around 10 and the boys were in awe. It was so wonderful to watch them really get into the Fourth of July activities this year! The boys all ran around together and played while we waited and Wyatt came and sat with me for a snuggle. He is really starting to get more and more sweet as time goes by. While the fireworks were going, Ava got fussy in her stroller and she reached for me, so I leaned in to her. She put her chubby little arm around my neck and leaned in to me and hummed to me. It was a precious moment for me and I hope that I never forget it. She snuggled into me and sighed, and we just sat there together watching the fireworks while Ava kept her arm around me and played with my hair. I love that little girl!
This was our best 4th of the entire time we've been together as a family and I had a great time. I'm so glad that we got to be together and share the time with friends! Hopefully next year will be just as good...